DEAREST angelenos
A GUIDE BROUGHT TO YOU BY NATIVE ANGELENOS
PICK AN AREA BELOW
READ ON THE LEFT
TOP OF THE WESTSIDE (001)
Fairfax District
Melrose
West Hollywood
Beverly Grove
IN THE DOWNTOWN AREA (002)
DTLA
Echo Park
Chinatown
Elysian Park
Little Tokyo
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NORTH OF THE CITY (003)
Griffith Park
Silverlake
Los Feliz
East Hollywood
︎
SOUTH OF THE CITY (004)
Crenshaw
Leimert Park
Exposition Park
︎
WITHIN THE CENTER (005)
Koreatown
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BY THE COAST (006)
Venice
Mar Vista
Marina del Rey
Westchester
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Dearest Angelenos is a welcome letter to those who are looking to move to Los Angeles or recently have. It is an evolving archive of LA experiences meant to give insight into the many ways of LA living. All excerpts are from native angelenos and transplants with a few years under their belt.
Have a LA story to share? ︎︎︎
Koreatown
True Stereotype:
The only thing I can think of is that they are terrible/crazy drivers.
False Stereotype:
That everyone is open-minded and free-spirited
“I grew up in Koreatown, which it’s mostly surrounded by Korean immigrants and their children (like my brother and me), so even if I went outside of my home, I would be able to hear and speak Korean because the people in Korean markets, restaurants, and stores would be Korean. So until 1st grade, I didn’t start to speak English fluently. However, I experienced a significant shift starting first grade because in my elementary school, while there were few Korean kids, most were Hispanic and white. Growing up, I made many friends from different cultures and had a cultural separation from home and outside (home would be Korean, and in public would be a melting pot of different cultures). I remember going to near fruit stands after school and getting snacks with my friends. I tried mango and pineapple with tajin and chamoy for the first time and also elote frames near our school.
I learned a lot about different cultures, mainly through food. Also, schooling was definitely liberal in that my elementary, middle, and high schools encouraged celebrating diversity and different cultures, so growing up in LA shaped the way I value my Korean heritage and being open to other people and their cultures.
My parents worked as cooks at Korean restaurants that were nearby. Sometimes, they worked at the same places but mostly at different locations.”
“I grew up in Koreatown, which it’s mostly surrounded by Korean immigrants and their children (like my brother and me), so even if I went outside of my home, I would be able to hear and speak Korean because the people in Korean markets, restaurants, and stores would be Korean. So until 1st grade, I didn’t start to speak English fluently. However, I experienced a significant shift starting first grade because in my elementary school, while there were few Korean kids, most were Hispanic and white. Growing up, I made many friends from different cultures and had a cultural separation from home and outside (home would be Korean, and in public would be a melting pot of different cultures). I remember going to near fruit stands after school and getting snacks with my friends. I tried mango and pineapple with tajin and chamoy for the first time and also elote frames near our school.
I learned a lot about different cultures, mainly through food. Also, schooling was definitely liberal in that my elementary, middle, and high schools encouraged celebrating diversity and different cultures, so growing up in LA shaped the way I value my Korean heritage and being open to other people and their cultures.
My parents worked as cooks at Korean restaurants that were nearby. Sometimes, they worked at the same places but mostly at different locations.”