Life in New York City unfolds both above and below ground. And the city has thousands of untold stories of those who spend most of their time under its streets -from MTA workers or subway performers to the homeless sleeping on the benches of our subway cars.

This is one of those stories. And as so many others, it’s an immigrants’ story.

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Ki Yong Sung, originally from South Korea, started painting over 50 years ago in his native land. Around that time the Korean and Vietnam wars ensued and he traveled both countries painting the portraits of American fighting soldiers.

“I went in the bunkers,” he says.

These days you can find him at his small portrait shop inside the Port Authority subway station. There he paints portraits of rabbis, brides, presidents, celebrities, and the regular folk. In less that a week Sung can duplicate on canvas the old and often destroyed photos that customers bring in.