At 16, South Korean artist Leo Park has taken his detailed drawings of buildings and streets into a colouring book featuring 30 cities across the United Kingdom.
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Park → take → Kingdom
The teenager, who began sharing his artwork on Instagram in 2019, has collaborated with British company Colour Your Streets on Enchanting British Cities, a collection of hand-drawn illustrations featuring famous landmarks and local architecture.
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who → begin → landmarks
The book was released in June as a limited edition.
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book → release → edition
According to Colour Your Streets' official website, the collection includes illustrations of Oxford, Sheffield, Cambridge, Manchester and Liverpool.
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collection → accord → Oxford
Unlike a conventional travel guide, the book lets readers add colour to Park's drawings.
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readers → let → drawings
Each page contains detailed architectural features, along with hidden emblems incorporated into the scenes.
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page → contain → scenes
For Park, drawing buildings is not simply about recording what he sees.
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he → draw → what
His sketches often contain changes to the original structures, reflecting how he imagines a place could look.
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place → contain → structures
A building might retain its recognisable design while gaining new features, or an ordinary street scene might be presented differently to emphasise its architecture.
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scene → retain → architecture
This approach has developed over several years of travelling, observing buildings and studying their history.
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approach → develop → history
In an interview with Hallyuism, Park discussed how his childhood interest in drawing gradually became a serious career ambition.
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interest → discuss → drawing
Instagram sketches to published books
Park had been interested in drawing long before he started posting his work online.
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he → publish → work
However, 2019 became an important year because it gave him an opportunity to show his sketches to people beyond his immediate circle.
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it → become → circle
As more people began seeing his work, he started taking on increasingly complicated drawings.
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he → begin → drawings
His Instagram account, @draw_vengers, also reflects another childhood interest.
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account → reflect → interest
Park came up with the name when he was 10, combining his enthusiasm for the Avengers films with his interest in drawing.
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he → come → drawing
The account eventually helped him secure his first publishing opportunity.
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him → help → opportunity
A publisher came across his artwork and approached him about creating a book.
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publisher → come → book
The result was Leo's Art Adventure in the United Kingdom: The Boy Who Draws the World, published in 2022.
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Who → draw → 2022
Park chose Britain as the subject because he had recently spent considerable time travelling there.
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he → choose → time
During that visit, he had collected drawings and experiences that could be developed into a book.
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that → collect → book
He had also met artists, writers and other people whose stories became part of the project.
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stories → meet → project
His publishing work has since expanded to include Leo's Fantastic Urban Sketch Coloring Book and the collaboration with Colour Your Streets.
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work → expand → Streets
Why drawings don't always match reality
One feature of Park's artwork is that he does not consider an exact reproduction of a building essential.
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reproduction → match → building
He sometimes sketches directly at a location, but the final illustration may include changes that are not present in the original structure.
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that → sketch → structure
He explained that his choice of subject depends on several factors.
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choice → explain → factors
Sometimes a building attracts him because of its appearance.
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building → attract → appearance
In other cases, its historical significance makes it worth drawing.
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it → make → cases
Park has drawn the building at least seven times and considers its architect, Sir Christopher Wren, one of the most important influences on his work.
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architect → draw → work
He also admires Italian sculptor Gian Lorenzo Bernini and Leonardo da Vinci.
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He → admire → Bernini
Bernini's ability to show movement in sculpture interests him, while da Vinci's practice of carefully observing his surroundings has influenced how Park approaches his own drawings.
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Park → show → drawings
His interest in history can also be seen in sketches of Winston Churchill's statue in London and Napoleon's Tomb in Paris.
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interest → see → Paris
But drawing human figures has occasionally presented difficulties.
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drawing → draw → difficulties
While working on Churchill's statue, Park struggled to give the figure the appearance he wanted.
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he → work → appearance
He eventually used hatching, a technique involving closely placed lines, to add texture.
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He → use → texture
In one illustration, he combined Korean architectural traditions with the fictional world of Harry Potter to create a Korean-inspired version of Hogwarts.
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he → combine → Hogwarts
Other works bring together landmarks and references from films and musicals.
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works → bring → films
A different education path to pursue art
Park's commitment to drawing has also influenced his schooling.
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commitment → pursue → schooling
During his Hallyuism interview, when he was 15, he said he had completed middle school and decided not to follow the conventional high-school route.
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he → say → route
Instead, he intended to obtain an equivalent qualification through an examination, allowing him to devote more time to developing his artistic skills.
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him → intend → skills
…and 4 more, not listed.
The Aporia
