Koreatown
From Free net encyclopedia
Koreatown (Hangul: 코리아타운) is a term to describe the Korean ethnic enclave within a city or metropolitan area.
Canada
Toronto, Ontario
Main article: Koreatown, Toronto
Toronto's primary Korea Town is located on Bloor Street, roughly between Bathurst and Christie Streets. A secondary concentration may be found on Yonge Street, between Sheppard Ave. and north of Steeles Ave. A grand and impressive Korean supermarket is located on Yonge and is now developing into a Korean Cultural Centre as well.
Vancouver, British Columbia
The major Korean shopping enclave is located along North Road, on the border between Burnaby and Coquitlam. Other important Korean commercial areas include Kingsway in Vancouver and Robson Street in the West End.
China
Beijing
Prominent areas include Wudaokou and Wangjing.
Shenyang
Shenyang has a large Koreatown.
Hong Kong
The Koreatown is located in Kimberley Street in Tsim Sha Tsui.
Japan
During the 1910 to 1945 colonial period, particularly during World War II, Japan forcibly imported approximately 2.4 million Koreans to work as laborers. While most departed after the war, many chose to remain in hopes of better economic prospects. Today, Koreans, or the zainichi chosenjin, are the largest ethnic minority in Japan, amounting to 620,000 in 2002. They are a key source of remittances to North Korea.
Osaka, Osaka
Main article: Koreatown, Osaka
The Korean enclave in the city of Osaka, numbering over 90,000, is by far the largest in Japan, concentrated in the Ikuno Ward, where 25% of the inhabitants are of Korean origin. Tsuruhashi in the Ward is the most famous Koreatown in Japan. The total Korean population in Osaka prefecture amounted to 150,000 in 2002.
Shinjuku, Tokyo
According to official statistics in 2002, the Korean population in Tokyo amounted to 80,000, which was the second largest following that of Osaka. Unlike other Japanese Koreatowns, the small Korean-oriented commercial district in Shijuku Ward developed after World War II, and is dominated by immigrants who have retained their ethnic identity. Shin-Okubo Station is a famous area for these immigrants.
Kawasaki, Kanagawa
Approximately 3000 ethnic Koreans live in Kawasaki. Although most have assimilated, it remains one of the largest concentrations of Korean-Japanese in Eastern Japan.
Kyoto, Kyoto
A small Koreatown has developed in the Gion neighborhood (the Geisha district) of Kyoto. Kyoto prefecture is home to approximately 38,000 ethnic Koreans in 2002.
Malaysia
Kuala Lumpur
Ampang is an area long known for its large number of Korean expatriates. It has recently seen a huge increase of Korean restaurants, churches, and groceries, specifically around the area of Ampang Point. Mont Kiara located southwestern of downtown Kuala Lumpur also houses a significant number of Korean businesses.
Thailand
Bangkok
A few blocks of Sukhumvit Rd, one of Bangkok's main street, is filled with Korean Restaurants, Stores, PC rooms and Karaoke lounges.
United States
A Korean American is a person of Korean ancestry who was either born in or is an immigrant to the United States.
Annandale, Virginia
Although not officially titled a Koreatown, it is considered the "Korean Town" of the Washington, DC metropolitan area, and hosts the third highest number of Korean Americans in the United States after Los Angeles and New York City. There is a significant number of Korean-owned businesses along Little River Turnpike, mainly restaurants. Annandale has just under 1,000 korean operated businesses. 90% of the Korean business in the Washington DC Area is conducted in this town.
Terming this area "Koreatown" offends some members of the area's civic associations who are mostly non-Asian and who protest whenever their hometown is referred to as a Korean enclave. Although there was a significant number of Korean Americans living in the area in past decades, it has declined in proportion to the rapidly increasing Hispanic population since the 1990s.
Congressman Thomas M. Davis, Republican Congressman, who administers the district in which Annandale exists, has recently supported a bill in Congress that allows the creation of "National Korean Day." This day of honor to the Korean-American community will be celebrated on January 13th.
Atlanta, Georgia
A small Korean commercial district has developed around Buford Highway in suburban Doraville. However, the area is not exclusively Korean; in the area are also many Chinese and Vietnamese businesses. A second center for ethnic Koreans has recently arisen in the Duluth district. Even here, there are over 45 other dialects spoken. Other areas are developing rapidly along South Cobb Drive in Smyrna, the suburb of Norcross, and Memorial Drive in Stone Mountain.
Bergen County, New Jersey
A significant number of Korean immigrants and their descendants now live in Bergen County. They are most prevalent in communities such as Fort Lee, Englewood Cliffs, Palisades Park, Cliffside Park, and Edgewater, communities near the New Jersey side of the George Washington Bridge.
Chicago, Illinois
Chicago's Koreatown is located along Lawrence Avenue in the Albany Park neighborhood on the city's Northwest Side. The city of Chicago, along with various corporations, sponsors an annual Korean Festival on Bryn Mawr Avenue, between Kimball and Kedzie.
There is also a significant Korean commercial area located on Lincoln Avenue south of Peterson and north of Foster.
Dallas, Texas
A sizeable Koreatown can be found in Dallas, though this mostly commercial area of the city has not been officially designated as such. The Koreatown is located near Interstate Highway 35, centering on the intersection of Royal Lane and Harry Hines Blvd. This area in the northwest part of the city is characterized by a large number of Korean-owned businesses serving the city's sizeable Korean American community.
Very few Korean Americans actually reside in the Dallas Koreatown, despite the concentration of Korean American commercial enterprise there. Most of the Korean Americans in the Dallas/Ft. Worth metropolitan area reside elsewhere in the two cities or in their many suburbs. As a result of this, there are relatively few Korean churches, often considered the social centers of Korean American communities, in the Koreatown area. Instead, one can find a large number of Korean restaurants, cafes, Korean-style karaoke bars (noraebang) featuring song selections in Korean and English, bars serving soju and fried chicken, Korean grocery stores (including the large Komart grocery store on Royal Ln.), gift shops featuring popular Asian cartoon paraphernalia (including an outlet store for the Korean chain Morning Glory), and discount retail stores.
The influx of these Korean-owned businesses into the area within the past two decades has been credited with revitalizing a once-deteriorating Dallas neighborhood, previously characterized by adult entertainment centers and prostitution. Some remnants of this past can still be seen in the area today. The Sam Moon shopping center, specializing in leather goods and household items, is one Koreatown establishment that proved remarkably popular with non-Korean Americans. Its proprieter has since opened store locations in outlying Dallas suburbs, such as Frisco.
In addition to Koreatown, smaller concentrations of Korean businesses can be found in the Dallas suburbs of Garland (most notably at the intersection of Walnut St. and Plano Rd.) and Richardson (more notable for its large Chinese and Vietnamese American shopping centers along Greenville Ave. between Arapaho Rd. and Belt Line Rd.), Irving, and the Ft. Worth suburb of Arlington, among others.
Denver, Colorado
Located just east of Denver proper in neighboring Aurora, Denver's Koreatown (though not officially named as such) contains Korean restaurants, shops, churches and grocery stores.
Houston, Texas
A Koreatown can be found in Houston along Long Point intersecting Gessner, north of Interstate 10. There are many restaurants, grocery stores, bakeries and other businesses there.
Los Angeles, California
Main article: Koreatown, Los Angeles, California
The Greater Los Angeles Area is home to the largest number of ethnic Koreans outside of Asia. Koreatown, also known as Wilshire Center (and including neighborhoods formerly known as Harvard Heights and Pico Heights), is an officially recognized district of the city. Koreans began to move into the area in the late 1960s, establishing numerous businesses although never outnumbering Latino residents. The borders of Koreatown were previously defined as being between Vermont and Western Ave, but today the area extends far beyond those streets.
Miami/Ft. Lauderdale, Florida
Korea Town is located in Hollywood Boulevard and SR 441 (near Florida's Turnpike). There are Korean grocery markets, hair salons, video stores, karaoke, and restaurants in the area, as well as several nearby Korean churches.
New York City
Main article: Koreatown, Manhattan
The area around Sixth Avenue (Avenue of the Americas) and 32nd Street in Manhattan has emerged as an enclave of Korean restaurants and businesses. It is this neighborhood, near Herald Square, which is usually named as New York's Koreatown; however, a significant Korean population and commercial center can be found in Queens, especially in neighborhoods such as Elmhurst and Flushing. Although commonly referred to as New York City's Koreatown, the proper nomenclature is "Korea Way," as evidenced by the name found on street signs in the area.
Oakland, California
A strip of Korean businesses along Telegraph Avenue near the MacArthur BART station has developed into a genuine cultural center for the 60,000-odd ethnic Korean Americans in the San Francisco Bay Area. The emergence of this area has coincided with urban renewal and gentrification in downtown Oakland, provoking some conflict with the more established African-American population.
Another center is 14th Street, between Franklin and Jackson Streets next to Chinatown.
Orange County, California
Orange County's Koreatown (known as Little Seoul) is located in Garden Grove along Garden Grove Boulevard between Brookhurst Street and Beach Boulevard. Other significant Korean enclaves in Orange County include Buena Park, Cypress, Fullerton, Irvine, and La Palma.
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
The Olney neighborhood in Philadelphia is recognized as the largest Korean American enclave in the city. Korean businesses are congregated on 5th Street, north of Roosevelt Boulevard. There are also other Korean business strips along Cheltenham Avenue, Tabor Road, and Castor Avenue. In the suburbs, Cheltenham, Pennsylvania (which is on the other side of the city line from Olney) and Upper Darby, Pennsylvania have significant Korean American populations and businesses that target the Korean American community.
San Diego, California
Korean businesses in San Diego are most concentrated in the Kearny Mesa area, particularly along Convoy Street between Clairemont Mesa Boulevard and south of Balboa Avenue.
Seattle, Washington
There is a high concentration of Korean businesses along Washington State Route 99 in Tacoma, Federal Way, Shoreline, Mountlake Terrace, and Lynnwood.
Santa Clara, California
The strip of El Camino Real between Fremont Ave. and San Tomas Expressway has a large amount of Korean owned shops. Korean residents of the Santa Clara County often congregate to this area, as all three Korean markets in the South Bay are located within this strip of El Camino. Even though it is not designated as such, this area can be defined as a Koreatown.
United Kingdom
London, England
New Malden has probably the largest expatriate community of South Koreans in Britain. According to the Korean Residents Society, the Korean population in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames is about 3,500 to 4,500, mostly in New Malden.