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After settling into this melting pot known as Los Angeles, what captivated me the most was the sense of community. It seems as though the communities are the bond of this sprawling metropolis – so diverse in culture, yet unified in building a truly unique society. I actually come from a part of the world where diversity is an everyday occurrence, we have eleven official languages for crying out loud. But the difference between Cape Town and Los Angeles is that you really feel as though you’ve stumbled upon a solid communal foundation when entering a neighborhood. In my city, there are no prefixes starting with “little” that describe the community contained in a certain area, i.e. Little Armenia, Little Tokyo etc. And what we have in LA certainly are miniature versions of other countries or cities.
What really blew my mind, which is still partially exploding, is the largeness of Koreatown in particular. There are certain reasons why this pocket of LA intrigues me and the reasons range from obvious to personal. Let’s rewind to 2009 for some background information.
After a four year stint in the motion picture business, I found my mind slowly fizzling away into the gorge of darkness that is the film industry – unplanned 12 hour overtime shifts, mind numbing hours of standing in one place, egomaniacs throwing Bonaqua bottles at you because they wanted Valpre (true story). I needed intellectual stimulation, to kick-start my brain and satiate my cerebral desires. So I decided to go back to college and begin another BA. As I chose to study through correspondence, I needed some kind of financial flow, so like many needing a fresh start, I decided to go to the East to teach English as a Foreign Language (ESL). To cut a long story short, I journeyed to Seoul, South Korea and spent three years teaching English to children and finally to adults.
What shocked me the most about the adult students in Seoul, where the ones who had been abroad for a lengthy period of time, especially to LA, was that a handful of students were close to native English speakers, but the majority were intermediate at best. I had one student who had lived in LA for 6 years, while studying at an English speaking university, but could not hold an English conversation for more than 2 minutes (no exaggeration here). I thought how it was impossible for one to have lived in a foreign country for that long, while studying in that country’s native tongue and still not grasp a basic knowledge of how to speak in that country’s language. At first it aggravated my linguistic preconceptions, but after a while I finally accepted the situation. My verdict: there is an anomaly afoot, a linguistic wormhole that is unfathomable to lay people and exists solely in Seoul.
Fast-forward to my first day of work, here at 1-Stop in Koreatown and my verdict has completely shifted from confusion into understanding. When I entered Koreatown, I noticed a few signs in Hangeul (the Korean alphabet), thinking that was the extent of Koreatown (i.e. a few blocks). And so the drive continued. When I arrived at my destination, my mouth was agape in amazement. I truly felt as if I were in downtown Seoul. Korean coffee chains, movie theaters, banks, shopping malls, and Korean people flooding the streets. And then the idea popped into my head, this is how someone can live and study in a country for so long and still have only a basic idea of how to speak the language.
If you live in a foreign country where your community is so strong and sprawling, you have no need to leave your comfort zone. You don’t have to experience that country’s culture and cuisine, why go through such a challenging experience? I don’t agree with this logic, but I do understand it. I dove head first into Korean culture because of necessity and curiosity; there is no “little-South Africa” in Seoul. I now understand why some students were better at English than others – it has nothing to do with intellect – they removed themselves from their comfort zones, they lived outside their own community.
I might be amplifying the extent of the Korean community because of my affinity with Korea, but I think that my thoughts are justified. Koreatown is epic and I for one truly admire the Korean’s sense of community and togetherness. And after experiencing the Korean community, I have started noticing the other communities and how important the word “community” is in LA. People take care of their own in this city, but it seems as though they also are knowledgeable enough to accept that they are a minor piece that holds the extended puzzle together.
I am still finding my place here, looking for a piece of home away from home. In the meantime, I am enjoying the solace of being engulfed in the warmth of diversity that encompasses this interesting city, and I suggest the same for other visitors.