[5][6] In 2006, when the public art project started,[7] Ihwa-dong, one of Seoul's oldest neighbourhoods, was a decaying suburb designated for demolition,[2] and home to mostly poor families and elderly people.
[8] The government's Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism "Art in the City" campaign set about to improve conditions in some of these areas,[8] and included the Ihwa-dong Naksan Project in Iwha-dong and Dongsung-dong near Daehangno in central Seoul.
[9] Ihwa-dong and Dongsung-dong were culturally isolated towns despite their location near the busy college area of Daehangno,[9] and the historic neighborhood of Dongdaemun with its many tourist activities.
[4] Ihwa-dong was one of South Korea's many daldongnae or 'moon villages', a name derived from their hilltop locations, traditionally thought to offer a better view of the moon than the cities below.
[5][11] The village was part of the history of street paintings in South Korea, with locals and visiting artists carrying out similar projects around the country.
In the mural village, buildings and surroundings became part of the art; flowerpots, telephone poles, stone fences, stairs and even "the crack on a wall has been transformed into a wrinkle on a smiling woman's face".
[13][14] In 2012, it was used by the SBS drama Rooftop Prince as a filming location, where Lee Gak (Park Yoo-chun) had a date with Park-ha (Han Ji-min), which became a stop on the typical Korean Wave tour course.
[3][12][15] In 2013, Jongno District's tourism division started the "Silent Campaign", "to help visitors understand that the (mural) village is also someone's home", said staffer Lee Sun-min.