LA Weekly does K-town

LA Weekly does a cover-story package, including a pull-out section, on K-town tomorrow. It's online at http://www.laweekly.com

I think the piece on K-town nightlife was way lame, and I broke down some of the stereotypes and errors in a letter to the editor, below. If you're riled up too, send your feedback to editor@laweekly.com.

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Dear editor:

I guess I should be flattered that, after my feature story about Koreatown nightlife in the Los Angeles Times in 2002, and a subsequent story about policing K-town nightlife in LA CityBeat last year, the Weekly has finally discovered the area.

It’s just that “Romeo, The Diva and Cracking the Clubbing Code” was filled with stereotypes, innuendo, urban myth and straight-up factual errors. It was as if the Weekly parachuted into an exotic, foreign land and found that the natives liked to party too.

Where do I begin?

-The article says Le Prive, which actually underwent a name change, is “the largest nightclub not just in Koreatown but in all of Los Angeles” and goes on to quote a dubious 1,500 capacity (I’d check with the fire department on that). In any case, it’s not even close to being the largest nightclub in Koreatown or L.A. Just a block away is the Wiltern Theater, capacity 2,200. Circus Disco in Hollywood has a fire department-verfied capacity of 1,800.

-The article quotes the old but long-ago debunked standby that K-town is the “largest Korean community in the world outside of Seoul.” Wrong. Look into a place called Pyongyang, for starters.

-There’s “a complicated, word-of-mouth system for getting into nightclubs.” Really? It’s all so mysto. In my years of hanging out in Koreatown, I have yet to encounter this exotic system. Is there a secret handshake?

-“In some places the unfiltered rice wine, soju, flows until 5 a.m.” Name them.

-“When the Sunset Strip quiets down and West Hollywood and Silver Lake partiers slog back to their bungalows and Chi Dynasty leftovers, Koreatown is just heating up.” At 2 a.m. Koreatown is definitely cooling down, just like every place else in California.

-“A teaspoon of Manhattan west of downtown.” Hmm. I made the Manhattan comparison in my Times piece. Hmm.

-“Perhaps the last territory in the city where the party goes on 24/7.” I didn’t read about any 24-hour parties in the piece. There was some eating after 2 a.m. but, as exotic as that might seem, have you ever seen a Hollywood Denny’s at 2 a.m.? People. Eating.

-“Le Privé would be a good place to start — Nicolas Cage, who frequents the club, apparently thinks so.” As far as I can tell the Nicolas Cage-frequents-K-town rumor is the biggest urban myth in the area. Although I’ve heard it many times, and although I have substantial and knowledgeable Koreatown friends and sources, I could not find anyone with first-hand accounts of Cage’s alleged K-town appearances. (It’s always, oh yeah, my friend saw him there last week. Always last week.) So in writing about the area, I did what they teach you to do in j-school and only included actual verifiable facts.

-“[With] Korean parents, it’s all about education. From the time [the kids] pick up a pen it’s books, studying, PSATs, SATs . . . they don’t know how to approach a girl. The whole booking thing, it’s all just a tool to break down inhibitions.” I thought this piece was about Koreatown after dark. Even if to air them out, this article covers every stereotype of Asian Americans, except the one about the men having small penises.

-“. . . having small penises.” Oops. I was wrong. Forgive me.

“Romeo and his fellow waiters, I’m told, can make into the six figures at Le Privé.” Who said? The IRS wants to know …

“Blink is easy to miss from the street. It opened six months ago and is now the hottest bar in K-Town.” Blink was the hottest bar in K-town back before anyone knew who Howard Dean was. Ever heard of a place called Orchid?

“K-Town, I’m told, consumes more whiskey than any other area in Southern California.” More whisky than San Diego’s Gaslamp Quarter? More than Old Town Pasadena? Jeez, this writer gets told a lot of things, but hardly produces anyone with a name to back up her claims. By the way, I’m better looking than Nicolas Cage, I’m told.

-“She giggles self-consciously, covers her mouth with her hand, pushes her hair behind her ear.” Aw, how cute. Does she speakie Engrish too?

-“An exclusive underground host bar” where “they make like $10,000 a month.” Give us a break.

rara is gunna b on the cover of the paper edition... or something like that....
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very interesting... i spent the past 1+ hour reading everything
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"He that walketh with wise men shall be wise…" - Bible, Proverbs 13:20

actually some of your above claimed myths are true...
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Yeah...I know dnero used to spin at Pointe, and I know he knows his sh*t around Ktown.

The LA Weekly article Cracking the Clubbing Code was a bit exaggerated, but they did a fine job with Koreatown's Top 40...very informative.
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KTOWN213 CHAT NOW OPEN, GO CHAT NOW!

It is true, that Nicholas Cage frequents LePrive. I actually saw him surrounded by Korean girls wanting to book with him. But, sorry I have no pics!

The place they are referring to as blink is bliss isnt it?
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"But Asian party promoters like ON Productions and Limelight are hosting parties at Gotham Hall in Santa Monica, at Cinespace or the Key Club, so the scene is getting more dispersed"

What a douche, WE VISIONSHOCK DID GOTHAM HALL, CINESPACE AND KEY CLUB. Jesus...
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-Billy
billy@visionshock.com
http://www.visionshock.com

Yeah, they couldn't get anything straight. I guess some of the rumors could be true, but as a reporter you can't print stuff you think is true, you have to verify it and get it right.

Is the online and print article identical?
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Video Games used to be more fun!

Man what a stupid article. Although she obviously has a fetish for Korean dudes.

ANyways, if a buncha weirdos start showin up at the places she talked about, I aint goin to them anymore... wtf.

how can i be a host bar waiter
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"He that walketh with wise men shall be wise…" - Bible, Proverbs 13:20

I haven't read the whole article but from excerpts that dnero posted it seems to at least put a positive slant toward the whole scene.
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hmmm very biased. to me they didn't look into every aspects.
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Love is an irresistible desire to be irresistibly desired. - Robert Frost

I used to know a few places that poured til 5am. Total hole in the wall alcoholic shops. Great places when you're just in that mood to forget everything you know.

The Duck's Ass has great Food and Soju till way past 2AM.
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Money, check this out (registration required):

http://www.latimes.com/features/lifestyle/la-et-hubler6feb06,1,1170748.story?coll=la-home-style

Why don't you just copy and paste it, Dennis? That way, it'll be easier for all of us that want to see the article. And I know Money ain't gonna register. hahaha
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haha, No I read it....I registered with LA Times a long time ago...it's about William Hung, the anti-celebrity. Thx for the article.
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KTOWN213 CHAT NOW OPEN, GO CHAT NOW!

who cares about the article. I'M ON THE COVER!! hahaha... jk don't shoot me dnero.

but i really am on the cover. :-D

actual picture:


cover:


that's me on the right side. lavender shirt holding chopsticks and laughing at something. lol.

What was so funny? Is that Rosen?
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KTOWN213 CHAT NOW OPEN, GO CHAT NOW!

hey, rara...

FREEEEEEEEEEEEZE!!!
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