Ōkubo, Tokyo

Shin-Ōkubo (新大久保) is a neighborhood within Tokyo's Shinjuku ward known for its extensive Korean community.[1] It is built around Shin-Ōkubo Station and is accessible on the Yamanote Line. Shin-Ōkubo is home to both Korean residents in Japan as well as Korean immigrants,[2] and has seen an upsurge in popularity due to the Hallyu Korean pop-culture boom. In recent years Nepali people have settled in the area and have opened up Nepali restaurants.[3]

Downtown Shin-Ōkubo during daytime. Note the trilingual signs across the street.

History

Shin Sang-yoon, the director of the Korean Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Japan, stated that Koreans began coming to Shin-Ōkubo around 1983 because at that time it was one of the most inexpensive areas of Tokyo. By July 2013 several nationalistic anti-Korean demonstrations done by right-wing Japanese have occurred in Shin-Ōkubo.[1]

Economy

As of July 2013, the Korean Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Japan stated that Shin-Ōkubo had 500 businesses, including around 350 restaurants.[1]

References
  1. Ryall, Julian. Big trouble in Little Korea: spiral of race hate grips Tokyo. South China Morning Post. 3 July 2013. Retrieved on 5 July 2013.
  2. 'We have to get along': Japan's Korean residents at sharp end of diplomatic row Justin McCurry, The Guardian, 29 September 2019
  3. Migrants look to Asia, the new land of opportunity: More workers turn east as US and Europe shut their doors IORI KAWATE, Nikkei, March 31, 2018

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.