Along the three-mile stretch from the Source Mall on Beach Boulevard to Rosecrans Avenue through downtown Buena Park are plenty of Korean-owned and Korean-originated businesses, often grouped in one-stop-shop-style plazas.
It includes household grocery staples like Zion Market, Hannam Chain and H Mart, the Trader Joe’s and Kroger stores in the Korean community.
Buena Park, among locals and frequent visitors, has long been an oasis for Korean culture and something of an unofficial Koreatown. And that designation was confirmed last week when councilmembers unanimously designated the Korean American neighborhood — the section of Beach Boulevard between Orangethorpe Avenue and Rosecrans Avenue — as Koreatown.
“It’s about time that we have some sort of a designation so people, if they do a Google search of ‘Koreatown Buena Park,’ they’ll be able to find an area where they can go to,” said Councilmember Joyce Ahn, who proposed the idea in July.
Signage displaying the Koreatown moniker will be placed at five key intersections where Beach Boulevard intersects with Artesia Boulevard and Orangethorpe, Commonwealth, Malvern and Rosecrans avenues. The city plans to install the signage before the World Korean Business Convention, slated to be held at the Anaheim Convention Center from Oct. 11-14.
The council’s decision makes Buena Park the second city in Orange County to home a city-designated Koreatown, following Garden Grove’s designation in 2019.
“Over the past 20 or so years, the area from Stage Road to Rosecrans Avenue, in particular, has become a hotspot for Korean culture and influence,” staff spokesperson Jessica Fewer said. “In recent years, this area has expanded further south down Beach Boulevard with the Source development at the corner of Beach Boulevard and Orangethorpe Avenue.”
The Source, a mixed-use retail, restaurant and entertainment complex located just under two miles north of Knott’s Berry Farm, opened in 2016. Described by Ahn as the “landmark” of Buena Park’s Koreatown, it is home to a CGV Cinemas theater, owned by South Korea’s largest movie chain.
And recently, Life4Cuts, a popular South Korean photo booth chain, opened a flagship U.S. studio at the Source. The studio has several booths inside where visitors can take their own photos and choose a handful to print on a bookmark-sized strip. Visitors can choose props, such as sunglasses and headbands, to wear for the photos.
The designation of Buena Park’s Korean American neighborhood as Koreatown was a long time coming, said Councilmember Connor Traut.
“There has been many variations of ideas over the years,” Traut said. “I remember when former Mayor Sunny Park and I were candidates at the time, there was even a press conference put on by a state senator about creating a Korean monument at an intersection and calling it the Korean Business District.”
That legislator was Sen. Josh Newman, D-Fullerton, who in May 2018 convened a press conference at the H Mart plaza, where he spoke of his intent to establish a monument near Beach Boulevard and Malvern Street to celebrate the economic contributions of the Korean American community.
But due to the successful effort to recall Newman, who was elected back to the state Senate in 2020, the monument didn’t come to fruition. Five years later, Newman says the contributions of the Korean American community should be celebrated.
“I think it’s always great when some member of California’s very diverse community does well,” said Newman. “Clearly, the Korean American community in Buena Park has brought so much to the area by way of economic development, by way of cultural activity, by way of cuisine.”
In Anaheim last year, the Little Arabia district received official recognition after more than a decade of grassroots organizing.
Video advertisements promoting Orange County’s newest Koreatown will run on digital billboards at the Source as well as at the intersection of Artesia Boulevard and the 5 Freeway.
The council will also look into installing Buena Park Koreatown markers on freeway off-ramps, potentially including the eastbound and westbound 91 Freeway and the 5 Freeway entering into Irvine.
Freeway markers require state approval, and Assemblymember Sharon Quirk-Silva’s senior field representative Joe Pak pledged to assist in securing legislative approval during the City Council meeting.
“I commend the City Council’s decision, and I look forward to working with local elected officials and groups to honor this cultural community effectively,” Quirk-Silva, D-Fullerton, said in a statement. “I hope to meet with members of the City Council and discuss how my office can further make their vision a reality in our community.”
Spokesperson William Pond said the team does not have a specific timeline for introducing a concurrent resolution.
Newman said he would be “happy as a member to support that effort to have those designations made.”
“Bottom line is: It brings traffic, it brings the tourism, it brings additional revenue opportunity to the city of Buena Park,” Ahn said.
