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KTOWN Night Market's Best Eats & Acts

KTOWN Night Market's Best Eats & Acts

5:56·By Gemma G
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YH is in the Koreatown neighborhood of Los Angeles to hit up the must-do of the summer, the KTOWN Night Market! We sample all the best eats and fun games the market has to offer, plus we sit down with co-founder Danny Park to find out where the inspiration came from, as well as rapper Awkwafina, who is on-hand as the headlining act of the night!

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Young Hollywood

Hey guys, Audrey Cleo here for Young Hollywood. It is summertime in LA, which means being outside as much as possible, which is why we're at the K-town Night Market. There's food, fun, special performances and did I mention food already? Tell me what you're serving up here at Belly Bomb.

Guest

Oh, we do wings and sliders, that's our specialty. This one right here is going to be the Mom's recipe. It's like a sweet, uh, spicy and very tangy loose sauce. It's so bomb, try it. That's why we call it Belly Bomb.

Young Hollywood

Mouthful. Here with Danny Park, who's one of the founders of the K-town Night Market. This is quite a production you have going on here, so congratulations.

Danny Park

Thank you Audrey.

Young Hollywood

Uh, this is the second time you're doing it.

Danny Park

That is correct.

Young Hollywood

Where did you get the idea from?

Danny Park

Well, we got the inspiration actually just living here in Koreatown. You know, we realized that there's a lot of opportunities for first generation Koreans here. But we realized that there weren't too many opportunities for second generations to have a good time, you know, succeed and, you know, showcase our talent and our motivations and our skills and everything that we represent.

Young Hollywood

What possessed you to buy this? Have you not eaten in a week?

Guest

Yeah yeah, yeah, that's what it is. We're starving.

Young Hollywood

So, tell me what yup dog means.

Guest

Yup dog just means it's really crazy hot and then just people are like

Young Hollywood

You guys can tell me this before I signed up for this. So here's hoping that I don't end up looking like this lady down here. We're all about them. We're all about them. Oh, now I feel it. Now I can feel. Yeah. I feel like an epic an epic air ball coming on. All right, I just gotta channel my inner Klay Thompson. I just called foul. I'm taking my shot. Oh.

Guest

That's a good try though.

Young Hollywood

Now, when you started this, did you ever think it was going to attract as big of a crowd as it has?

Danny Park

Oh, heck no. You know, honestly, when we did this, I was praying to God. I was like, "Hey, God, 5,000 people, I'll be lucky." You know. And he blew he blew us away with 80,000 people the first year. So, it was something that I never thought it would happen. And we kind of created a huge mess at the school. But, you know, the school allowed us to come back again. And here we are, you know, for our second time.

Young Hollywood

Yes, say tell me what makes Hanaro different.

Guest

Oh, we're kind of influenced in our overall Korean and um, Korean fusion.

Young Hollywood

Okay. Of a Japanese cuisine. Yeah, I noticed that it's it's small, but it's pretty. Our low-carb spicy tuna taco, which is brilliant, by the way, using the cucumber instead of a tortilla or any kind of carb. Love it. I don't know which one I'm aiming for. I'll aim for that that pink one. Oh. I mean, like so close. So close. So I'm with Joem, and uh, what makes K-town Night Market the perfect place for you to show off your wares?

Joem

Well, one, everybody's coming for the food. The amazing food. And then, you know, after you

Young Hollywood

Tell me in.

Joem

Right. And after that, you know, you can enjoy the show and then you can get some good deals on some clothes.

Young Hollywood

Now I stopped because I saw a shirt that I feel you're actually wearing it right now, that I feel it's kind of sums me up, like really well. Can you tell me how you came up with "Average Achiever"?

Joem

It's a funny, it's a very personal story, actually. My brother's the overachiever in the family. So I felt like making something more for me, for my parents. And so we came up with "Average Achiever" cuz I wanted to be honest, you know? So, I'm not gonna compete with my my little brother, you know?

Young Hollywood

We just made our way through one aisle of food vendors and now we found the second aisle. And it's getting super crowded in here, but I'm seeing people carry so much good stuff. It's just making me hungrier.

Guest

Yeah, it's Chinese style crawfish. And it mix with like over over certain kinds of spices. And then we'll make it together.

Guest

All right, you're about to grab on Mexico's finest. This is corn in a bowl, uh, shaved by hand. And we actually boil it ourselves. We make parmesan cheese and butter with it. Got some spices in the back and mix it make it with Mexican seasoning.

Young Hollywood

How about some really special performances, people from all over. Tell me how you recruited who was going to end up on this stage here.

Danny Park

Oh, shoot, Awkwafina, she is awesome. So I had a chance to meet her a year ago. Uh, she came down to Cali and a couple of my friends introduced me to her. So, uh, you know, I had a chance to just connect with her, you know, talk to her throughout the years. She's a really busy girl, so I don't get to talk to her too much. But when I reached out to her, I said, "Hey, Awkwafina, I need you. I need you to come out and represent," you know? And she said she'd be glad to do that. So we flew her out. And in about 30 minutes, I believe, she's going to go on stage and rep the kill the stage for us.

Young Hollywood

You might know her from her hilarious videos and clever rhymes, and she is also tonight's headliner at K-town Night Market. Awkwafina hanging out with me. That's it.

Awkwafina

Hello. I'm out here.

Young Hollywood

What can we expect from you tonight as you're You're headliner, by the way. Like, how cool is that?

Awkwafina

Yeah, they're just making me feel like more inadequate. But more of what people say that.

Young Hollywood

But why? Because She should be like owning that. It's gonna be, you gotta be, you gotta save us. I'm going to let that food settle in a little bit and catch Awkwafina on the stage behind me. So until next time, guys, peace, love, and boba.

Timestamps are approximate — click one to jump the player.

PEOPLE MENTIONED

  • Audrey Cleo

    Host for Young Hollywood, interviewing market participants

  • Danny Park

    Co-founder of the KTOWN Night Market, interviewed about its origins

  • Awkwafina

    Rapper and headlining act for the KTOWN Night Market, interviewed

  • Joem

    Vendor selling 'Average Achiever' apparel

  • Klay Thompson

    Basketball player referenced during a game

FAQ

What is the KTOWN Night Market?+
The KTOWN Night Market is a summer event in the Koreatown neighborhood of Los Angeles, featuring food, games, and special performances.
Who founded the KTOWN Night Market?+
Danny Park is one of the co-founders of the KTOWN Night Market, which he started to create opportunities for second-generation Koreans.
What kind of food can be found at the KTOWN Night Market?+
Visitors can find a variety of foods including Belly Bomb's wings and sliders, Korean-Japanese fusion dishes like spicy tuna tacos, Chinese-style crawfish, and Mexican corn in a bowl.
Who was the headlining act at the KTOWN Night Market?+
Rapper Awkwafina was the headlining act for the night's performances at the KTOWN Night Market.
How many people attended the first KTOWN Night Market?+
The first KTOWN Night Market attracted an unexpected 80,000 people, far exceeding the co-founder's initial hopes of 5,000 attendees.

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