Devon Rodriguez finds Korea through the people he draws

Viral New York portrait artist reflects on drawing strangers in Seoul, looking beyond first impressions and turning the lens on himself in his upcoming memoir

Devon Rodriguez has spent six years approaching strangers, drawing their portraits and capturing the conversations and reactions that follow.

What began on New York City subways in 2020 has since taken him around the world, from drawing everyday passersby to sitting across from the likes of Oprah Winfrey, former US President Joe Biden, and Stray Kids.

As of September 2026, he has 34 million followers on TikTok, 9.5 million on Instagram and 12.5 million on YouTube. He estimates he has drawn more than 1,000 people and interviewed some 300 to 400 across the globe.

"I really grew up in poverty, in the hood, on welfare and food stamps, without anything," Rodriguez told The Korea Herald in a recent video interview from New York. "So to like, travel the world is incredible."

Coming to Korea

South Korea had long been one of the places Rodriguez wanted to experience for himself. After repeatedly coming across videos of Seoul online, he said the city began to look "like a fairy tale" to him.

"I always want to go there and explore and get to know it and paint it," he said.

During his 10-day trip here in May, Rodriguez was struck by the contrast between Seoul's fast-moving modernity and its pockets of traditional architecture. He stayed in a hanok in Bukchon Hanok Village, where a quiet corner of the neighborhood later became the subject of a limited-edition print.

"Just being in there, I felt like I was in like a whole different time period," he said.

But perhaps unsurprisingly for an artist who spends much of his time observing strangers, Rodriguez says his favorite way to "understand a new place is through its people."

"I always love to find different people that like inspire me artistically," he said.

During his trip, Rodriguez drew and interviewed a range of people, including tattooist, dancer and caricaturist Snook, drag artist Hurricane Kimchi, and Kim Ka-jin and Choi Yul, a couple known for their extensive tattoos.

"It's pretty random," Rodriguez said of how he chooses his subjects. "I always felt like everyone's story is interesting, and ... you could learn something from everyone. And everyone has their own perspective."

Sometimes, those encounters extend beyond the portrait and conversation. His meeting with drag artist Hurricane Kimchi took him into a corner of Seoul he knew little about. After drawing and interviewing her, he joined her at local drag parties, where she introduced him to others in the scene.

"It was just so interesting to feel like I was in this underground new movement that was happening," Rodriguez said. "She was showing me in person and introducing me to everyone. It just felt so cool to like be there."

Looking beyond first impressions

A face may be what initially draws Rodriguez in, but the story that follows often complicates the first impression.

That has been particularly true, he said, of some of the heavily tattooed people he has approached. Rodriguez said several have told him that strangers rarely speak to them and sometimes appear afraid to approach them.

"A lot of people that I interview ... people kind of expect them to be scary or dark or something (but) they usually end up being the sweetest, cutest people ever," he said.

Having grown up in the Bronx around people from different backgrounds, Rodriguez said he has rarely had difficulty striking up conversations with strangers. That openness has become central to his videos, where viewers who may initially make assumptions about a subject are invited to listen to them instead.

"Maybe it teaches them to not always judge and maybe be more open," he said, adding that different perspectives are not necessarily wrong simply because they differ from his own.

Even after hundreds of interviews and access to increasingly famous subjects, Rodriguez said it is often the people he meets by chance who stay with him most.

While visiting Seoul, Rodriguez recalled accidentally leaving his hoodie at a bar while out with friends. A block away, while he was distracted by a punching machine in an arcade, someone from the bar ran after him to return it.

"I was just like, wow, I love that," he said, recalling the "kindness and respectfulness" he experienced. "In New York, that would never happen. In New York, it would be gone within two minutes, that hoodie."

Turning the lens on himself

After years spent asking strangers to share their stories, Rodriguez is preparing to tell his own. His memoir, "Work in Progress," set for release Sept. 29, traces his childhood in the Bronx, his relationship with art and the path that eventually led to his career. Rodriguez said he had wanted to write a book since he was a teenager, jotting down memories on his phone since he was around 17.

For someone accustomed to getting others to open up, Rodriguez now finds himself on the other side of that exchange. And despite a career that has already taken him much further than he imagined growing up, Rodriguez does not have a fixed answer for what comes next.

"I didn't expect this to happen," he said. "So whatever is next, it's just like extra."

Asked what he would tell his younger self, Rodriguez said he would tell him to trust his instincts and "keep going."

For his future self, the message was different.

"I hope I remain with my feet on the ground, grounded," he said. "Never get too caught up in all the superficiality of fame and clout and all that fakeness ... Continue being real and keeping good people around."

A work in progress

Rodriguez often ends his interviews with the same question: What is one thing the world needs to hear right now?

This time, The Korea Herald turned the question back on him.

"Oh my god, every time I ask people that, they, like, hesitate ... and I always think to myself, 'I'm so glad I'm not on the other side because that's such a hard one,'" he laughed.

After a moment, he settled on kindness.

"Just try to be kind no matter what and try to be open to other people's ideas," he said. "Every day, leave a good impression on everyone you come across, because that's the only power we kind of have. There's a lot of things happening. So just positivity."