Los Santos Insider | Asian Night Market Brings Local Community Together

Degu · June 18, 2023

Asian Night Market Brings Local Community Together

Written By Gabriel Stone, 18/06/2023

On the 16th of June, the Little Seoul community hosted a night market which was a culmination of many local businesses working together. Also in attendance was Senator Adrian Rossi and Lieutenant Governor Noah Wade. Rossi's no stranger to Asian community events, having been seen regularly attending public openings of the Asian Community centre in Little Seoul as well. I asked them why they were in attendance that day and Sen. Rossi replied "We've always been supportive of the Asian communities of not only Los Santos, but San Andreas. I did pass a resolution to recognize Little Tokyo — which was way overdue. We always do our best to show up in person to support our very diverse communities. The Asian community, like others, have been through a lot, and I think it's good to show solidarity in line with our State's diversity." Lt. Governor Wade added "We've had the absolute pleasure to work together with the community leaders of Little Tokyo, and we'll continue to support these districts. My administration was the first to bring in the Chinatown Heritage Scholarship, and the San Andreas Asian Pacific Scholarships, both of which are prestigious grants offered to bright students seeking higher education."

I made my way around the market and met a number of community figures, many of which owned local restaurants. The most active and present restaurant at the event was Park Jung. I spoke to the manager of Park Jung who was announcing their hot-sauce eating competition that was due to start later in the night. She told me that the restaurant is "Little Seoul's Authentic Korean Eatery" and that "Grandpa Park" had built the business with his own two hands. The restaurant has been in the Park family for many years, allegedly since Grandpa Park came to the United States in the seventies. The manager stated "...what makes Park Jung so great is the fact that it's by the locals, for the locals. We only employ people close to the Park family." I also spoke to Maddy who was hosting a 'Wheel of Fortune' game, a chance to spin the wheel and win $40,000 for $1000 per turn on behalf of Park Jung "I'm a part-timer at Park Jung. Today, we're hosting our Wheel of Fortune; it's an integral part of asian culture, fortune." she stated.

Next I met with two ladies running a stall for Hwan Café, another local business. The lady I spoke to introduced herself as Paige, stating that they'd had the business a few months and that it was a family business "...we're slowly making a mark with it. It's been popular and people love stuff we brought along tonight" Paige also stated that Korean food was gaining popularity and that they enjoyed sharing their food with people from outside of K-Town. The manager of Park Jung kindly stated that Hwan Café allegedly has the best bubble tea in Los Santos.

Karaoke Garden had a stall on the opposite side of the food court and they proudly announced that they were the best Karaoke bar in Los Santos, located on Palomino Avenue. They then also admitted they are likely presently the only active karaoke business in the city. The lady I spoke to made sure to mention they open every Friday at nine.

Also in attendance was Wang Chau Seafood. Other stalls sold cigarettes/tobacco and even a tattoo stall could be seen near the entrance, though unfortunately I was unable to interview all in attendance as I decided to make a terrible decision. I signed myself up for the hot-sauce eating contest upon hearing they were struggling to find the final participant they needed. I managed to make it a few rounds, but the spice ramped up rather drastically at some point during the competition and I was forced to drop out and watch as the remaining three participants tried to hold it together through their suffering. Bars and Baddies were in attendance and participated as well, albeit they were late joiners. In the end a man called "Win" won the contest.

The market was beautifully decorated with lanterns hanging on ropes across the parking lot. Despite one fist fight, there was very little in the way of drama. All in all it was a multi-skilled community coming together and sharing their skills and culture with the rest of the city.