Comments on: little seoul mall? new owners to evict japanese businesses

By: DivideAndConquer

DivideAndConquer — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 03:39:34 +0000

Obviously the author is an European-American, and he’s trying to create tension between the Japanese and the Koreans. I don’t know who is more idiotic. Idiots that fall for this “divide and conquer” tactic by the whiteys and start bashing one another OR these idiotic European-Americans who don’t realize Asians will drop their disputes and support one another against the whiteys. Duh.

By: MoviesWeSee

MoviesWeSee — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 14:56:20 +0000

I hope Little Tokyo will get back some of its flavor

By: Spectre

Spectre — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 06:12:17 +0000

It’s just better business that is going to get some of us kicked out before we’re even making our money back on our recent tenancies?

Frankly, I’m horrified by any justification that squeezing existing businesses out is a good thing. It’s not the only way to revitalize a mall, and it’s certainly not the best way.

By: Dean

Dean — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 23:56:57 +0000

This mall is dead. this is probably the only way to bring some life back into it. these people are doing a great thing. Its nothing against japanese culture, historic landmark etc BS! get over that crap its 2008 geesh

its just business better business so dont take it too personal.

By: andy

andy — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 23:32:03 +0000

i live right next door and this little plaza is the saddest thing ive ever been to. theres no one in there, i hope the new owners can vamp it up and put some actual stores in there. i dont care for much of the restaurants in there, jtown is filled with enough of them already. and the market isnt a big loss we have nijiya and marukai

By: David Kennedy

David Kennedy — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 02:04:19 +0000

I was at a birthday party with my kids this weekend. The birthday girl’s grandma is a native of Japan and she’s been in and out of Little Tokyo for her entire life. That said, she did not live there. I asked her about the sale of this mall.

She thought it was a good idea. She looked forward to changes at the mall. The last few times she was there, she found the mall dead. She was not concerned about ethnicity of the new owners. As long as they injected new life into the place, she thought that was a good thing.

She also made a couple of other comments which I found interesting. On a recent Saturday night, she was at the Miyako Hotel for an event. (Terrible food, she said.) She was astonished by how busy First Street was in the evening when she was there. This was new to her.

She also commented that she found the core exhibit of the JANM was depressing. She wished this sad chapter in the Japanese-American experience was not the considered the defining event of the community. She thought there were many other significant accomplishments to be proud of.

By: OptAmosPrime

OptAmosPrime — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 00:21:35 +0000

There are 3 Japantowns of significant size remaining in Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Jose, but there are many historical (and modern) Japanese American communities all over California. These three major Japantowns continue to be the heart of their respective communities in terms of their history, major cultural institutions and festivals, in addition to the many businesses.

It’s good for communities of all kinds to have a sense of place, and for people in general to understand the history of a space, even as it evolves.

Here’s a good resource if you want more information on California’s historical Japantowns: http://www.californiajapantowns.org

By: Yin

Yin — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 06:16:52 +0000

Hey Ken, you mentioned that there is only 3 Japanese areas in the US, where are the other areas? Do you know any Japanese traditional home structures here in America?

By: ilovesushigo55

ilovesushigo55 — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 03:47:40 +0000

to suggest that the new owners will be evicting on the basis of race alone is pure conjecture, and simply wrong, imho. the fact is walking through that building at any time – weekday, weeknight, weekends – one can’t help but realize the building has completely failed and needs significant renovation.

seems to me that the more likely motivation is to 1) let all tenants know that they need to be a part of the solution, and if not 2) tabula raza, for $35 million sake. shoot, i would’ve bought that building for 35 million and converted the building into a ginormous sushi plaza. koreans and japanese mutually love sushi. tuna on the first floor, yellowtail on the second, uni on the third. that would go off. no, in all seriousness, trader joes is a great idea. i know that i used to go to that mall from ktown just for sushi go 55 and beard papas. i sure would go there for an easily accessible trader joes.

By: Paul Y.

Paul Y. — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 00:57:05 +0000

I just hope the new developers will have the good sense not evict ALL the businesses in the current shopping center. As a resident who lives 2 blocks away, I’ve come to love some of the eating establishments including Sushi Go 55 and Honda-ya, that *just* finished expanding into the space next door. On weekends, there’s a 45 minute wait for the latter. It would be a shame to lose them just because they didn’t fit in with the new owners’ plans.

Are there other places close by? Yes. Is it still a shame if some of these businesses were evicted outright? ABSOLUTELY.