Explore the history and development of 32nd Street, a.k.a Koreatown in Manhattan. Dr. Jinwon Kim presents a comprehensive study of 32nd Street as a transnational space for consumption, leisure and entertainment.
Over the past decade, the one block of 32nd Street between Broadway and Fifth Avenue in Midtown Manhattan has drawn Koreans and non-Koreans seeking everything Korean, from day spas to nightlife. "Koreatown" is now known as a home for a taste of Korea for both ethnic Koreans and non-Korean New Yorkers, where restaurants, bars, karaokes (or “norae-bang”), internet cafes and all-night spas offer “Seoul-style” consumption. The emergence of a new ethnic enclave raises some interesting questions concerning how and why Koreatown in Manhattan has been shaped by transnational flows of culture and economy.
32nd Street: Then & Now
with Jinwon Kim
Thursday, February 6, 2020 | 6 PM
The Korea Society
350 Madison Avenue, 24th Floor, NYC
About the Speaker:
Jinwon Kim, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor of Sociology at New York City College of Technology, City University of New York. Kim’s research explores themes of urban sociology, transnational and global sociology, immigration, Asian and Asian American studies, and consumption. She is currently working on her book on Koreatown in Manhattan. Kim’s works appear in City & Community, International Journal of Cultural Policy, CUNY Forum and A Companion to Korean American Studies. She is also editor with two other sociologists for Koreatowns: Exploring the Economics, Politics, and Identities of Korean Spatial Formations (Lexington Books, expected 2020), an edited volume on global Koreatowns. Kim earned her doctorate in sociology at the Graduate Center, City University of New York.
