The Greater Dallas Korean American Chamber of Commerce is making a strong push for an official designation of Koreatown, reports the Dallas News.
They want city approval of Koreatown street toppers to be placed on Royal Lane, from Luna Road to Harry Hines Boulevard.
“I feel like we should pay homage to the legacy of Koreans that have built Koreatown,” said John Lee, a board member of the Korean American Chamber.
Grace Koo’s 9Rabbit Bakery has been in the area for seven years.
“When I first moved to Dallas, this was what I knew was the original Koreatown where the first wave of immigrants came and settled their businesses,” Koo said to NBC Dallas Fort Worth.
The hope is the idea will bring more business to the area. The city designated it the Asian Trade District in 1999 with two large signs which have since faded. However, unofficially Korean Americans have called it K-Town or Koreatown.
They say making that designation official could revitalize the neighborhood.
The idea gained momentum in May after the shooting of three women shot and injured at a beauty salon in the area. It’s the home of the second largest Korean American district in the south.
Dallas City Council member Omar Narvaez is supporting the idea.
“The movement to designate a Koreatown District is moving along and we hope to have this designation completed in the first quarter of 2023,” Narvaez wrote to the Dallas News.
AsAmNews is published by the non-profit, Asian American Media Inc. Follow us on Facebook, X, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube. Please consider making a tax-deductible donation to support our efforts to produce diverse content about the AAPI communities. We are supported in part by funding provided by the State of California, administered by the California State Library in partnership with the California Department of Social Services and the California Commission on Asian and Pacific Islander American Affairs as part of the Stop the Hate program. To report a hate incident or hate crime and get support, go to CA vs Hate.
