Koreatown, Manhattan#Korea Way

Historically, Manhattan's Koreatown has been part of the Garment District. In the 1980s, a Korean bookstore and a handful of restaurants were founded in the area. Their success drew other Korean-owned businesses, sustained by increased immigration from Korea and the high levels of tourist traffic stemming from nearby Midtown Manhattan landmarks like the Empire State Building, Macy's Herald Square, the United Nations Headquarters, Penn Station, Madison Square Garden, the Garment District, and the Flower District.{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/19/realestate/19livi.html?pagewanted=all|title=Living In Koreatown Exotic Flavor, Beyond Just the Food|last=Baldwin|first=Deborah|date=October 17, 2008|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=October 4, 2013}} Today, Koreatown is primarily a Korean business district, but Japanese 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 of Murray Hill, Kips Bay, and Rose 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.

File:USA-NYC-Korea Way.JPG translation]]

From 2000 to 2010, the Korean population of Manhattan (co-extensive with New York County) nearly doubled, to about 20,000, according to the 2010 United States Census.{{cite web|url=http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/36/36061lk.html|title=New York County, New York QuickLinks|publisher=U.S. Census Bureau|access-date=2012-05-21|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130619140250/http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/36/36061lk.html|archive-date=2013-06-19}} Along with the Koreatowns in nearby Bergen County, New Jersey (in Palisades Park and Fort Lee) and Long Island (extending eastward from Flushing, Queens) in New York City, Manhattan's Koreatown serves as the cultural nexus for an overall Korean American population of 218,764 people in the New York City Metropolitan Area,{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov|title=Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics: 2010 Demographic Profile Data New York-Newark-Bridgeport, NY-NJ-CT-PA CSA|publisher=U.S. Census Bureau|access-date=2012-06-29}} the second-largest population of ethnic Koreans outside of Korea.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hCegCgAAQBAJ&q=new+york+second+largest+korean+population&pg=PA326|title=Savoring Gotham: A Food Lover's Companion to New York City: A Food Lover's...page 326|author=Chi-Hoon Kim|year=2015|isbn=9780190263638|access-date = October 11, 2015}}

File:koreatown manhattan 2009.JPG in Manhattan's Koreatown]]

The heart of Koreatown is the segment of 32nd Street between Fifth Avenue and Sixth Avenue, officially nicknamed Korea Way. Korea Way features stores and restaurants on multiple stories, with independently run establishments reaching up to higher floors, exuding an ambience of Seoul itself.{{cite web|url=http://www.metro.us/newyork/entertainment/article/1146050--seoul-searching-in-manhattan-s-koreatown|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130421233532/http://www.metro.us/newyork/entertainment/article/1146050--seoul-searching-in-manhattan-s-koreatown|url-status=dead|archive-date=2013-04-21|title=Seoul-searching in Manhattan's Koreatown|publisher=Copyright 2001-2012, Free Daily News Group Inc|author=Rebecca Finkel|date=2012-06-20|access-date=2012-10-03}} The New York City Korean Chamber of Commerce estimates there to be more than 100 small businesses on Korea Way.{{cite news|url=http://articles.nydailynews.com/2010-10-03/news/27076919_1_korean-barbecue-galbi-seoul|title=Your Nabe: From barbecue to karaoke, your guide to Koreatown|last=Yi|first=David|date=3 October 2010|work=Daily News|location=New York|access-date=19 April 2011|archive-date=26 April 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120426190356/http://articles.nydailynews.com/2010-10-03/news/27076919_1_korean-barbecue-galbi-seoul|url-status=dead}} Signage in Hangul 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 of nightlife in Manhattan.{{cite web|url=http://www.businessinsider.com/koreatown-new-york-2011-11|title=An Insider's Tour of Koreatown, A Slice Of Seoul In The Middle Of Manhattan|author=Meredith Galante|publisher=Business Insider|date=November 6, 2011|access-date=October 8, 2016}}

Korea Way features numerous restaurants{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/23/dining/reviews/23under.html|title=Snacking in Koreatown|last=Andrews|first=Betsy|date=22 March 2011|work=The New York Times|access-date=13 April 2011}}{{cite news|url=http://dinersjournal.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/03/22/koreatown-where-to-eat/|title=Koreatown: Where to Eat|author= Nick Fox|newspaper=The New York Times|date=2011-03-22|access-date=2012-10-03}}{{cite web|url=http://newyork.seriouseats.com/manhattan/koreatown/|title=Serious Eats New York: Manhattan: Koreatown|publisher =Serious Eats ©2006-2012|access-date=2012-10-03}} that serve both traditional and/or regional Korean cuisine and Korean fusion fare (including Korean Chinese cuisine{{cite web|url=http://newyork.grubstreet.com/2011/12/dong-chun-hong-opening-photos.html|title=First Look at Dong Chun Hong, Bringing Seoul-Based Korean-Chinese to K-Town|author=Jenny Miller|publisher=Copyright © 2009, New York Media LLC. All Rights Reserved|date=2011-12-22|access-date=2012-10-04}}), several bakeries, grocery stores, supermarkets, bookstores, consumer electronics outlets, video rental shops, tchotchke and stationery shops, hair and nail salons, noraebang singing bars, nightclubs, as well as cell phone service providers, internet cafés, doctors' offices, attorney offices, banks, and hotels. Numerous Japanese 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, toward Madison Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, in the direction of Queens and Nassau County.{{cite news|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/eats/koreatown-discerning-diners-article-1.2195196|title=Koreatown in NYC is now being taken more seriously as a dining destination|author=Gina Pace|newspaper=New York Daily News|date=April 26, 2015|access-date=October 10, 2015|quote=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...}}[http://www.mapquest.com/us/new-york/banks-new-york/shinhan-bank-america-274863217] Shinhan Bank America. Accessed April 18, 2015.[http://www.yelp.com/biz/dons-bogam-new-york] Don's Bogam Korean restaurant. Accessed April 18, 2015.

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Some 24/7 restaurants conduct business on Korea Way.{{cite web|url=http://newyork.seriouseats.com/2010/11/in_the_midnight_hour_bcd_tofu_house_in_koreatown.html|title=In The Midnight Hour: BCD Tofu House in Koreatown|first=Zachary|last=Feldman|date=2010-11-26|website=Serious Eats New York|access-date=2011-09-25|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110920064410/http://newyork.seriouseats.com/2010/11/in_the_midnight_hour_bcd_tofu_house_in_koreatown.html|archive-date=2011-09-20}} 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.{{cite web|url=https://ny.eater.com/2018/7/31/17633796/k-town-nyc-restaurants-chains-report|title=NYC's K-Town Isn't What It Used to Be|author=Sam Kim, photography by Gary He|publisher=Vox Media|date=July 31, 2018|access-date=November 21, 2018|quote=Most mom-and-pops are gone, and 32nd Street is now dominated by chains due to high rents and policies in Korea itself.}} Manhattan's Koreatown, historically known as a more tourist-oriented alternative to Flushing and Murray Hill, Queens (part of the Long Island Koreatown), has since developed a reputation as an authentic Korean dining destination.

{{Portal|Korea|New York City|New York (state)|South Korea|United States}}

• Koreans in New York City
• Korean diaspora
• List of U.S. cities with significant Korean American populations
• Midtown South

Other Koreatowns in the New York City region:

• Koreatown, Fort Lee
• Koreatown, Queens
• Koreatown, Palisades Park

{{reflist}}

• [https://web.archive.org/web/20120224055459/http://www.kamr.org/churches/search_maps?q=newyork,+ny&r=20 List of Korean-American Churches in New York Area]

{{Midtown South, Manhattan}}

{{Ethnicity in New York City}}

{{American Koreatowns}}

{{Manhattan}}

Category:Korean-American culture in New York City

Category:Koreatowns in the United States

Category:Midtown Manhattan

Category:Neighborhoods in Manhattan