Title Koreatown, Los Angeles : immigration, race, and the "American dream" / Shelley Sang-Hee Lee

Published Stanford, California : Stanford University Press, [2022] ©2022

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Description 1 online resource (x, 199 pages) : illustrations, map Series Asian America Asian America. Contents The changing face of LA -- A little Seoul sprang up : place entrepreneurs and the Koreatown concept -- Searching for Koreatown : generational divides and cultural bridges in Korean America -- A small world : Korean Americans and global Los Angeles -- "Most of these areas were formerly Black" : interracial conflict in South Central and the burning of Koreatown -- A good comeback -- Epilogue: The Americanization of Koreatown and Koreatown-ification of Los Angeles Summary "Koreatown, Los Angeles tells the story of how one ethnic neighborhood came to signify a shared Korean American identity. At the turn of the twentieth century, Los Angeles's Korean population stood at about 186,000--the largest concentration of Koreans outside of Asia. Most of this growth took place following the passage of the Hart-Celler Act of 1965, which dramatically altered US immigration policy and ushered in a new era of mass immigration, particularly from Asia and Latin America. Over the following decades, Korean immigrants continued to build community in LA, and in 1979, a group of Koreans sought city development funds to turn the area around Olympic Boulevard near downtown Los Angeles into a full-fledged "Koreatown." As Korean immigrants seized the opportunity to purchase inexpensive commercial and residential property and transformed the area to serve their community's needs, other minority communities in nearby South LA--notably Black and Latino working-class communities--faced increasing segregation, urban poverty, and displacement. Beginning with the early development of LA's Koreatown and culminating with the 1992 Los Angeles riots and their aftermath, Shelley Sang-Hee Lee demonstrates how Korean Americans' lives were shaped by patterns of racial segregation and urban poverty, and legacies of anti-Asian racism and orientalism. "Koreatown, Los Angeles" tells the story of an American ethnic community often equated with socioeconomic achievement and assimilation, but whose experiences as racial minorities and immigrant outsiders illuminate key economic and cultural developments in the United States since 1965. Lee argues that building Koreatown was an urgent objective for Korean immigrants and US-born Koreans eager to carve out a spatial niche within Los Angeles to serve as an economic and social anchor for their growing community. More than a dot on a map, Koreatown holds profound emotional significance for Korean immigrants across the nation as a symbol of their shared bonds and place in American society"-- Provided by publisher Analysis 1992 Los Angeles Riots 1992 Los Angeles Uprising Asian American history Korea Town Korean Americans Koreatown Los Angeles US History Bibliography Includes bibliographical references and index Notes In English Online resource; title from digital title page (viewed on June 16, 2022) Subject Korean Americans -- California -- Los Angeles -- Social conditions -- 20th century Immigrants -- California -- Los Angeles -- Social conditions -- 20th century Minorities -- California -- Los Angeles -- Social conditions -- 20th century Racism against Asians -- California -- Los Angeles -- History -- 20th century HISTORY / United States / 20th Century. Immigrants -- Social conditions Korean Americans -- Social conditions Minorities -- Social conditions Race relations Racism against Asians SUBJECT Koreatown (Los Angeles, Calif.) -- History -- 20th century Los Angeles (Calif.) -- Race relations -- History -- 20th century Subject California -- Los Angeles California -- Los Angeles -- Koreatown Genre/Form History Form Electronic book LC no. 2021048632 ISBN 9781503631830 1503631834

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