Chicago’s Koreatown didn’t disappear — it moved to the suburbs

Added: 2026-05-22

[00:00:01]For decades, this stretch of Lawrence Avenue was once known as Chicago's Koreatown, where restaurants and markets and dry cleaners lined the street. Well, today, only a handful of Korean-owned businesses remain as we saw that center of gravity shift over time.

[00:00:18]In the 1970s, Korean immigrants started building a thriving community in Albany Park. For many families arriving in Chicago, this was their first stop.

[00:00:29]>> [laughter] >> Kyung Ja Yi was one of the first to settle here. She recently moved to Mount Prospect, but spent years doing alterations in old Koreatown.

[00:00:44]Our hearts were aligned. We had a good time working together. We didn't have a lot of time, so when it was time for lunch, we would be busy stuffing our faces so we could get back to work. We would look like fools, and we'd all take turns dishing plates. We would buy each other meals, too. Either way, it was really fun to work there back then.

[00:01:10]>> [clears throat] >> She still holds onto photos from those years, friends, work, and life all in one place.

[00:01:18]Back then, everything was within just a few blocks of Lawrence Avenue. But over time, that changed.

[00:01:26]We hopped in the car and headed to Niles, home to many Korean-owned businesses today. The Korean food is very in very very high demanding. So, I'm going to prepare our most famous, um, center cut of the beef short rib. We just got to Jin Soo BBQ here in Niles, and we're going to go inside now to check it out.

[00:01:48]Owner Eric Yu says the shift away from Albany Park unfolded over generations.

[00:01:53]>> Because back then it was cheaper. And if even if because the um public transportation in the area was um in somewhat good, right? There's a like brown line is out there. Like the back then there's all the tax companies, Korean tax companies out there, too.

[00:02:10]Buses, train, everything was there. But by the late 1990s and early 2000s Everything started moving up to the north area because cleaner, a safer environment for their family. And also just nicer, you know?

[00:02:24]Um the education because our first generation mom and pops they care about their kids' education so much. So they started coming up to the north area.

[00:02:32]Like you know, Glenview has a you know, great school. Northbrook has a great school. Where did you drive from? We met up with Richard in Glenview who teaches Korean language classes in his free time. He says he watched the community change over the years. We kind of outgrew the place. Instead of just one street, we have a whole network across suburbs where people live. So what happened to Chicago's Koreatown?

[00:02:55]It didn't vanish. We are just part of community, you know? We are not stranger. It just spread out beyond a single neighborhood. You know, we here we've been here for a long time.

[00:03:07]>> From Albany Park where it all began to the north suburbs where it continues [music] today.

[00:03:13]Sae Kwon, Fox Chicago.