Friday evening at 6 PM. Walking around the 6th Street Checkman Mall, which is considered the heart of LA's Koreatown, you can feel a different atmosphere compared to the past.

In fact, back in 2019, before the pandemic, there would be people holding numbers waiting in line in front of restaurants on Friday evenings, and valet parking attendants were bustling around.

In unlimited BBQ restaurants, smoke would fill the air, and it was common for bars and karaoke rooms to have no available seats, forcing people to wait outside.

But these days, things are different.

The number of cars on the street is noticeably lower at night, and empty tables are visible inside restaurants.

Of course, there are still successful businesses. However, many owners are saying, "It's not like it used to be."

A restaurant owner who has been running a BBQ place in Koreatown for 15 years said, "In the past, as soon as it hit 6 PM on Friday, it was chaotic. We were busy grilling meat and taking drink orders. Now, by 9 or 10 PM, most customers are gone. The culture of going out for a second or third round has significantly decreased, and people are definitely drinking less."

This story is not just about one establishment. Similar sentiments are being heard throughout Koreatown.

The biggest change is that the number of customers has decreased. With the rise of remote work after COVID, office workers who used to flock to Koreatown after work from Wilshire and downtown are no longer doing so. The influx of international students is also not what it used to be, and the number of new immigrants is not increasing as rapidly as in the past.

Most importantly, many Koreans have left. Due to the burden of housing prices and rent, more people are moving to Fullerton, Buena Park, and Irvine, and recently, there has been a steady increase in those relocating to areas with lower living costs, such as Texas, Nevada, and Arizona.

As regular customers disappear one by one, businesses naturally feel the impact.

Costs are an even bigger issue. California's minimum wage continues to rise. Just hiring one more employee can feel like a significant burden.

Additionally, the prices of food ingredients have risen significantly compared to a few years ago, and the costs of meat, vegetables, and all food supplies are not trivial.

Commercial rents are still high. With electricity, gas, and insurance costs rising every year, business owners often say, "There's nothing left after selling."

A snack shop owner expressed, "Customers are decreasing, but expenses keep increasing. If I raise prices, customers will leave, and if I don't, there's nothing left... Ultimately, family members are having to work longer hours."

There's still one more unresolved issue: the SBA EIDL loans taken during the pandemic.

At that time, many business owners chose these loans to avoid closing their doors. While it helped them get through the crisis, now the monthly repayments are a considerable burden.

For businesses that have not yet recovered to pre-pandemic sales levels, this loan has become another fixed cost.

Still, many owners are not losing hope.

Whereas they used to wait only for Korean customers, now they are managing Google reviews, promoting on Instagram, and enhancing English menus to attract customers from other ethnic backgrounds. In fact, some restaurants that effectively utilize social media have seen young American customers make up more than half of their clientele.

LA's Koreatown has survived the 1992 LA riots, weathered the financial crisis, and overcome the COVID pandemic.

Therefore, many owners believe that this current crisis will eventually pass as well.

However, one thing is clear.

The era when simply opening the doors would fill the place with customers is over.

Evenings still see people laughing and dining in Koreatown.

But behind that light, the hearts of business owners closing their doors and calculating daily sales are heavy.

On the surface, it looks like an ordinary Friday night.

To endure that day, someone is still tapping away at the calculator, worrying, "Will we make it through next month?"