Who lives where
Around 100,000 Korean-Americans live across the nine Bay Area counties. The largest clusters are in San Mateo County (Daly City, San Mateo, Foster City), Santa Clara County (Santa Clara, Cupertino, Fremont), and San Francisco (Inner Richmond and the Geary corridor).
Korean-American Bay Area life is decentralized. There is no single Koreatown the size of LA’s. Instead, several smaller clusters with their own restaurants, churches, and markets.
Cultural anchors
Korean Center of San Francisco. Located in Japantown, hosts Chuseok, Seollal, and language classes. Open to the public.
Korean American Community Services (KACS). Nonprofit providing social services, classes, and community events across the Bay Area.
Korean churches. Largest community hubs by far. Korean Methodist, Korean Presbyterian, and Korean Catholic congregations scattered across the Peninsula, South Bay, and East Bay.
Where to eat
San Francisco: Geary Boulevard between 18th and 6th Ave has Han Il Kwan (old-school Korean stew specialist), My Tofu House (sundubu), and Toyose (Korean bar food). Brothers and Coréen on Geary for Korean BBQ.
South Bay: Santa Clara’s El Camino strip has SGD Dubu, Tofu House, and dol-cake shops. Fremont’s Mission Boulevard has its own Korean restaurant cluster.
Peninsula: San Mateo and Daly City have Korean BBQ, banchan markets, and small bakeries.
Where to shop
H Mart in Daly City, Santa Clara, and Pleasanton are the main grocery anchors. They also sell beoseon socks, small ceremonial supplies, and Korean cosmetics.
For Korean home goods, Galleria Korea in Daly City carries dishware, banchan containers, and rice cookers. For Korean cosmetics, Tony Moly and Innisfree have Bay Area locations.
Festivals and events
Chuseok (September/October): community celebrations at the Korean Center of San Francisco and at major Korean churches. See what is Chuseok.
Seollal (January/February): Korean Center, Korean churches, sometimes the Asian Art Museum.
San Francisco Korean Festival (typically October): public-facing celebration of Korean culture.
Where to learn the language
King Sejong Institute San Francisco runs paid Korean language classes for adults. Several Korean churches run free or low-cost Korean schools on Saturdays for children. UC Berkeley, Stanford, and several community colleges offer credit-bearing Korean language courses.
Where to wear hanbok
Most hanbok-wearing in the Bay Area happens at private family events: weddings, dol, milestone birthdays. Public hanbok-friendly events include Chuseok celebrations at community centers and Seollal events at Korean churches.
Eric is based in San Mateo and offers in-person fittings for Bay Area customers by appointment. See Bay Area service.
Connecting if you are new to the area
Korean churches are the fastest path into Korean-American community life. Most welcome new attendees and have English-speaking services. Community classes (King Sejong, KACS) are second. Restaurants and markets are third; you start to recognize faces over time.
Talk to Eric
Looking for hanbok in the Bay Area? Eric at The Korean In Me sources authentic hanbok personally from Seoul, inspects every piece in San Mateo, and works with each customer on sizing and color. Contact Eric to inquire →