Koreatown, Manhattan | |
|---|---|
 Koreatown at night (2013) | |
 Location in New York City | |
| Coordinates:40°44′49″N73°59′13″W / 40.747°N 73.987°W /40.747; -73.987 | |
| Country | United States |
| State | New York |
| City | New York City |
| Borough | Manhattan |
Koreatown (Korean: 코리아타운;RR: Koriataun), shortened toK-Town, is aKoreanenclave inMidtown Manhattan,New York City, centered on32nd Street betweenMadison Avenue and the intersection withSixth Avenue andBroadway, which is known asGreeley Square. The neighborhood inMidtown South features over 150 businesses of various types and sizes, ranging from small restaurants andbeauty salons to large branches of Korean bankingconglomerates. Koreatown, Manhattan, has become described as the "KoreanTimes Square" and has emerged as the international economic outpost for the Koreanchaebol.[1]
Historically, Manhattan'sKoreatown has been part of theGarment District. In the 1980s, a Koreanbookstore and a handful of restaurants were founded in the area. Their success drew other Korean-owned businesses, sustained by increased immigration fromKorea and the high levels of tourist traffic stemming from nearby Midtown Manhattan landmarks like theEmpire State Building,Macy's Herald Square, theUnited Nations Headquarters,Penn Station,Madison Square Garden, theGarment District, and the Flower District.[2] Today, Koreatown is primarily a Korean business district, butJapanese businesses have also emerged, and the resident Korean and Japanese populations in the area have grown as well. 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.
From 2000 to 2010, the Korean population of Manhattan (co-extensive withNew York County) nearly doubled, to about 20,000, according to the2010 United States census.[3] Along with the Koreatowns in nearbyBergen County,New Jersey (inPalisades Park andFort Lee) andLong Island (extending eastward fromFlushing, Queens) inNew York City, Manhattan's Koreatown serves as the cultural nexus for an overallKorean American population of 218,764 people in theNew York City Metropolitan Area,[4] the second-largest population of ethnic Koreans outside of Korea.[5]
The heart of Koreatown is the segment of32nd Street betweenFifth Avenue andSixth Avenue, officially nicknamedKorea Way. Korea Way features stores and restaurants on multiple stories, with independently run establishments reaching up to higher floors, exuding an ambience ofSeoul itself.[6][2][7] The New York City Korean Chamber of Commerce estimates there to be more than 100 small businesses on Korea Way.[8] Signage inHangul is ubiquitous. Koreatown's central location and high density of crowded restaurants, bars,karaoke clubs, and spas on Korea Way have rendered it a major tourist attraction and a center ofnightlife in Manhattan.[6]
Korea Way features numerous restaurants[9][10][11] that serve both traditional and/or regionalKorean cuisine and Koreanfusion fare (includingKorean Chinese cuisine[12]), severalbakeries, grocery stores, supermarkets, bookstores,consumer electronics outlets, video rental shops,tchotchke and stationery shops, hair andnail salons,noraebang singing bars,nightclubs, as well ascell phone service providers,internet cafés, doctors' offices, attorney offices, banks, and hotels. NumerousJapanese restaurants have also emerged in Manhattan's Koreatown. Although Korea Way continues to represent the heart of Koreatown, situated between Broadway, Sixth Avenue, and Fifth Avenue, Koreatown itself as of 2015 has been expanding further eastward from Fifth Avenue along East 32nd Street, towardMadison Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, in the direction ofQueens and Nassau County.[13][14][15]
Some24/7 restaurants conduct business on Korea Way.[16] 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 customer volume generated by foot traffic in and greater investment and involvement by the Korean chaebol.[1][13] Manhattan's Koreatown, historically known as a more tourist-oriented alternative toFlushing andMurray Hill, Queens (part of theLong Island Koreatown), has since developed a reputation as an authentic Korean dining destination.[13]
Other Koreatowns in the New York City region:
Most mom-and-pops are gone, and 32nd Street is now dominated by chains due to high rents and policies in Korea itself.
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...
