As the sun sets and the curtain goes down on Los Angeles, Koreatown comes alive. Neon-lighted signs, a soundtrack of honking cars and the aromas of grilled meat and fried foods all vie for attention, an almost psychedelic assault on the senses.
Once your eyes adjust, you’ll find a dense urban playground that invites you to choose your own adventure. Looking for late-night eats? Take your pick between Chicago-style deep dish, Thai noodles, Hawaiian-hued bar snacks or a World Series-worthy baseball steak. Tippling the night away? You can keep it classy at a velvet-walled haunt, pair natural wines with Cal-Korean cuisine or knock back beers at a treasured dive. Regardless of where you end up, there’s nearly always a stage with a microphone for crooning your heart out with karaoke.
And you don’t have to limit yourself to just one of these experiences. The neighborhood is so glutted with options, you can easily crawl from one spot to the next, perhaps capping the night with a flaming plate of galbi jjim from 24-hour-restaurant Sun Nong Dan.
The nightlife scene in Koreatown is both stuck in time and always evolving. There are the long-standing stalwarts outfitted in leather booths and vintage decor, as well as new entrants that steal attention with creative cocktails and vibey interiors.
Frank n Hank first opened on Western Avenue in 1933, and in 2015 was passed from longtime owner Tuyet “Snow” Rogers to Koreatown local Jimmy Han, who also owns Love Hour, a nearby cocktail bar with a burger window. Outside of common-sense updates like expanding the spirits collection and accepting credit cards, Han purposely left Snow’s bar unchanged.
“I kept everything the same as it was, the bathroom, even the carpet, I think it’s fine. Every dive bar needs its own cologne, if you will, a little musk,” Han said. “Same dart machine, same jukebox, same pool table.”
Despite Hollywood’s reputation, Koreatown is the true epicenter of L.A. nightlife. Night after night, its magnetism draws cross-generational crowds of locals and out-of-towners for bowling, arcade games and endless forms of fun. And yes, the parking is terrible, but that’s what shared rides and public transportation are for.
For whatever trouble you’re looking to get into, here are the best places to stay up late in Koreatown.
