Display device for improving a display delay and a method of driving the display device

A display device comprising:

• a display panel comprising a plurality of pixel units;
• a first memory configured to store compensation reference data;
• a second memory configured to receive and store a plurality of transmission data;
• wherein compensating image data is based on at least partial data of the plurality of transmission data stored in the second memory;
• and
• a timing controller configured to reconstruct the compensation reference data into the plurality of transmission data, to sequentially transmit the plurality of transmission data to the second memory, and to cause an image to be displayed on the display panel when the partial data of the plurality of transmission data are transmitted and stored to the second memory during an initial driving period,
• wherein the compensation reference data comprise m compensation reference data corresponding to m compensating blocks where m is a natural number greater than one, the display panel being divided into the m compensating blocks, each of the m compensating blocks includes at least one pixel unit of the plurality of pixel units, and each pixel unit includes a plurality of color pixels;
• wherein the timing controller is configured to divide the compensation reference data into k partial reference data where k is a natural number, and to reconstruct the k partial reference data of the m compensation reference data into k transmission data, wherein each of the k transmission data comprises partial reference data for each of the m compensating blocks.