Korean artist David Choong Lee loves talking to San Francisco’s homeless. Emigrating to the United States from Seoul just five years ago, the 32-year-old Lee admits that at the start, the joy came from knowing that his homeless friends wouldn’t poke fun at his imperfect English. But for this gentle artist, the real attraction lay in his fascination with painting the underbelly of a town.

Five years of friendships later, Lee’s depictions of the homeless has culminated into a 24-piece oil and charcoal series titled, San Francisco Portraits of Jesus, to be exhibited at The Virgin69 Boutique and Gallery starting this weekend. One piece, Jack on Sutter Street (pictured above), garnered Choong Lee a $2,000 scholarship from the Society of Illustrators’ 1999 Student Competition.

Lee took a moment to talk about his life, success and his forthcoming exhibit.

Q: How did you kick-start your painting career?

A: “Everyone starts painting when they are really young. My dad was a carpenter ... he would always make our toys. I am sure that this influenced me in some way. I started to paint seriously, though, when I was at Hong Ik University in Seoul.

“I was also influenced to pursue my art by a friend I met in the military service in 1987. The military service was really hard, especially for people like me who are really sensitive. I did a lot of jobs out of the military service: restaurant work, cab driver, car sales. Then finally I found a teaching job teaching art to children at school in Seoul. I enjoyed that. I was able to get a lot of kids to win awards. The students were between 7 and 15 years old. My success at this made me realize I had to lead a life as an artist. I knew also that I couldn’t just teach art—I needed to be a real artist. This is why I came to San Francisco in 1993.

“I took classes in painting at San Francisco’s Academy of Art College, where I began the Portraits of Jesus series. Now I teach drawing at the [Art] Institute.”

Q: Was there much pressure to pursue a more lucrative or conventional way to make a living within your family?

A: “My parents didn’t want me to do art—they would say that fine artists are very hungry. My family don’t know a lot about art. I think they still want me to be a businessman. This is probably because Asian people usually worry about prestige and appearance. But now that I teach at the Art Institute in San Francisco, they are impressed, because in Korea, a teacher, king and father are all on the same level.”

Q: What kind of struggles have you encountered trying to establish yourself as an artist in a city as competitive as San Francisco?

A: “One of the struggles I’ve encountered is with speaking English. My English isn’t great now, but it was worse when I first arrived in San Francisco. I started out as a student of sculpture and painting at the San Francisco Academy of Art College, focusing on the homeless. I met Jack (Jack Montgomery, 53, from Oklahoma), the homeless guy, and started the series by painting him.

“Because of Jack’s friendliness toward me, I was able to feel comfortable and free with communicating with him. There has been no real struggle in getting established because I find that here in the U.S., people only see the artwork—they don’t care about the nationality of the artist.”

Q: Can you explain your choice of your theme for this latest exhibition, Portraits of Jesus? What inspired this?

A: “I was shocked by the number of homeless people on the streets and wanted to paint them.

“My school friends all tried to talk me out of this decision, saying it was not sellable. I was confused but persevered, and the series exhibited at the Academy of Art College gallery August through September 1998, with more than 500 visitors.

“There is no religious reference to Jesus in my paintings. But I use the name in the title because Jesus is the most famous person in the world right now—most Christians will have a portrait of Jesus in their home, but no one saw Jesus’ face. To me, this means everyone looks like Jesus—I see Jesus in everybody, even the homeless.”

Q: How was it working with the homeless as your subject?

A: “I spent a lot of time befriending the homeless around my school, first bringing them small presents like postcards and sushi. After we were friends, I asked if I could take their photos and would sketch live portraits. They are really happy to have someone draw them, I think. Everyone was so friendly toward me—I felt as though I was somehow helping the situation. I have always wanted to show the dark side—the underground of a city. San Francisco is beautiful, but also has many negative qualities. I wanted to paint the truth.”

Q: You are enjoying considerable success with your artwork. Is there ant advice you would like to offer Asian American and Asian art students?

A: “I think that most Asian people want to be a foreground artist—painting the beautiful qualities to a subject. But the underground is like a treasure island. We need to check under every stone. It took me four years to work on this project. The underground is full of great ideas. Art students need to start watching around them, feel the culture of where they are now.”

Q: Do you feel that painting guys like Jack helps their plight?

A: “[Yes,] because they are on the street and not working, I think that most regular people hate the homeless. But I feel that [homelessness] is their style—we shouldn’t be offended by their life. They don’t need our money, they need our friendship. Something has changed here on Sutter Street. Once I painted Jack, he made more friends. Now, everyone loves Jack and I think this makes him feel proud.”

The Virgin69 Boutique and Gallery, 1153 Mission, San Francisco, presents an open-house reception for San Francisco Portraits of Jesus from 6 p.m.-10 p.m.Friday. For more information, call 415-313-8585.