Here's Why Koreatown is Next to Hancock Park... Probably

(Flickr pic by Ophelia Chong.)

The Militant Angeleno wrote about Koreatown grocery store HK Market the other day (there's also an even bigger outlet in Glendale) but blew me away with a side observation.

He notes the origin of the name "HK Market" -- and winds up giving a very plausible theory on how Koreatown wound up in Mid-Wilshire/Mid-City:

In this case, (the "HK" in "HK Market") stands for "Han Kook" (Han-guk) which in Korean is the commonly-used nickname for the Republic of South Korea, and is probably the main reason why Korean immigrants in the late '60s decided to build their community more or less where it is today - in close proximity to Hancock Park.

I have no idea if that's true or not... but it sure sounds like a good enough reason to me.

"Hey, where should we settle once we get to L.A.?"

"I dunno, but this "Republic of South Korea Park" neighborhood sounds inviting."