Follow your passion, Moncton artist says

An artist from South Korea who now calls Moncton home is helping to brighten up the city’s landscape.

Ji Hyang Ryu has painted ten large murals in 2025 and 2026.  Her latest is on the side of Rinzler’s Meats on Mountain Road.  

Ryu moved to the Hub City from South Korea in 2010 and began working in the hospital medical lab, but she always knew she had a passion for more.

Her love for art began when she was just a child.

“I was a teacher in Korea, and then in Moncton, I was a medical lab assistant, but I was always painting,” Ryu said.

In 2020, she decided to quit her hospital job and follow her true love.

Businesses began reaching out, asking her to create something for their walls.

“We would go back and forth for two weeks.  I would come up with an idea, and they would remove something, then add something else.  I would overlay the image on the building digitally, and then they would say yes. And then we start the painting. Before I paint, I doodle on the wall, and I take a picture.  Then I overlay the two images together, make them transparent both, so I know what goes where,” Ryu explained.

Murals can take around a month to paint, but Ryu told us they will help to beautify and brighten up the business for five to 10 years. 

Because the walls are so tall, Ryu had to get training on a boom truck to help raise her up, “I’m getting used to it. I’m still scared; whenever it’s a windy day, it shakes.”

Her murals can be found in other communities as well.  Ryu also has creations in Sussex, after being asked by the town to share her beautiful murals with the residents there.

The City of Moncton also recently recruited her to help beautify the pathway at Centennial Park.

When Ryu is not painting murals, she teaches. She has her own studio located on Coverdale Road in Riverview, where she shares her talents with over 180 students.

“Some are adults, most of them are kids, and teenagers, but they’re absolutely amazing,” Ryu said.

She had this advice for anyone who has a love in life, “Just follow your passion.”