Hello Everyone,

My name is Melissa Allen Jung and I am the Founder and Lead Art Teacher at the Allen Academy of Fine Arts! I am originally from the United States, and have been living and working in Korea since 2021. I have both Studio Art Education and Fashion Design Bachelors degrees from Massachusetts College of Art and Design, and I am currently pursuing my Masters Degree for Art Education online with Boston University.

From ages 8-17, my grandmother encouraged me to attend the Huntington School of Fine Arts in Long Island, New York in addition to my Public School education. This experience at the HSFA inspired me to pursue my own career as an Art Educator, and instilled in me the aspiration to open my own Fine Arts Academy one day.

Before changing my career to education, I gathered professional experience working in the Fashion Industry as an Assistant Fashion Designer for five years. Since 2017 I have taught Studio Art and Fashion Design at the College level, in US Public Schools at the Secondary Level, and in the Korean International school setting at the High School and AP level. I have mentored students college bound for Art Universities in North America, Europe, and South Korea, with acceptances to schools such as Pratt, RISD, NYU, Art Institute of Chicago, SCAD, FIT, and Parsons.

I am so excited to be working with all of you. Opening up an academy has always been a dream ambition of mine, and I thank you for all of your support, it’s a team effort for sure! I look forward to giving it my all to making this Academy thrive, to nurturing our young creatives, and supporting anyone and everyone who wants to pursue the Fine Arts. Whether it’s for the purpose of preparing for a creative professional career, or for the practice of mindfulness and the refining of skills, Art is truly for everyone. I look forward to seeing you all soon.

Warmest gratitude,

Melissa 

*Check out examples of my work from my evolving studio practice: @allenjungstudio