KOREATOWNS LITTLE INDIA

Although the first Korean settlement in the U.S. was established in Riverside, California, in the early 1900s, it wasn’t until the early 1970s that Koreatown officially emerged in Los Angeles with various restaurants and supermarkets spanning over three square miles. Sandra Chen, writer for Neighborhoods, discusses Koreatown’s History14 as Told Through Its Restaurants. She explains that the LA K-Town is made up of “hundreds of local eateries offering anything from traditional Korean food such as bibimbap, oxtail soup, and Korean barbecue to diverse options like tacos, steak, fried chicken, and even vegan burgers.” Some restaurants that trace the town’s history include The Prince Restaurant, a famous bar and lounge that marks a time in Koreatown’s history when the neighborhood was transitioning from upscale American suburb to a more diverse destination and Dong Il Jong, one of the oldest restaurants in K-Town. In addition to Los Angeles, Koreatowns also developed in areas such as San Francisco, Orange County, New York City, Houston and Philadelphia. Sophie-Claire Hoeller, in an article about ethnic neighborhoods in New York City, pinpoints New York as the home to over 140,000 Korean residents—the second largest Korean population in the US—who frequent K-Town on West 32nd Street often, giving the area a “super local and authentic vibe.”

“The first time I went there, I thought I was in Delhi,” said Sanjoy Chakravorty, professor of geography and urban studies at Temple University, of Little India in Edison, New Jersey, in an interview with NBC news.

The economic enclave of India is born from the earliest Indian immigrants who came to the U.S. in the late 1800s and early 1900s and worked as farm laborers in California. After 1965, more Indian professionals, such as doctors, engineers and scientists started arriving in larger numbers, forming South Asian clusters in three major areas: Jackson Heights in Queens, New York, Devon Avenue in Chicago, Illinois and in Edison, New Jersey. Like the rich culture of India, Little India in Jackson Heights is bright with colors and enriched with the smell of curries and spices. Sweet shops, curry houses and eateries selling chutney, a family of Indian condiments, such as a ground peanut garnish or mint dipping sauce that you may accompany a samosa with, line the streets of this bustling neighborhood. Artesia, California is also home to a Little India of its own. Spanning across five streets on Pioneer Boulevard, Little India is full of stores filled with a rainbow of hand-crafted fabrics and all the spices necessary to cook an Indian meal, as well as restaurants filled with the sweet aroma of Indian curries.

Little Sri Lanka

Little Sri Lanka is another Asian-American enclave that has become the ““emotional heart of a growing community,” according to The New York Times’ Rachel Khona.15 Whether you’re looking for pineapple curry, kottu—a dish made from godhamba roti and stir fried with vegetables, eggs, meat and spices—or rice flour bowls, Little Sri Lanka in Staten Island, New York has it all. Though only spanning across a few neighborhoods in this NYC borough, Little Sri Lanka’s restaurants allow for authentic Sri Lankan dining experiences, complete with elongated triangular-shaped metal chairs, menus of home-cooked meals and chefs that grew up cooking with relatives in the motherland.

Little Saigons

Little Saigons are home to Vietnamese residents. The Vietnamese population of Little Saigon is largely made up of refugees who emigrated to the U.S. after the end of the Vietnam War in 1975. In 1987, Little Saigon was established as an official Vietnamese enclave and quickly grew into a commercial and residential hub, and is now home to the largest Vietnamese population outside of Vietnam. Cathay Chaplin, in a blog post16 about the tradition behind this corner of the world, visits Little Saigon through the lens of her grandfather.

“The area is a kind of sacred ground, evidence that South Vietnam still exists, not only in the mind of its people, but as a place in the world,” said Chaplin of Little Saigon. “After my grandparents and their eight children settled in San Diego following the end of the Vietnam War, visits to Little Saigon were the closest they ever got to going to home again — seeing not only distant friends and relatives, but the cultural markers of a country that no longer existed.”

Although Little Saigon in Orange County is the most established Vietnamese town, other pockets of largely Vietnamese communities can be found in San Jose, Atlanta, Sacramento, Denver, Oklahoma City and New Orleans.