Atlanta’s Best Kept Secret? The #1 Koreatown in America!
Did you know that Korean is the 3rd most commonly spoken language in the state of Georgia? That’s right! English is of course the 1st most commonly spoken language, and it is followed by Spanish as the 2nd most common language.
Korean is 3rd out of the dozens of languages spoken in the state. Most of the Korean speakers in Georgia live here, in Gwinnett County.
Over the past few decades, one of the most vibrant Koreatowns in the country has sprung up right here in Duluth, Georgia. In my opinion, it is the best city in America for Koreans to live in and today I am going to tell you why.
But first I want to introduce myself. I’m Tim Trevathan with Tim Trevathan Homes, your go-to Atlanta realtor. And I’ve had the joy of working with clients from across the US and directly from Korea who have moved here to Georgia and I also work with families who are upgrading or downsizing their home and moving locally.
If you’re in the same boat, I’d love to hear from you, whether it’s a call, text, or email. So, let’s talk!
There are Koreatowns all across America and in my last video, I compared the biggest three: Los Angeles, New York City, and Atlanta.
I live near Atlanta’s Koreatown but have visited Los Angeles and New York and remain convinced that the Koreatown right here in Duluth is the best one in the country. I’m also convinced that Atlanta is the best city in America for Koreans to live in.
Duluth, for those of you not familiar with Atlanta, is a suburb of Atlanta, located roughly 30 miles from downtown Atlanta in Gwinnett County. Gwinnett is one of the most diverse counties in the entire Southeast and the Koreatown in Duluth has been called The Seoul of the South.
For all the details on Atlanta’s Koreatown, head to my video playlist when this is over. There are actually 3 different parts to Koreatown here: the original Koreatown down in Doraville, what is now considered the primary Koreatown in Duluth, and a newer but quickly growing Koreatown up in Suwanee. I have videos posted on all 3 that go into the specifics of each area.
So, why is Atlanta the best city in America for Koreans to live in?
One: Koreatown is a huge reason why Atlanta is a great city for Koreans. If you live anywhere in Gwinnett County or the north part of Fulton County, you won’t be far from Koreatown. As I mentioned a moment ago, Duluth is the primary Koreatown, but there are smaller Koreatowns in Doraville and Suwanee, and Johns Creek. Head to my video playlist when this is over to check out each of those individual communities.
Two: Cost of living. New York and LA have great Koreatowns, but ask anyone who has moved to Atlanta from California or New York and they will all tell you that life is generally much cheaper here in Georgia.
Let’s look at some numbers for a minute:
According to salary.com, the cost of living is about 44% lower in Atlanta than in NYC. Salaries meanwhile average only 16% lower. That means that when many people move here from New York, they make a little bit less money but have extra disposable income because they spend less on the necessities than they did in New York.
The same is true if you move from Los Angeles to Atlanta. The cost of living is almost 29% less here while salaries average about 12% less.
If you want to live in or near a great Koreatown, it is hands down cheaper for most people to live here than to live in LA or NYC.
Three: Sense of Community. No matter who you are, everyone wants to have a sense of belonging and community. There are so many options for that here in Atlanta.
Church provides not only a religious community, but also a cultural community for many Koreans in Atlanta. As with most cities in the South, there are English speaking churches everywhere here. But, what makes Atlanta particularly attractive to many Koreans is the number of Korean speaking churches.
There are multiple Korean speaking Baptist, Catholic, Methodist, and Presbyterian churches in the Atlanta area.
Four: Korean Culture. For many first generation Korean immigrants, it is important to maintain a sense of their Korean identity. Korean Cultural Center’s Atlanta location provides free monthly performances of traditional Korean music as well as helps facilitate performances located at schools and other locations in the community.
The Korean-American School of Atlanta’s goal is to promote Korean language and culture. They provide cultural experiences as well as language classes.
There are also several Korean language only day cafes, which help promote a sense of Korean identity in the community.
Five: Korean Language. Speaking of the Korean language. Atlanta is a great city for Koreans who either don’t speak English at all or are not comfortable speaking English. There is such a wide variety of Korean owned and Korean speaking businesses and services that you can do almost anything you need to do in Korean.
This provides a wonderful sense of independence to those who don’t speak English as they can go to the doctor, take their car to a mechanic or do whatever they need to do without needing someone to translate for them.
This also provides the Korean community’s young people a great environment in which to grow up and maintain their Korean skills. They are able to learn Korean at home and then hear it spoken in the community as well.
There are other options for kids as well. Parsons Elementary is a public school in Gwinnett County that offers a Korean dual language immersion program, where students are taught for half of the day in English and half of the day in Korean. Incoming Kindergarteners distracted for Parsons may enroll in the program if they wish. Older students may enroll if there is space available.
Yi Hwang Academy is a public charter school on Peachtree Industrial Boulevard that also offers a 50/50 English/Korean immersion program. There is no tuition as it is a public school, and any student K-5th grade is welcome to apply. But, because it is a charter school, admission is not guaranteed. If there are more applicants than there are spots, admission is decided via a lottery system.
Six: Food & Shopping. First, there is not only one H-mart in or near Koreatown, there are not only two or three H-marts near by, but there are 4 H-marts in or near Koreatown. If you have been to an H-Mart, I don’t need to tell you how great they are. You already know!
Having Korean and other Asian foods and goods readily available is part of what makes Atlanta such a great place for Koreans to live. Plus, there is an abundance of authentic, really tasty Korean restaurants in Koreatown.
It is easy to buy the ingredients to cook Korean food at home and is also really easy to take a break and go out for Korean food.
Seven: Easy Travel to South Korea. Many Koreans in America have family and friends back in South Korea. The Atlanta airport is about 45 minutes down the road from Koreatown…but fair warning, it can be over an hour if it is prime traffic time…and there is a daily flight from Atlanta to Seoul.
That makes it really easy to travel to and from South Korea. You don’t have to worry about connecting flights or driving to another city to catch a flight.
So there you have it! My top reasons that Atlanta is the best city in America for Koreans. If you want to check it out for yourself or have questions about the community, please get in touch! I would love to help you find a great home for your family near Koreatown.
