Koreatown Los Angeles is far more than just another historic and trendy LA neighborhood – it’s also one of the best places to eat, shop, and play. Following the footsteps of those in the know (yep, that would be us) we’ll give you the skinny on the best things to do in Koreatown.
As you might guess, Koreatown is loaded with great food, especially Korean Barbeque, otherwise known as KBBQ. We’ll skip this as you can get extensive insider info on the top Korean barbeque joints here.
From indoor golf to the hottest karaoke bars, Koreatown is one-stop shopping for an immersive LA experience. In fact, our largest saturation of museums is just along Wilshire Blvd. which includes the Museum of Contemporary Art, The Broad, and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
Pharaoh Karaoke Lounge
3680 Wilshire Blvd Ste B-02 Los Angeles, CA 90010
Pharaoh Karaoke Lounge is one of the best-kept secrets of the best karaoke bars. This bar is known for its amazing atmosphere, great drinks, and of course, incredible karaoke. Pharaoh Karaoke Lounge has been voted one of the best karaoke bars in Los Angeles, and it’s not hard to see why.
With a full bar and 34 private rooms, this is a mecca for you part-time crooners and crooner-ettes. Dubbed the largest karaoke bar in Koreatown, you’ll find the interior upscale and equipped with a variety of lasers, LED strobes, and neon-filled decor. Suffice it to say, you will truly be in the spotlight when you hit the stage.
They also offer packages that include food and drink so you can make an evening out of it while celebrating your birthday, anniversary or just looking for a reason to coral your closet BFFs.
CGV Cinemas Movie Theater
621 S Western Ave, Los Angeles CA 90005
If you’re looking for something a little more down-tempo than the high energy of a crowded karaoke bar, you can still have an immersive experience at the CGV movie theater, another one of our top things to do in Koreatown. We mentioned some top luxury movie theaters you can find in the Los Angeles area, but this one does peculiar things.
With our mission reflecting our old-standing slogan, “Funplex,” CGV Cinemas offer premium seating, 4D effects, and rewards membership programs. The adjacent parking lot offers 4 hours with validation. So plenty of time to catch dinner and show – or maybe squeeze in that one song that’s stuck in your head at the local Karaoke bars.
What this place is really known for is showing Korean movies with English subtitles, so you can keep it real while looking for the best things to do in Koreatown. So what’s their 4D experience?
Inside every dedicated 4DX® auditorium, motion chairs and multisensory environmental effects such as wind, bubbles, lightning, fog, water, rain, air shots, and scents work in perfect synchronicity with the action on screen. OK, so maybe not as down-tempo as you thought, but it’s what makes this theater stand out from your typical movie-going adventure.
Koreatown Plaza
928 South Western Avenue,
Los Angeles, CA 90006
Some of us were born to shop and Koreatown Plaza hits all the right notes with restaurants, K-pop stores, boutique shops, and overall, a nice place just to relax.
With over 70 shops in the 3-story indoor-outdoor mall, you can hit the music plaza to bone up on your K-Pop music collection or browse around Fancy House, which carries knick-knacks, stationery, Hello Kitty, K-pop paraphernalia, and Korean plush toys.
The food court has an international charm, so you won’t have any trouble finding food that hits the spot. With a variety of stalls offering street food and quick meals for people in the rush, you’ll be hard-pressed for an excuse to skip this mall. There’s also a sizeable supermarket located inside Koreatown Plaza.
So what’s the relaxing part? Comfortable seating areas and seasonal flowers add to the ambiance of Koreatown Plaza and enjoying a cultural meal in the spacious center court give you time to plan out your spree.
Aroma Gold Range
3680 Wilshire Blvd Unit 301., Los Angeles, CA 90010
Speaking of shopping malls that go the extra mile, inside the Aroma Shopping Center you’ll find one of LA’s largest indoor golf ranges. So after shopping that includes a fitness center, spa, and dining you can knock a few out of the park at the driving range.
The four-level, 150-yard, state-of-the-art range is equipped with a computer-aided swing monitoring device, pneumatic height adjustment, and a fully automated tee-up system.
If you decide golfing is a better career choice than shopping, they also offer Professional golf school programs. A golf club might not be the best gadget to exercise with, but we do understand the therapeutic angle of the sport.
Maze Rooms Escape Game
132 S Vermont ave Unit 204, Los Angeles, CA 90004
If you’re in the mood to challenge yourself in a fun way, then this escape room in Koreatown is definitely one of the top things you can be doing. Here,m you’ll figure out ways to unmask a villain or tap into the psyche of a mastermind who just committed a heist. What better way to kill some time?
Offering 5 different types of escapes (or mazes) you can choose an adventure from Sky Odyssey, The Abyss, Magic Kingdom, Lunar Mission, and Secret Mission.
We like the high difficulty level for the Lunar Mission. Per the website: “was it a massive computer glitch? Sabotage? Or maybe something even more sinister? There’s no time for speculation – all you know is that you only have 60 minutes to escape, and you better not forget that research sample!”
You get a comprehensive backstory which should help give you clues about saving your team, and to the best of our knowledge, everyone in this room has been able to escape. So have some fun and don’t stress.
Conclusion
With large malls, KBBQ, late-night dining, and pretty much Karaoke bar heaven, Koreatown is more than a cultural destination, it’s a blast to explore. We didn’t mention it’s also saturated with French bakeries, the best coffee joints and it’s located close to downtown LA so you can do a little business and do a lot of fun all in the same day.
