Street Interactions In Korea

Street interactions in Koreatown vary depending on the time of day. On weekday mornings and afternoons, crowds are demographically older. Most people are Korean and walk alone, not engaging with each other. The block feel like a passageway, so in addition to Koreatown residents and visitors, some pedestrians walk through Koreatown to get somewhere else. These people usually walk quicker and look around less than those here for food and shopping. In the evenings and on weekends, the crowds are younger and consist of groups of friends and romantic partners. Some of these groups are multiethnic, though the majority are Korean, and most speak English. In general, strangers on the street level rarely communicate. Though Nathan does exercise caution …show more content…
Businesses that appeal to Koreans and non-Koreans alike, like restaurants, bars, and shops, occupy the street level and lower floors of Koreatown’s multistory buildings. The upper levels of these buildings house services intended for the Korean community alone, like tutoring centers, doctor’s offices, and religious spaces. Because Nathan is not part of the Korean ethnic network, he does not have accesses to these spaces and has very little knowledge of them. He told me that he has never been above the second floor of any buildings in Koreatown.
It is not possible to see much of Koreatown’s operational space from the street level. Still, Korean signs advertising medical offices, and psychical therapy services hang from taller buildings’ upper floors. Most buildings have narrow side hallways, accessible from the street, that lead to stairs to consecutive floors. Many of these hallways have directories posted. Again, the services are advertised exclusively in Korean and include law offices, a Korean church, and English language schools. These entrances would be extremely difficult to find if one wasn’t referred, furthering the assertion that ethnic networks are at play …show more content…
A tailoring business occupies the third floor of one building. In consecutive buildings, racks of children’s clothing, sewing machines, and harsh florescent lighting is visible from the street level. As mentioned previously, there are no public schools in midtown west. The closest public library and public park are not part of the neighborhood. The common presence of banks in Koreatown is similar to Flushing and again demonstrates the Korean community’s integration into the mainstream and ethnic economies. As in Flushing, there are American banks, Korean-American Banks, and Korean banks headquartered in Korea. In my visits I notice that more Korean people visit the American banks than the ethnic