Korean American culinary entrepreneurs and the racial triangulation of South L.A. seafood markets

• In Event: Asia and Asian American Section Roundtables Session
  In Refereed Roundtable (90 minute): Table 8: Asia and Asian America Section Roundtable - Race

Abstract

Southern-style seafood markets, also known as “You-buy-we-fry” fish shops, have been a Creole-food staple in South Los Angeles since the mid-20th century. Serving up fresh cuts of fish to take home or to be cooked in store to one’s liking, Southern-style seafood markets in L.A. began gaining popularity after the second wave of the Great Migration that attracted tens of thousands of African Americans from the Southern Gulf Coast regions, most notably Louisiana and Texas. This largescale movement of African Americans from the gulf regions, many of whom were Creole, contributed significantly to the growth of Creole-inspired restaurants in South L.A. What might surprise many is that, while these fish shops today continue to be in historically Black neighborhoods and are overwhelmingly frequented by Black customers, most are owned by Korean Americans and have been since the 1980s. Like many of the local ethnic niches disproportionately operated by Korean Americans, such as dry cleaners, liquor stores, and coin laundries, Korean Americans have for decades been central players in the Southern-style seafood market industry in L.A. But as the Korean immigrants who first entered this industry during the 1980s and 1990s begin to retire, and as enterprising 1.5/2nd-generation Korean Americans begin to take their place, important questions arise about the role of Korean American entrepreneurs in a rapidly changing South L.A. Given this context, this paper aims to explore how these Korean American-owned fish shops serve as a flashpoint to understand both racial triangulation and Black-Korean relations in contemporary L.A.

Author

• Stephen Cho Suh, San Diego State University