Mass Korean immigration to the United States began in the 1950s, with a large wave occurring over the 1960s and 1970s. Koreans historically came to theNew York metropolitan area with the intention of permanently settling in the city and establishing businesses. Originally, ethnic Koreans settled in highly urbanized neighborhoods inManhattan andQueens, but beginning in the 1980s, wealthier Koreans began moving to suburban communities in nearbyBergen County, New Jersey across theGeorge Washington Bridge, alongside theHudson River—as well as to adjacentNassau County (onLong Island) andWestchester County, both locally withinNew York State itself. Many ethnic Koreans moved into areas already settled by the metropolitanJapanese community. By 1988, there were about 150,000 ethnic Koreans living in the New York City area.[9] In the 1980s, a continuous stream ofKorean immigrants also emerged into theLong Island Koreatown, many of whom began as employees in themedical field or as Koreaninternational students who had moved to New York City to find or initiate professional orentrepreneurial positions.[1] They established a foothold on Union Street in theFlushing neighborhood of Queens, between 35th and 41st Avenues,[1] featuring restaurants andkaraoke (noraebang) bars, grocery markets, education centers andbookstores, banking institutions, offices,consumer electronics vendors,apparelboutiques, and other commercial enterprises.[2] In 1990, Korean-American owned shops were boycotted in theFlatbush section ofBrooklyn; the boycott started byBlack Nationalist,Sonny Carson, lasted for six months and became known as theFlatbush boycott. In September 2023,Oh Se-hoon, themayor of Seoul, met with New York City mayorEric Adams in Manhattan to deepen the cultural and economic ties between Seoul and New York City.[10]
Manhattan's Koreatown is primarily a Korean business district inMidtown Manhattan, but since 2008, the district has seen an increase in Korean,Japanese, andEuropean traffic as well,[11] and the resident Korean population in the area has grown concomitantly. There was never a formal plan or agreement to create a Korean commercial district inManhattan. However, given the high levels of tourist traffic stemming from its proximity to theEmpire State Building,[11]Macy's Herald Square,Penn Station,[11]Madison Square Garden, theGarment District, and the Flower District, amongst other Midtown Manhattan landmarks, it was an ideal location forKorean immigrants to settle. Initiated by the opening of a Korean bookstore and a handful of restaurants in the 1980s, Koreatown sprang into being. With their success, an additional stream of Korean-owned businesses took root in the neighborhood, coinciding with increased immigration fromKorea; and with rising demand for the prime location, overall property values in the area increased as well.[11] According to the 2010 United States Census, the Korean population of Manhattan (co-extensive withNew York County) had nearly doubled to approximately 20,000 over the decade since the 2000 Census.[12] AlthoughKorea Way continues to represent the heart of Koreatown, situated betweenBroadway,Sixth Avenue, andFifth Avenue, Koreatown itself has been expanding further eastward from Fifth Avenue alongEast 32nd Street, towardPark Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, in the direction ofQueens.[13][14][15] Koreatown, Manhattan has become described as the "KoreanTimes Square" and has emerged as the international economic outpost for the Koreanchaebol.[16] More broadly, Koreatown is attracting new Korean residents to the adjacent Manhattan neighborhoods ofMurray Hill,Kips Bay, andRose Hill. The world's largest international Korean Pride Festival was inaugurated in Koreatown, Manhattan in October 2022 and has been growing on an annual basis.
As the community grew in wealth, population, andsocioeconomic status, Koreans expanded their presence eastward alongNorthern Boulevard, buying homes[5] in moreaffluent and less crowded Queens neighborhoods and more recently into adjacent suburbanNassau County, bringing their businesses with them, and thereby expanding the Koreatown itself.[2] This expansion has led to the creation of an AmericanMeokjagolmok, or KoreanRestaurant Street, around theLong Island Rail Road station in Murray Hill, Queens, exuding the ambience ofSeoul itself.[2] The eastward pressure to expand was also created by the inability to move westward, inhibited by the formidable presence of the enormousFlushing Chinatown centered onMain Street.[1] Per the 2010 United States Census, the Korean population of Queens was 64,107,[17] while the Korean population of Nassau County had increased by nearly two-thirds to approximately 14,000 over one decade since the 2000 Census.[18]Korean Air andAsiana Airlines providenon-stop flights fromSeoul toJFK Airport[19][20] in Queens, and theConsulate-General of South Korea in Manhattan has played an important role in mediating travel to and from Korea by theKorean diaspora living in the New York metropolitan area.
Korean language schools in the New York City region tend to have distincteducational missions and clienteles, and each school has its own distinct management. Because, as of 1988, ethnic Koreans settling in New York City generally intended to permanently immigrate to the United States, the only Korean-oriented schools that year were supplementary institutions holding classes on Saturdays and Sundays.[21]
Korean churches typically hold Korean language classes for a half to one hour per week during Sundays. In addition to the churches, there are non-religious operators of Korean schools. In 1988, theConsulate-General of South Korea in New York stated that about 40% of the Korean schools in the New York City area were non-religious.[21] The first Korean schools were established by ethnic Korean churches.[22]
The Korean School of New York was the first secular Korean school established in the city, opening in 1973. The founder, who remained as the school's principalacademic administrator in 1988, believed that Korean language education should be separate from religion.[21] As of 1988, this school had 205 students.[23]
The Korean School of Queens originated as a church-operated school, and as of 1988, offered classes for elderly persons and children.[21] In that year, the school had 141 enrolled students.[23] As of 1988, the Korean School of New Jersey (뉴저지 한국학교) had 262 students,[23] making it the largest Korean school in the New York City area, serving students living in suburbs innorthern New Jersey.[21] In 1988, the Church ofBrooklyn Korean Language School had 120 students, theBroadway Korean School of New York had 97 students, theWestchester Korean School had 50 students, and thePearl River Korean School had 36 students.[23] In 2014, the McGoldrick Branch of theQueens Library inFlushing began holding Korean language classes.[24]
Approximately fifteen restaurants conduct business24/7 onKorea Way inKoreatown, Manhattan.[25] Korean restaurants in the district have had to expand or stay open around the clock to meet rising commercial rents and stay financially viable, given the growing prestige and high customer volume generated by foot traffic in Koreatown, Manhattan, and greater investment and involvement by the Koreanchaebol.[16][26] Historically known as a more tourist-oriented alternative to the residential and somewhat suburban Flushing andMurray Hill, Queens in the nearbyLong Island Koreatown, Koreatown in Manhattan has since developed a reputation as an authentic Korean dining destination.[26]
Recognition by chefs and authenticity of Korean cuisine in Queens
According toThe New York Times, a "Kimchi Belt" stretches alongNorthern Boulevard and theLong Island Rail Road tracks, fromFlushing, Queens, eastward intoNassau County, in theLong Island Koreatown. A prominent Korean food chef stated that "Queens is the closest you can come to authentic Korean food."[27] The Long Island Koreatown features numerous restaurants that serve both traditional and/orregional Korean cuisine. The development of this Koreatown has led to the creation of an AmericanMeokjagolmok, or KoreanRestaurant Street, around the Long Island Rail Road station inMurray Hill, Queens, exuding the ambience ofSeoul itself.[2]Korean Chinese cuisine is also available in the Long Island Koreatown.[27]
Broad Avenue inKoreatown, Palisades Park inBergen County,New Jersey has been referred to as the "Korean food walk of fame", with diverse offerings. Palisades Park's Koreatown now incorporates the highest concentration of Korean restaurants within a one-mile radius in the United States,[28] and Broad Avenue has evolved into aKorean dessert destination as well.[29][30]Korean Chinese cuisine is now also available in Koreatown, as ismisugaru.[31]Bulgogi andgalbi are staples on Broad Avenue in the Palisades Park Koreatown. Koreancafés have become a major cultural element within Palisades Park's Koreatown, not only for the coffee,bingsu (shaved ice), andpastries, but also as communal gathering places.[32]Koreatown in Palisades Park, and its adjacently connected Koreatown inFort Lee, New Jersey, have emerged as a dominant nexus of Korean American culture.
TheK-pop industry is active in New York City, hosting numerous concerts in the city as well as being home to K-pop musicians. The musicalKPOP openedOff-Broadway in 2017 and moved toBroadway in 2022, withLuna in the starring role, and co-starring fellow K-pop starsKevin Woo,Min, andKim Bo-hyung.
Korean people have emerged prominently in the New York City journalism sphere. Thismedia subsection has been created to acknowledge this professional prominence.
Christine Chung – travel journalist,The New York Times[54]
Euny Hong – journalist, author ofBirth of Korean Cool: How One Nation is Conquering the World Through Pop Culture (2014), which has been published in seven languages
Min, Pyong Gap and Young I. Song. "Demographic Characteristics and Trends of Post-1965 Korean Immigrant Women and Men" (Chapter 5). In: Song, Young In and Ailee Moon (editors).Korean American Women: From Tradition to Modern Feminism.Greenwood Publishing Group, January 1, 1998. Start page 45.ISBN0275959775, 9780275959777.
^Gina Pace (April 26, 2015)."Koreatown in NYC is now being taken more seriously as a dining destination".New York Daily News. RetrievedMarch 6, 2018.Koreatown — long centered on 32nd St. between Fifth and Sixth Aves., nicknamed Korea Way — has expanded in recent months. The newBaekjeong spot, for example, is located just east of Fifth Ave...Kihyun Lee took an even bigger gamble by opening a dual-concept spot midblock on 31st St. between Fifth and Madison Aves...
^abSam Kim, photography by Gary He (July 31, 2018)."NYC's K-Town Isn't What It Used to Be". Vox Media. RetrievedNovember 22, 2018.Most mom-and-pops are gone, and 32nd Street is now dominated by chains due to high rents and policies in Korea itself.
^abGina Pace (April 26, 2015)."Koreatown in NYC is now being taken more seriously as a dining destination".New York Daily News. RetrievedFebruary 27, 2018.Koreatown — long centered on 32nd St. between Fifth and Sixth Aves., nicknamed Korea Way — has expanded in recent months. The new Baekjeong spot, for example, is located just east of Fifth Ave...Kihyun Lee took an even bigger gamble by opening a dual-concept spot midblock on 31st St. between Fifth and Madison Aves...
Kim, Claire Jean.Bitter Fruit: The Politics of Black-Korean Conflict in New York City.Yale University Press, February 1, 2003.ISBN0300093306, 9780300093308.
Kim, Jongyun.Adjustment Problems Among Korean Elderly Immigrants in New York and Los Angeles and Effects of Resources on Psychological Distress and Status in the Family (dissertation).ProQuest, 2008.ISBN0549566058, 9780549566052. UMI Number 3307607.
Min, Pyong Gap.Ethnic Solidarity for Economic Survival: Korean Greengrocers in New York City.Russell Sage Foundation, April 3, 2008.ISBN1610443985, 9781610443982.
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