Reordering, Restoration, and Roots
Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. (Jeremiah 29:7a)
We begin this year with a vision of focusing on 3 R's: reordering, restoration and roots. In these apocalyptic times when all things seem upside down, how do we see God reordering the world? What needs to be restored? What needs to be uprooted and what needs to be planted?
Here in Los Angeles, restoration and finding roots become tangible as April 29th this year will mark the 30th commemoration of the Los Angeles Uprising orSaigu (4.29).For many of us who had lived in Koreatown and its vicinity in 1992, what we witnessed on the streets and in the media have left an indelible mark on our lives. About 2,300 Korean-owned stores in southern California were impacted, making up 45% of all damages caused by the uprising. As the 30th commemoration approaches, we imagine there will be looping of images of Koreatown on fire and Korean men holding guns on top of Korean businesses. Those images capture one piece of history, but they do not capture the heart of Koreatown. For the next several months leading up to Saigu, ReconciliAsian will highlight stories from and about Koreatown by people deeply connected to this place and consider it gohyang(hometown). If you have stories, art piece or photos to share about Koreatown, we would love to hear from you. You can send them to info@reconciliasian.org.
Koreatown
by Soyeon Choi
Soyeon Choi is an urban planner who immigrated to the U.S. at the age of fifteen. She has lived in Illinois, Maryland, and in Los Angeles Koreatown. She is interested in exploring intersectional experiences of Asian Americans. Currently, she lives in Fullerton with her husband, daughter, son, and two dogs.
My first impression of Koreatown in Los Angeles was bizarre. The streetscape in Koreatown looked like photos I saw of old streets of Youngdeungpo back in the 1970’s. The dense Korean business signs juxtaposed and plastered on unkempt buildings were not only old-fashioned but out-of-fashion. Everything felt out of place and out of time- this city and myself in it.
After living in the suburbs of Maryland, I moved to Koreatown to start my graduate study at USC. I did not know I would end up living in K-town for ten years and encounter diverse people whom I wouldn’t have met otherwise. One of my neighbors was an elderly Korean man who occasionally received handwritten letters from North Korea; I met a peer whom I suspect worked at an illegal massage parlor; some Korean moms my age lived as though they were still living in Korea insulated in the Koreatown bubble untouched from the outside world.
In the ten years I lived in Koreatown, I finished my degree, got married, and had two kids. I moved twice within the town. I enjoyed, or rather splurged, the advantages and opportunities Koreatown had to offer. The convenience of local Korean stores outweighed the inconvenience of having American chain stores nearby.
There were always abundance of food choices and I knew where to get what: gimbab from Hankook Supermarket, cream pastry from Cakehouse, scones from Tous Les Jour, banchan from Zion Mart, castella from Bosco, soondae from Palga Soondae, Korean Chinese food from The Dragon, naengmyun from Palbomyunok, etc. On the weekends, our family strolled along Norton to Larchmont to Noah’s Bagels (it’s still our favorite bagel store).
My commute to work was driving on 3rd Street, Beverly Blvd. and then to Temple Street. We dropped off and picked up both kids from the same babysitter who used to live on 1st St. They both went to the preschool that was near Olympic and Crenshaw Blvd.
Many parts of Koreatown still bear our footprints and snapshots of timeless memories. The town is now more vibrant and dynamic with the rise of the Korean wave. But the town is still there– it still has some streetscapes of old Youngdeungpo and a hodgepodge of everything old and new. This is the town I lived in the longest and hold my happiest memories.
For more resources about the L.A. Uprising/Saigu, click here to see video recordings from the 25th commemoration co-hosted by ReconciliAsian and Bartimaeus Cooperative Ministries.