Koreatown, Los Angeles
Koreatown (Korean: 코리아타운) is a neighborhood in central Los Angeles, California, centered near Eighth Street and Irolo Street.[2]
For other Koreatowns, see Koreatown.
Koreatown
United States
Jimmy Gomez (D)
2.7 sq mi (7 km2)
124,281
46,208/sq mi (17,841/km2)
Population changes significantly depending on areas included and recent growth.
Koreans began immigrating in larger numbers in the 1960s and found housing in the Mid-Wilshire area. Many opened businesses as they found rent and tolerance toward the growing Korean population. Many of the historic Art Deco buildings with terra cotta façades have been preserved because the buildings remained economically viable for the new businesses.[3]
Despite the name evoking a traditional ethnic enclave, 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.[4] 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.[1]
History[edit]
1900s–1980s[edit]
In 1882, the United States and Korea established the United States-Korea Treaty of 1882, which ended Korea's self-imposed isolation.[5] 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.[6]
By the 1930s, approximately 650 Koreans resided in Los Angeles.[6] They established churches, restaurants, and community organizations, as well as businesses that primarily focused on vegetable and fruit distribution.[6] In 1936, the Korean National Association, 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.[7] 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.[8] The 1930s also saw the height of the area's association with Hollywood. The Ambassador Hotel hosted the Academy Awards ceremony in 1930, 1931, 1932, and 1934.[9] As the entertainment industry grew in the surrounding Koreatown area, Koreans remained segregated into low-income districts because of discriminatory housing policies.[10] After the 1948 Shelley v. Kraemer Supreme Court case prohibited racially restrictive housing policies, Koreans began to move north of Olympic Boulevard to establish new homes and businesses.[10]
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.[11] 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.[3] The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 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.[10] 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.[10] The ethnic enclave was able to establish itself as the primary hub of the Korean community in Southern California,[12] and the residents successfully lobbied for the installation of the first Koreatown sign in 1982.[10]
1992 Los Angeles riots[edit]
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 spoke of this, along with Asian suspicion of Black residents in his 1991 album Death Certificate during the song "Black Korea".[13]
On March 16, 1991, a Korean store owner, Soon Ja Du, shot and killed a 15-year-old Black customer, Latasha Harlins. Du accused Harlins of stealing orange juice, and after watching her put down the jug and turn to leave, shot her in the head.[14] Some historians view Du's posting bail as the breaking point in tensions.[15]
The 1992 Los Angeles riots 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 and scapegoating. The conservatives emphasized law and order 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.[16][17] 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.[18]
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.[19] 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."[14] 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.[20]
An 18-year-old Korean American, Edward Song Lee, and his three friends went to protect a Korean-owned pizza shop, along with other store owners and volunteers who would constitute the rooftop Koreans. Lee was accidentally shot to death by Korean shopkeepers who mistook him and his friends for looters.[21] Hyungwon Kang captured a photograph of Lee's body in the street.[22]
The 1992 unrest 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).[23] 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.[24]
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.[22]
2000s–present[edit]
In late 2008, the City of Los Angeles designated Koreatown a special graphics district (along with Hollywood and the downtown neighborhood of South Park/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 and Shibuya 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.[25]
Koreatown is now a commercially driven area, but continues to have problems of poverty and gentrification.[6] The construction of the Robert F. Kennedy Community Schools at the former site of the Ambassador Hotel highlighted the challenge of balancing resource expansion with business development and historic preservation.[10] The schools were constructed with the intention of increasing educational opportunities for low-income Latina/Latino and Korean students,[26] but the $578 million construction cost made the complex the most expensive public school in United States history.[26] By 2020, Koreatown was "known for having one of the largest concentrations of nightclubs and 24-hour businesses and restaurants in the country.[27] 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.[10] Protests against and in favor of building a homeless shelter took place in 2020.[27]
Since Koreatown has a Latino majority,[28] it is not unusual to find Latino employees in restaurants and grocery stores speaking Korean with customers or Korean store owners engaging Latino customers in Spanish.[29] 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 infused with Korean ingredients.[30]