Dine LA, an event designed to showcase the diverse food culture in Los Angeles, is taking place from July 12, yet it shows a significant lack of participation from Korean American restaurants.
Now in its 16th year, Dine LA is one of the major culinary events in Los Angeles, with more than 400 restaurants participating, showcasing everything from traditional to fusion menus with unique offerings at special prices.
Held twice a year, Dine LA is run by a nonprofit organization of the same name and is organized by Los Angeles Tourism. This year, it will be held from July 12 to 26.
Only six of the participating restaurants are categorized as serving Korean cuisine, including ABSteak, Danbi, Joseon, Lasung House, Origin Korean BBQ, and Yangban, with only four of them offering authentic Korean food.
Supported by the city government, LA Tourism has contacts around the world, including Korea, to promote travel to Los Angeles. It’s a taxpayer-funded organization, but the participation of Korean American businesses is still far too low.
Dine LA has been accepting registrations for participating restaurants since May of this year and has been promoting their names, websites, menu prices, and reservation links on the official LA Tourism website (discoverlosangeles.com/dinela) and on social media. The organizers mainly introduce full-course menus, prices, and featured food on the website. However, this costs restaurants a registration fee of $800 to $1,000 to post their name and menu.
It has been pointed out that the reason for the low participation of Korean American businesses or Korean restaurants is the burden of menu development, price adjustment, and high registration costs. At the same time, the lack of knowledge of Dine LA among the Korean American community is also cited as a reason.
“We sent out emails to business owners in LA, but there were only a few inquiries from operators of Korean restaurants,” said a representative from Dine LA. “It might be because they felt overwhelmed to decide on a new course menu and pay the registration fee.”
Korean-American restaurants are also frustrated. “Smaller, understaffed restaurants can’t afford to expand their menus and take on additional customers,” said an owner of a Korean restaurant on Wilshire Boulevard, “so paying more than $800 for two weeks just for promotion is not an option.”
BY BRIAN CHOI, HOONSIK WOO [ichoi@koreadaily.com]
