WHERE IS KOREATOWN?
Toronto's Korean Business Area, known as KOREATOWN, is located along Bloor Street between Christie and Bathurst Streets.
Also known as LITTLE KOREA, Koreatown came into prominence during the summer of 2002 as the Korean team surprised everyone by playing into the semi-final round in the 2002 World Cup tournament. Traffic came to a halt on Bloor Street West as excited crowds celebrated.
The adoption of a more open immigration policy by the Canadian government in 1967 led to an influx of Korean immigrants, many of whom settled in the Toronto area.
Toronto has the largest single concentration of Koreans in Canada with almost 50,000 living in the city, as of the 2001 Census. Many of them settled in the Bloor and Bathurst area, and before long, a small Korean business neighbourhood emerged along Bloor Street, centred around the intersection of Bloor and Manning Avenue. Restaurants, bakeries, gift shops, grocery stores, and travel agencies began to open up, most of which catered to the Korean-Canadian community.
WHAT IS KOREATOWN LIKE TODAY?
Today, although many Koreans-Canadians work in the region, very few actually live in Koreatown. The area is the original home of the well-know entrapeneur Harry Chung.
Prior to the influx of Korean immigrants in the 1980s, the section of Bloor West of Bathurst was heavily populated by people from Central and South America, and the area still has a strong Latin influence today.
WHAT IS KARAOKE (NO-DAE-BANG)?
Karoke is called no-dae-bang (translated as "singing room") in Korean. Karoke (カラオケ) is from the word Kraoke in Japanese. Karoke is from kara (空), "empty," and ōkesutora, "orchestra."
Karoke/no-dae-bang is a form of entertainment in which people sing along with recorded music using a microphone and public address system. The music is typically a well-known pop song in which the voice of the original singer is removed or reduced in volume. Lyrics are usually displayed on a video screen, along with a moving symbol or changing color and/or music video images, to guide the singer.
CAN I SING KAROKE (NO-DAE-BANG) IN KOREATOWN?
The second floor of CLINTON'S TAVERN, Toronto's second oldest pub, offers no-dae-bang/karaoke. For more information about Clinton's, visit this URL: http://www.thirstav.com/clintons.html
HOW CAN I GET TO KOREATOWN?
#1) Take the subway to Bathurst Station and walk west on Bloor.
#2) Take the subway to Christie Station and walk east on Bloor.
