Koreatown, Los Angeles
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Koreatown ( ko, 코리아타운) is a
neighborhood A neighbourhood (British English, Irish English, Australian English and Canadian English) or neighborhood (American English; see spelling differences) is a geographically localised community within a larger city, town, suburb or rural area, ...
in central Los Angeles, California, centered near Eighth Street and Irolo Street. Koreans began immigrating in larger numbers in the 1960s and found housing in the
Mid-Wilshire Mid-Wilshire is a neighborhood in the central region of Los Angeles, California. It is known for the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Petersen Automotive Museum, and the Miracle Mile shopping district. Geography City of Los Angeles bounda ...
area. Many opened businesses as they found rent and tolerance toward the growing Korean population. Many of the historic
Art deco buildings Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the United ...
with terra cotta façades have been preserved because the buildings remained economically viable for the new businesses.Hawthorne, Christopher (November 29, 2014
"KOREATOWN'S COOL OLD BUILDINGS POINT TO L.A.'S FUTURE"
''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...
'' (online).
Despite the name evoking a traditional
ethnic enclave In sociology, an ethnic enclave is a geographic area with high ethnic concentration, characteristic cultural identity, and economic activity. The term is usually used to refer to either a residential area or a workspace with a high concentration ...
, the community is complex and has an impact on areas outside the traditional boundaries. While the neighborhood culture was historically oriented to the Korean immigrant population, Korean business owners are creating stronger ties to the Latino community in Koreatown. The community is highly diverse ethnically, with half the residents being Latino and a third being Asian. Two-thirds of the residents were born outside of the United States, a high figure compared to the rest of the city.


History


1900s–1980s

In 1882, the United States and Korea established the United States-Korea Treaty of 1882, which ended Korea's self-imposed isolation. The establishment of diplomatic relations between the United States and Korea paved the way for Korean immigration to Hawaii in the late 1880s. In the early 1900s, Korean immigrants began making their way to Los Angeles, where they created communities based around ethnic churches. As the number of Koreans increased to the hundreds, their residential and commercial activities spread to the southwestern corner of the Los Angeles business district, putting them within walking distance of Little Tokyo and
Chinatown A Chinatown () is an ethnic enclave of Chinese people located outside Greater China, most often in an urban setting. Areas known as "Chinatown" exist throughout the world, including Europe, North America, South America, Asia, Africa and Austra ...
. By the 1930s, approximately 650 Koreans resided in Los Angeles. They established churches, restaurants, and community organizations, as well as businesses that primarily focused on vegetable and fruit distribution. In 1936, the
Korean National Association The Korean National Association (; Hanja: 大韓人國民會), also known as All Korea Korean National Association, was a political organization established on February 1, 1909, to fight Japan's colonial policies and occupation in Korea. It w ...
, one of the largest Korean immigrant political organizations, moved its central headquarters from San Francisco to Los Angeles to continue promoting political, cultural, educational, and religious activities. However, racial covenant laws and economic constraints limited Korean residents to an area bounded by Adams Boulevard to the north, Slauson Avenue to the south, Western Avenue to the west, and Vermont Avenue to the east. The 1930s also saw the height of the area's association with
Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...
. The Ambassador Hotel hosted the
Academy Awards The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
ceremony in 1930, 1931, 1932, and 1934. As the entertainment industry grew in the surrounding Koreatown area, Koreans remained segregated into low-income districts because of discriminatory housing policies. After the 1948
Shelley v. Kraemer ''Shelley v. Kraemer'', 334 U.S. 1 (1948), is a List of landmark court decisions in the United States, landmark United States Supreme Court case that held that racially restrictive housing Covenant (law), covenants cannot legally be enforced. The ...
Supreme Court case prohibited racially restrictive housing policies, Koreans began to move north of Olympic Boulevard to establish new homes and businesses. In the late 1960s, the surrounding neighborhood began to enter a steep economic decline. The once-glamorous mid-Wilshire area became filled with vacant commercial and office space that attracted wealthier South Korean immigrants. They found inexpensive housing and many opened businesses in Koreatown. Many of the area's Art Deco buildings with terracotta facades were preserved because they remained economically viable with the new commercial activity that occupied them. The
Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, also known as the Hart–Celler Act and more recently as the 1965 Immigration Act, is a federal law passed by the 89th United States Congress and signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson. The l ...
removed restrictions on Asian migration and helped further the growth of the immigrant community in Koreatown. By the late 1970s, most businesses in the Olympic Boulevard and 8th Street areas were owned by Koreans. This economic boom led to the creation of Korean media outlets and community organizations, which played a key role in developing a sense of communal identity in the neighborhood. The ethnic enclave was able to establish itself as the primary hub of the Korean community in Southern California, and the residents successfully lobbied for the installation of the first Koreatown sign in 1982.


1992 Los Angeles riots

During the time of the riots, there was racial strife between Black and Korean Americans. In many predominantly Black neighborhoods, Korean citizens owned the majority of businesses. When White residents left the area, Koreans purchased their businesses from them for little money. Rapper
Ice Cube An ice cube is a small piece of ice, which is typically rectangular as viewed from above and trapezoidal as viewed from the side. Ice cubes are products of mechanical refrigeration and are usually produced to cool beverages. They may be produc ...
spoke of this, along with Asian suspicion of Black residents in his 1991 album ''
Death Certificate A death certificate is either a legal document issued by a medical practitioner which states when a person died, or a document issued by a government civil registration office, that declares the date, location and cause of a person's death, as ...
'' during the song "Black Korea". On March 16, 1991, a Korean store owner, Soon Ja Du, shot and killed a 15-year-old Black customer,
Latasha Harlins Latasha Harlins (January 1, 1976 – March 16, 1991) was an African-American girl who was fatally shot at age 15 by Soon Ja Du ( ko, 두순자) after Latasha knocked Soon Ja Du to the ground, a 51-year-old Korean-American convenience store owner ...
. Du accused Harlins of stealing orange juice, and after watching her put down the jug and turn to leave, shot her in the head. Some historians view Du's posting bail as the breaking point in tensions. The 1992 unrest stimulated a new wave of political activism among Korean-Americans, but also split them into two camps. The liberals sought to unite with other minorities in Los Angeles to fight against
racial oppression Oppression is malicious or unjust treatment or exercise of power, often under the guise of governmental authority or cultural opprobrium. Oppression may be overt or covert, depending on how it is practiced. Oppression refers to discrimination w ...
and
scapegoating Scapegoating is the practice of singling out a person or group for unmerited blame and consequent negative treatment. Scapegoating may be conducted by individuals against individuals (e.g. "he did it, not me!"), individuals against groups (e.g., ...
. The conservatives emphasized
law and order In modern politics, law and order is the approach focusing on harsher enforcement and penalties as ways to reduce crime. Penalties for perpetrators of disorder may include longer terms of imprisonment, mandatory sentencing, three-strikes laws a ...
and generally favored the economic and social policies of the Republican Party. The conservatives also tended to emphasize the political differences between Koreans and other minorities, specifically Blacks and Hispanics. Despite this divide within the Korean American community, the 1992 riots also inspired further efforts to build coalitions. The 1992 Koreatown Peace Rally was a record-setting demonstration with over 30,000 attendees representing intergenerational and interethnic solidarity. The week-long rioting and looting destroyed much of Koreatown. There was $50 million worth of damage done, half of which was on Korean-owned businesses. During the riots, roads between Koreatown and safer neighborhoods were blocked off. Some Korean-Americans speculated that they were being trapped in the danger. One resident said, "It was containment. The police cut off traffic out of Koreatown, while we were trapped on the other side without help. Those roads are a gateway to a richer neighborhood. It can't be denied." Some Korean Americans who survived the riot have said that people of minority races and ethnicities were not served fairly by the current social system. An 18-year-old Korean American, Edward Song Lee, and his three friends went to protect a Korean-owned pizza shop. Lee was accidentally shot to death by Korean shopkeepers who mistook him and his friends for looters. Hyungwon Kang captured a photograph of Lee's body in the street. The
1992 Los Angeles riots The 1992 Los Angeles riots, sometimes called the 1992 Los Angeles uprising and the Los Angeles Race Riots, were a series of riots and civil disturbances that occurred in Los Angeles County, California, in April and May 1992. Unrest began in S ...
had a significant impact on the community, solidifying the importance of community-based nonprofit organizations, such as the Koreatown Youth and Community Center (KYCC) and Koreatown Immigrant Workers Alliance (KIWA) (see Community Organizations section) (Chung, 2005). These organizations advocated for reparations and protections for Korean Americans, who received little support from government authorities as a result of their low social status and language barrier. The effects of the riots and looting, which displaced Korean Americans and destroyed their sources of income, combined with little aid having been given to those who suffered, are still being felt today as LA-based Koreans continue to struggle with poverty.


2000s–present

In late 2008, the City of Los Angeles designated Koreatown a special graphics district (along with Hollywood and the downtown neighborhood of
South Park ''South Park'' is an American animated sitcom created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone and developed by Brian Graden for Comedy Central. The series revolves around four boys Stan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, Eric Cartman, and Kenny McCormickand th ...
/LA Live). The designation allows for digital signage and electronic billboards, not permitted by city code, to be installed on building facades. The designation allowed
Times Square Times Square is a major commercial intersection, tourist destination, entertainment hub, and neighborhood in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is formed by the junction of Broadway, Seventh Avenue, and 42nd Street. Together with adjacent ...
and
Shibuya Shibuya ( 渋谷 区 ''Shibuya-ku'') is a special ward in Tokyo, Japan. As a major commercial and finance center, it houses two of the busiest railway stations in the world, Shinjuku Station (southern half) and Shibuya Station. As of April 1 ...
District-inspired buildings lined with LCD jumbotrons. The 300-square block graphics district is bordered by 6th Street and Olympic Boulevard on the north and south respectively, and St. Andrews Place and Shatto Place on the west and east respectively. Koreatown is now a commercially driven area, but continues to have problems of poverty and gentrification. The construction of the
Robert F. Kennedy Community Schools The Robert F. Kennedy Community Schools, called the RFK Community Schools, is a complex of public schools in Los Angeles, California. This was formerly the site of the Ambassador Hotel, the site of the June 1968 assassination of presidential ca ...
at the former site of the Ambassador Hotel highlighted the challenge of balancing resource expansion with business development and historic preservation. The schools were constructed with the intention of increasing educational opportunities for low-income Latina/Latino and Korean students, but the $578 million construction cost made the complex the most expensive public school in United States history. By 2020, Koreatown was "known for having one of the largest concentrations of
nightclub A nightclub (music club, discothèque, disco club, or simply club) is an entertainment venue during nighttime comprising a dance floor, lightshow, and a stage for live music or a disc jockey (DJ) who plays recorded music. Nightclubs gener ...
s and 24-hour businesses and restaurants in the country. Other developments, such as the opening of new metro stations, shopping centers, and strip malls, have made Koreatown a popular tourist destination while also increasing economic inequality for locals. Protests against and in favor of building a
homeless shelter Homeless shelters are a type of homeless service agency which provide temporary residence for homeless individuals and families. Shelters exist to provide residents with safety and protection from exposure to the weather while simultaneously r ...
took place in 2020. Since Koreatown has a Latino majority, it's not unusual to find Latino employees in restaurants and
grocery store A grocery store ( AE), grocery shop ( BE) or simply grocery is a store that primarily retails a general range of food products, which may be fresh or packaged. In everyday U.S. usage, however, "grocery store" is a synonym for supermarket, a ...
s speaking Korean with customers or Korean store owners engaging Latino customers in Spanish. An example of a cultural interchange between Koreans and Latinos in Koreatown is the popularity of Korean-inspired taco trucks in Los Angeles that feature classic
Mexican food Mexican cuisine consists of the cooking cuisines and traditions of the modern country of Mexico. Its earliest roots lie in Mesoamerican cuisine. Its ingredients and methods begin with the first agricultural communities such as the Olmec and M ...
infused with Korean ingredients.


Geography

The neighborhood lies west of downtown, southeast of
Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...
, east of
Santa Monica Santa Monica (; Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 U.S. Census population was 93,076. Santa Monica is a popular resort town, owing to ...
Beach and northeast of
Los Angeles International Airport Los Angeles International Airport , commonly referred to as LAX (with each letter pronounced individually), is the primary international airport serving Los Angeles, California and its surrounding metropolitan area. LAX is located in the W ...
. It is generally flat, with an average elevation of .''The Thomas Guide,'' 2006, page 593, 594, 633 and 634"Central L.A.
Mapping L.A., ''Los Angeles Times''
The boundaries of Koreatown are blurry; The most familiar thoroughfare is Wilshire Boulevard, from Vermont to Western avenues. But the area extends south as Olympic Boulevard and north to 3rd Street, with spillover into adjacent Westlake and Hancock Park.


The beginnings of Koreatown

In the early 1900s, Koreans clustered around the downtown Los Angeles Bunker Hill area. This housing segregation was due to racial covenant laws that restricted them to mixed-race, low-income districts. By the 1930s, Koreans began to move to Jefferson Boulevard between Western and Vermont Avenue. The next major shift began in the 1960s. As the African American population increased in southern Los Angeles, middle-class White Americans began to move out of the mid-Wilshire district. The area north of Olympic Boulevard transitioned from a predominantly white suburb to a home for Asian residents. The area has become the mainstay of the Korean American community, although varying sources have established different boundaries for Koreatown. In 1980, the neighborhood of Koreatown was officially designated by Los Angeles.


City of Los Angeles boundaries

The city of Los Angeles has set the official boundaries for Koreatown as Vermont Avenue on the east, Western Avenue on the west, Third Street on the north, and Olympic Boulevard on the south. A business corridor running about 3/4 of a mile along Western Avenue to Rosewood Avenue is also included as part of Koreatown. In 2010, the City of Los Angeles considered expanding Koreatown further west to include Wilshire Park and Park Mile. The request was rejected, and the committee reiterated that the western boundary for Koreatown was at Western Avenue. The Koreatown Regional Commercial Center runs along Olympic Boulevard and is "generally bounded by Eighth Street on the north, Twelfth Street on the south, Western Avenue on the west, and continues east towards Vermont Avenue", according to the Wilshire Community Plan of the City of Los Angeles.


Google Maps

Google Maps draws the following boundaries for Koreatown: Vermont Avenue on the east, Western Avenue on the west, Third Street on the north and Olympic Boulevard on the south.


Mapping L.A. boundaries

According to the
Mapping L.A. Mapping L.A. is a project of the ''Los Angeles Times'', beginning in 2009, to draw boundary lines for 158 cities and unincorporated places within Los Angeles County, California. It identified 114 neighborhoods within the City of Los Angeles and 42 ...
project of the ''Los Angeles Times,'' Koreatown has the following boundaries:
Beverly Boulevard Beverly Boulevard is one of the main east–west thoroughfares in Los Angeles, in the U.S. state of California. It begins off Santa Monica Boulevard in Beverly Hills, California, Beverly Hills and ends on the Lucas Avenue overpass near downtown ...
on the north, Virgil Avenue, Wilshire Place and Westmoreland Avenue on the east, Olympic Boulevard on the south and
Crenshaw Boulevard Crenshaw Boulevard is a north-south thoroughfare in Los Angeles, California, that runs through Crenshaw and other neighborhoods along a 23-mile (37.76 km) route in the west-central part of the city. The street extends between Wilshire Bouleva ...
and Wilton Place on the west. The neighborhood is flanked by
East Hollywood East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fa ...
to the north, Westlake to the east,
Pico-Union Pico-Union is a neighborhood in Central Los Angeles, California. The name "Pico-Union" refers to the neighborhood that surrounds the intersection of Pico Boulevard and Union Avenue. Located immediately west of Downtown Los Angeles, it is home to ...
, Harvard Heights and Arlington Heights to the south,
Mid-Wilshire Mid-Wilshire is a neighborhood in the central region of Los Angeles, California. It is known for the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Petersen Automotive Museum, and the Miracle Mile shopping district. Geography City of Los Angeles bounda ...
and Windsor Square to the west and
Larchmont Larchmont is a village located within the Town of Mamaroneck in Westchester County, New York, approximately northeast of Midtown Manhattan. The population of the village was 5,864 at the 2010 census. In February 2019, Bloomberg ranked Lar ...
to the northwest."Koreatown"
Mapping L.A., ''Los Angeles Times''
This version of Koreatown includes the neighborhoods of
Wilshire Center Wilshire Center is a neighborhood in the Wilshire region of Los Angeles, California. Geography The name "Wilshire Center" is a relatively modern moniker that refers to much of the eastern portion of the Wilshire Community Plan area (CPA), ge ...
, Wilshire Park and part of Park Mile.


Climate


Demographics

Koreatown is one of the densest neighborhoods in the United States. The 2000 U.S. census counted 115,070 residents in the 2.7-square-mile neighborhood—an average of 42,611 people per square mile, the highest density of any community in
Los Angeles County Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles, and sometimes abbreviated as L.A. County, is the most populous county in the United States and in the U.S. state of California, with 9,861,224 residents estimated as of 2022. It is the ...
. In 2008, the city estimated that the population had increased to 124,281. The median age for residents was 30, an average age for both the city and
Los Angeles County Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles, and sometimes abbreviated as L.A. County, is the most populous county in the United States and in the U.S. state of California, with 9,861,224 residents estimated as of 2022. It is the ...
. Koreatown is considered "highly diverse" ethnically. The breakdown is
Latinos Hispanic and Latino Americans ( es, Estadounidenses hispanos y latinos; pt, Estadunidenses hispânicos e latinos) are Americans of Spanish and/or Latin American ancestry. More broadly, these demographics include all Americans who identify as ...
, 53.5%; Asians, 32.2%; whites, 7.4%;
blacks Black is a racialized classification of people, usually a political and skin color-based category for specific populations with a mid to dark brown complexion. Not all people considered "black" have dark skin; in certain countries, often in ...
, 4.8%, and others, 2%. Korea (28.6%) and Mexico (23.9%) were the most common places of birth for the 68% of the residents who were born abroad, a figure that is considered high compared to the city as a whole. The median annual household income in 2008 dollars was $30,558, a low figure for Los Angeles, and the percentage of households that earned less than $20,000 was high. The average household size of 2.7 people was about the same as the rest of the city. Renters occupied 93% of the housing units, and house- or apartment owners the rest. In 2020, approximately 600 residents were unhoused. The percentages of never-married men and women, 44.6% and 36.2%, respectively, were among the county's highest. There were 2,833 military veterans in 2000, or 3.3%, a low figure for Los Angeles.


Economy

Olympic Boulevard has blocks dominated by Korean-language signs and new blue-tile-roofed shopping centers. This initial Korean business area has spread to an area bounded by Olympic Boulevard, Vermont Avenue, 8th Street and Western Avenue. The Korean business area also sprawls to the north and south along Western and Vermont for three miles, and to the east and west along Olympic for two miles. South Korean investment has been a large contributor to the neighborhood economy since the 1960s. Since the early 2000s, that investment has increased greatly, ballooning to an estimated $1 billion in new construction investment. Jamison Services, Inc is Koreatown's biggest landlord and most prolific residential builder. The area also has a vibrant nightlife with many lively restaurants and clubs, especially Korean barbeque restaurants and karaoke bars.
Asiana Airlines Asiana Airlines Inc. ( ) is a South Korean airline headquartered in Seoul.Home
." Asiana Airlines. Retrieved 13 September 2 ...
operates a sales office in Koreatown.
Korean Air Korean Air Co., Ltd. (), operating as Korean Air (Korean Air Lines before 1984), is the flag carrier of South Korea and its largest airline based on fleet size, international destinations and international flights. The present-day Korean Air ...
's United States Passenger Operations headquarters are located in close proximity to Koreatown in the Westlake community.
Grupo TACA Transportes Aereos del Continente Americano, (''Air Transports of the American Continent'', known and branded formerly as TACA International), operating as Avianca El Salvador, is an airline owned by Kingsland Holdings based in El Salvador. As T ...
operates a Los Angeles-area TACA Center in Suite 100P at 3600 Wilshire Boulevard. The Consulate-General of South Korea in Los Angeles is at 3243
Wilshire Boulevard Wilshire Boulevard is a prominent boulevard in the Los Angeles area of Southern California, extending from Ocean Avenue in the city of Santa Monica east to Grand Avenue in the Financial District of downtown Los Angeles. One of the principal ...
.Contact us
." '' Consulate-General of South Korea in Los Angeles''. Retrieved on December 24, 2008.
The Consulate General of the People's Republic of China in Los Angeles is at 443 Shatto Place, while the passport and visa office is on the third floor of 500 Shatto Place. The Consulate General of El Salvador is at 3450 Wilshire Blvd. Suite 25

and the list of diplomatic missions of Guatemala, Consulate General of Guatemala is at 3540 Wilshire Blvd. Suite 10

The list of diplomatic missions of Honduras, Consulate General of Honduras

and
Nicaragua Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the cou ...
are at 3550 Wilshire Blvd. The Consulate General of Bolivia is at 3701 Wilshire Blvd #1056. The Consulate General of Indonesia is at 3457 Wilshire Blvd

while the Philippine Consulate General, Los Angeles, Consulate General of the Philippines, which has been in Koreatown since 1967, is presently located next door at the fifth floor of the Equitable Life Building at 3435 Wilshire Blvd.


Government

The Wilshire Center - Koreatown Neighborhood Council is designated by the City of Los Angeles to represent the area's citizens' concerns to the city. The area represented by the council includes Koreatown and
Wilshire Center Wilshire Center is a neighborhood in the Wilshire region of Los Angeles, California. Geography The name "Wilshire Center" is a relatively modern moniker that refers to much of the eastern portion of the Wilshire Community Plan area (CPA), ge ...
, as well as parts of
MacArthur Park MacArthur Park (originally Westlake Park) is a park dating back to the late 19th century in the Westlake, Los Angeles, Westlake neighborhood of Los Angeles. In the early 1940s, it was renamed after General Douglas MacArthur, and later designated ...
,
Hancock Park Hancock Park is a city park in the Miracle Mile section of the Mid-Wilshire neighborhood in Los Angeles, California. The park's destinations include the La Brea Tar Pits; the adjacent George C. Page Museum of La Brea Discoveries, which display ...
, and
Mid-Wilshire Mid-Wilshire is a neighborhood in the central region of Los Angeles, California. It is known for the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Petersen Automotive Museum, and the Miracle Mile shopping district. Geography City of Los Angeles bounda ...
.


Representatives

Koreatown lies within
Los Angeles City Council District 10 Los Angeles City Council District 10 is one of the 15 districts of the Los Angeles City Council. It is located in southern Central Los Angeles and northern South Los Angeles. Heather Hutt has been councilmember since 2022 after Herb Wesson, who ...
. As of 2020, it is represented on the
city council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counc ...
by Mark Ridley-Thomas. The area is represented by
Holly Mitchell Holly J. Mitchell (born September 7, 1964) is an American politician currently serving as a member of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. A Democrat, Mitchell served as a State Senator for California's 30th senate district from 2013 ...
,
Supervisor A supervisor, or lead, (also known as foreman, boss, overseer, facilitator, monitor, area coordinator, line-manager or sometimes gaffer) is the job title of a lower-level management position that is primarily based on authority over workers or ...
of District 2 for
Los Angeles County Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles, and sometimes abbreviated as L.A. County, is the most populous county in the United States and in the U.S. state of California, with 9,861,224 residents estimated as of 2022. It is the ...
.
Miguel Santiago Miguel Santiago (born March 6, 1973) is an American politician, currently serving in the California State Assembly, where he serves as chairman of the Communications and Conveyance Committee. Santiago is a Democrat representing the 53rd Asse ...
is the State Assemblyman for District 53, which includes Koreatown.
Jimmy Gomez Jimmy Gomez (born November 25, 1974) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for since 2017. His district includes the Los Angeles neighborhoods of Eagle Rock, Boyle Heights, Downtown Los Angeles, Koreatown, and other com ...
of California's 34th congressional district represents the area in the
United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...
.


Fire service

Four Fire Stations of the
Los Angeles Fire Department The Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD or LA City Fire) provides emergency medical services, fire cause determination, fire prevention, fire suppression, hazardous materials mitigation, and technical rescue services to the city of Los Angeles ...
serve Koreatown: Station 29 serving Southwest Koreatown at Wilshire Blvd. and Wilton Avenue.
Station 13 serving Southeast Koreatown at Pico Blvd. and Westmoreland Avenue.
Station 52 serving Northwest Koreatown at Melrose Avenue and Western Avenue.
Station 6 serving Northeast Koreatown at Temple Street and Virgil Avenue.


Police service

The
Los Angeles Police Department The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), officially known as the City of Los Angeles Police Department, is the municipal police department of Los Angeles, California. With 9,974 police officers and 3,000 civilian staff, it is the third-large ...
provides police service to the City of Los Angeles, broken up into 21 local divisions. Koreatown is served by Olympic Division. The new station completed construction and opened for service on January 4, 2009.


Education

21.4% of Koreatown residents aged 25 and older have a four-year degree, an average rate for both the city and the county. The percentage of residents with less than a high school diploma was high for the county. Schools within the Koreatown borders are: *
Central City Value Central City Value High School or CCVHS is an alternative charter high school of the Los Angeles Unified School District located in Koreatown, central Los Angeles, California California is a state in the Western United States, located a ...
,
LAUSD Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) is a public school district in Los Angeles, California, United States. It is the largest public school system in California in terms of number of students and the 2nd largest public school district in ...
charter high school, 221 North Westmoreland Avenue * Ambassador School of Global Leadership, LAUSD K-12, 701 South Catalina Street * New Open World Academy, LAUSD K-12, 3201 West Eighth Street * UCLA Community School, LAUSD K-12, 701 South Catalina Street * Virgil Middle School, LAUSD, 152 North Vermont Avenue *
Young Oak Kim Academy Young Oak Kim Academy (YOKA) is a middle school within the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), Local District 4. It was established in 2009 as the only middle school in the LAUSD to practice single-sex education.Connie Llanos"LAUSD school ...
, LAUSD, 615 S. Shatto Place * Cahuenga Elementary School, LAUSD, 220 South Hobart Boulevard *
Saint Brendan Brendan of Clonfert (c. AD 484 - c.577), is one of the early Celtic Christianity, Irish monastic saints and one of the Twelve Apostles of Ireland. He is also referred to as Brendan the Navigator, Brendan the Voyager, Brendan the Anchorite, Br ...
School, private elementary, 238 South Manhattan Place * New Horizon School/Los Angeles, private elementary, 434 South Vermont Avenue * Saint James' Episcopal Day School, private elementary, 625 South Saint Andrews Place * Camino Nuevo Charter Academy, LAUSD charter, 697 South Burlington Avenue * Saint Gregory Nazianzen, private elementary, 911 South Norton Avenue * Wilton Place Elementary School, LAUSD, 745 South Wilton Place * Hobart Boulevard Elementary School, LAUSD, 980 South Hobart Boulevard * Mariposa-Nabi Primary Center, LAUSD, 987 South Mariposa Avenue * Pilgrim School, private preK-12, 540 South Commonwealth Avenue * Larchmont Charter School - Layfayette Park Campus, 8-12, 2801 W 6th Street * Berendo Middle school - 1157 S Berendo St, Los Angeles, CA 90006 * Los Angeles Senior High - 4650 W Olympic Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90019


Other education

The Korean Education Center, affiliated with the government of South Korea, is in Suite 200 at 680 Wilshire Place.
Southwestern Law School Southwestern Law School is a private law school in Mid-Wilshire, Los Angeles. It is accredited by the American Bar Association and enrolls nearly 1,000 students. Its campus includes the Bullocks Wilshire building, an art deco National Register ...
offers degree and non-degree programs in the Westmoreland Building and the former
Bullock's Wilshire Bullocks Wilshire, located at 3050 Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles, California, is a Art Deco building. The building opened in September 1929 as a luxury department store for owner John G. Bullock (owner of the more mainstream Bullock's in Down ...
building at 3050 Wilshire Boulevard.


Public libraries

* Pio Pico Koreatown Branch Library (피오 피코 코리아타운 도서관) of the
Los Angeles Public Library The Los Angeles Public Library system (LAPL) is a public library system in Los Angeles, California. The system holds more than six million volumes, and with around 19 million residents in the Los Angeles Metropolitan area, it serves the large ...
serves the area.


Festivals

Annual festivals include the
Korean Korean may refer to: People and culture * Koreans, ethnic group originating in the Korean Peninsula * Korean cuisine * Korean culture * Korean language **Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Chosŏn'gŭl **Korean dialects and the Jeju language ** ...
Festival & Parade on Olympic Boulevard, with a march to the Seoul Peace Park. The Wilshire Center Business Improvement District (WCBID) holds the annual Earth Day / Car Free Day Festival every April 22 on Wilshire. KTOWN Night Market holds an annual festival at
Robert F. Kennedy Community Schools The Robert F. Kennedy Community Schools, called the RFK Community Schools, is a complex of public schools in Los Angeles, California. This was formerly the site of the Ambassador Hotel, the site of the June 1968 assassination of presidential ca ...
.


Community organizations

* The popular Anderson-Munger YMCA at 3rd and Oxford offers swimming, exercise programs, child and teen programs, and social services to the community. * Koreatown Immigrant Workers Alliance
KIWA
organizes in the community on behalf of social change.


Transportation

The
Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LACMTA), commonly branded as Metro, LA Metro, and L.A. Metro, is the state agency that plans, operates, and coordinates funding for most of the transportation system in Los Angele ...
operates two subway lines in or near Koreatown — the B Line, beneath Vermont Avenue, and the D Line, beneath
Wilshire Boulevard Wilshire Boulevard is a prominent boulevard in the Los Angeles area of Southern California, extending from Ocean Avenue in the city of Santa Monica east to Grand Avenue in the Financial District of downtown Los Angeles. One of the principal ...
. The neighborhood is served primarily by the D Line Wilshire/Normandie station, but there are two other stops, Wilshire/Vermont and Wilshire/Western. In addition to the two subway lines, Metro operates numerous
Express Express or EXPRESS may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * '' Express: Aisle to Glory'', a 1998 comedy short film featuring Kal Penn * '' The Express: The Ernie Davis Story'', a 2008 film starring Dennis Quaid Music * ''Express'' ...
,
Rapid Rapids are sections of a river where the river bed has a relatively steep gradient, causing an increase in water velocity and turbulence. Rapids are hydrological features between a ''run'' (a smoothly flowing part of a stream) and a ''cascade''. ...
and
Local Local may refer to: Geography and transportation * Local (train), a train serving local traffic demand * Local, Missouri, a community in the United States * Local government, a form of public administration, usually the lowest tier of administrat ...
bus lines in the district. Rapid lines include the 720 Wilshire and 754 Vermont. Local lines include the 207 Western, 20 Wilshire/Westwood, 204 Vermont, 206 Normandie, and 210 Crenshaw. Many MTA bus lines in Koreatown offer 24-hour service. The LADOT operates three district-to-district DASH routes, one Commuter Express line and Cityride. Koreatown is served by DASH Hollywood/Wilshire line and Dash Koreatown. The DASH lines are meant for local neighborhood transportation; their routes are shorter than MTA lines. DASH service ends at 7pm weekdays and only Dash Koreatown operates on weekends, ending service at 6pm. DASH fares are 50 cents. Commuter Express line 534
Century City Century City is a 176-acre (71.2 ha) neighborhood and business district in Los Angeles, California. Located on the Westside to the south of Santa Monica Boulevard around 10 miles (16 km) west of Downtown Los Angeles, Century City is one of ...
provides weekday service while Cityride offers door to door dial-a-ride service for the elderly and disabled.


Notable places

* The Korean American National Museum - 3727 West 6th Street * The Korean Cultural Center - 5505 Wilshire Boulevard * Koreatown Plaza - 928 South Western Avenue * Chapman Park Market, 3405 West 6th StreetPiccalo, Gina (October 21, 2000
"A New Generation Savors the Pleasure of the City's First Mall"
''Los Angeles Times''
* The
Wiltern Theater The Pellissier Building and adjoining Wiltern Theatre is a 12-story, Art Deco landmark at the corner of Wilshire Boulevard and Western Avenue in Los Angeles, California. The entire complex is commonly referred to as the Wiltern Center. Clad in a ...
at Wilshire Boulevard and Western Avenue. * Liberty Park - 3700 Wilshire Boulevard * LA Metro subway station, Western Avenue and Wilshire Boulevard. * Bimini Baths


See also

*
History of the Korean Americans in Los Angeles As of 2008, the sixty thousand ethnic Koreans in Greater Los Angeles constituted the largest Korean community in the United States. Their number made up 15 percent of the country's Korean American population.Kim, Jongyun, p75 History A first wa ...
*
Korean Bell of Friendship The Korean Bell of Friendship (more commonly called Korean Friendship Bell) is a massive bronze bell housed in a stone pavilion in Angel's Gate Park, in the San Pedro neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. Located at the corner of Gaffey and ...


Notes


References


Further reading/viewing

* Nancy Abelmann and John Lie, ''Blue dreams: Korean Americans and the Los Angeles riots'' (1997) * H.C. Laux and G. Theme, "Koreans in Greater Los Angeles: socioeconomic polarization, ethnic attachment, and residential patterns," in W. Li, ed. ''From urban enclave to ethnic suburb: New Asian communities in Pacific Rim countries'' (U of Hawaii Press, 2006) pp 95–118 * Lee, Dong Ok. "Responses to Spatial Rigidity in Urban Transformation: Korean Business Experience in Los Angeles," ''International Journal of Urban & Regional Research,'' March 1995, Vol. 19 Issue 1, pp 40–54 * Light, Ivan and Edna Bonacich. ''Immigrant Entrepreneurs: Koreans in Los Angeles, 1965-1982'' (1989). * Youngmin Lee and Kyonghwan Park, "Negotiating hybridity: transnational reconstruction of migrant subjectivity in Koreatown, Los Angeles," ''Journal of Cultural Geography,'' Oct 2008, Vol. 25 Issue 3, pp 245–262 *Kim, Katherine Yungmee, "Los Angeles's Koreatown" (2010) *Lee, Sum Tin Wong, " The Ups and Downs of Koreatown" (1997) *''Visiting... with
Huell Howser Huell Burnley Howser (October 18, 1945 – January 7, 2013) was an American television personality, actor, producer, writer, singer, and voice artist, best known for hosting, producing, and writing ''California's Gold'' and his human interest sh ...
'' Episode 102


External links


Wilshire Center—Koreatown Neighborhood Council
{{authority control Neighborhoods in Los Angeles Central Los Angeles Koreatowns in the United States Asian-American culture in Los Angeles Ethnic enclaves in California Korean-American culture in Los Angeles Wilshire, Los Angeles