Quick History Lesson

Koreatown began in 1902 with the immigration of prominent activist Dosan Chang Ho Ahn with his wife Hye Ryeon Lee.

Most of us considered the Koreatown district in Los Angeles as the first establishment, but about five years ago, at the University of California, Riverside Professor Edward T. Chang stumbled upon a 1908 map issued by an insurance company labeled ‘Korean settlement in Riverside.

The first name of Koreatown Northgate district. It was not until the 1980s that local businessmen convinced city officials to designate the area as “Koreatown.”

Places to visit

A popular place to visit includes traditional Korean architecture at Dawoon Jung, the first Korean traditional monument built in Los Angeles.

For all the bookworms in this school, explore the book covers at Aladdin bookstore, a place like Barnes and Noble but with Korean letters and publications. It also sells new and used books of your preference. For people who like solving puzzles or just want to have a fun time yelling and fighting with friends, going to the maze room escape game is a great way to bond with family and yell at friends for doing the wrong thing while trying to solve puzzles. Some of the more advanced levels are Magic Kingdom and the Abyss. You do have to book in advance, though, so take it or leave it.

Places to Eat in Koreatown

Paris Baguette, a French-inspired cafe known for their French Pastries is a chain of famous bakeries in South Korea with a wide variety of pastries and cakes. I recommend trying the strawberry soft cream cake slice. Another place to try is Gol Tong Chicken where you can eat Korean fried chicken. Believe it or not, gol tong means a stubborn or dumb person in Korean it’s used in a silly way.

All pizza lovers if you want a variety of basic and wide selection then I recommend going to Koreatown Pizza Company. It offers a wide selection of pizza dishes, from the basics like cheese or pepperoni to Korean-style ones like KBBQ calzone, bulgogi, or Hawaiian (Yes, this one has pineapple in pizza), other popular choices are surf and turf and the Kingsley. If you like spicy food go try the spicy rice cakes at Yupdduk LA.