Koreatown, Los Angeles: Immigration, Race, and the "American Dream"

The largest concentration of Koreans outside of Asia is in Los Angeles County, with a population of 186,000. The Hart-Celler Act of 1965 changed US immigration policy and ushered in a new era of mass immigration, particularly from Asia and Latin America. Korean immigrants sought to turn the area around Olympic Boulevard near downtown Los Angeles into a full-fledged Koreatown, and other minority communities in nearby South LA faced increasing segregation, urban poverty, and displacement. Shelley Sang-Hee Lee's 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.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 216 pages
Publication date: 30 May 2022
Publisher: Stanford University Press

At the dawn of the twenty-first century, Los Angeles County boasted the largest population of Koreans outside of Asia, totaling approximately 186,000 individuals. This remarkable growth emerged in the aftermath of the Hart-Celler Act of 1965, a pivotal moment in US immigration policy that ushered in a new era of mass immigration, particularly from Asia and Latin America. By the 1970s, Korean immigrants had set their sights on transforming the area surrounding Olympic Boulevard, nestled near downtown Los Angeles, into a fully-fledged Koreatown. Over the ensuing decades, they tirelessly worked to establish a vibrant and thriving community in the heart of LA.

However, as Korean immigrants capitalized on the opportunity to acquire affordable commercial and residential properties, they inadvertently contributed to the segregation, urban poverty, and displacement experienced by other minority communities in neighboring South LA. Notably, Black and Latino working-class communities faced heightened levels of isolation, economic hardship, and displacement. This phenomenon was particularly evident during the early development of LA's Koreatown and reached a climax with the 1992 Los Angeles riots and their aftermath.

In her groundbreaking work, Koreatown, Los Angeles: The Making of an American Ethnic Community, Shelley Sang-Hee Lee meticulously explores how Korean Americans' lives have been intricately shaped by patterns of racial segregation and urban poverty, as well as the enduring legacies of anti-Asian racism and orientalism. Through a comprehensive analysis, Lee demonstrates how Koreatown emerged as an urgent objective for Korean immigrants and US-born Koreans, who sought to carve out a spatial niche within Los Angeles to serve as an economic and social hub. This endeavor not only fulfilled their aspirations for cultural preservation but also had profound implications for the broader economic and cultural landscape of the United States since 1965.

Koreatown, Los Angeles serves as a poignant testament to the complex interplay between race, class, and immigration. It sheds light on the experiences of racial minorities and immigrant outsiders, highlighting the economic and cultural developments that have shaped the United States since the 1960s. Lee's work challenges prevailing narratives of assimilation and socioeconomic success, revealing the nuanced and often overlooked perspectives of Korean Americans in shaping the fabric of American society. By examining the history, politics, and social dynamics of Koreatown, Lee offers a valuable lens through which to understand the broader implications of immigration, race, and identity in contemporary America.

Dimension: 229 x 152 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781503631823