Key Points
- Melbourne City Council recently passed a vote to ratify a new Koreatown.
- Four traditional Korean totem poles, known as jangseung, will be installed at the precinct’s entrances.
- The City of Melbourne local government area is home to the largest Korean community in Victoria.
Four towering village guardians will soon look over the entrances of Healeys Lane in Melbourne’s CBD, with the area set to be officially recognised as a Koreatown.
These jangseung — or Korean totem poles — are usually made of wood or stone, and traditionally placed to mark village boundaries.
Changhoon Yi, the Consul General of the Republic of Korea in Melbourne. Credit: Melbourne Korean Business Association
Changhoon Yi, the Consul General of the Republic of Korea in Melbourne, explained that there are jangseung at the entrance of all old villages in South Korea.
“They ward off bad spirits and ensure the safety of residents,” he told SBS Korean.
Green light
During a meeting on 3 September, the Future Melbourne Committee passed a vote to ratify the Koreatown precinct and approved the installation of four jangseung to be designed in collaboration with Melbourne City Council.
The Consulate-General of the Republic of Korea in Melbourne will fund the production and installation, while the council will cover the costs of project management and relevant approvals.
The City of Melbourne expects the three-metre poles will add to the atmosphere and entice more visitors, creating photo opportunities that will be shared across the globe.
Melbourne’s Lord Mayor, Nick Reece, in Koreatown. Credit: Melbourne Korean Business Association
Melbourne’s Lord Mayor, Nick Reece, said Healeys Lane and the surrounding area have become a mecca for Korean food and culture.
“Council has ‘put a ring on it’ – making our Koreatown status official – joining colourful Koreatowns in cities like Toronto, LA, New York and Sydney,” he said in a statement.
Last year, an area in the Sydney suburb of Eastwood was designated as a Koreatown, serving as a hub for Korean restaurants, culture and retail.
The Korean diaspora in Melbourne
More than 115,500 people in Australia speak the Korean language at home, according to the 2021 Census, up six per cent from 2016.
Greater Melbourne is home to around 15,000 people born in South Korea, mostly living in the central, south-eastern and eastern suburbs.
Of the 54,941 people living in the City of Melbourne, 1,105 people speak Korean at home, making it the ninth most spoken language in the local government area.
“Melbourne is a multicultural melting pot. We’re proud to have 2,500 Korean-born Melburnians who call our city home and by formalising Koreatown, we hope to attract more visitors and businesses to the area,” Reece said.
Moreover, South Korea is emerging as a popular destination for Australians, with a record 90,000 people visiting the country in 2022–23.
Why Healeys Lane?
Stretching from Lonsdale Street to Little Lonsdale Street, Healeys Lane is currently home to at least 25 Korean businesses.
Many locals having been calling the area ‘Koreatown’ or nicknames like ‘kimchi lane’ for years now, according to Hong Rim Kim, chairman of the Melbourne Korean Business Association (MKBA) and CEO of Miracle Ventures Group.
Since its establishment in 2023, the MKBA has campaigned for a designated area where visitors can experience Korean culture.
Seven Star Pocha is one of more than 20 Korean businesses in Healeys Lane. Credit: Melbourne Korean Business Association
According to City of Melbourne data from June 2024, Chinatown and Degraves Street, two widely promoted cultural precincts in the CBD, have average daily pedestrian counts of 12,500 and 10,700, respectively, double that of Healeys Lane at 5,700.
But Kim is hopeful this will increase, claiming foot traffic and sales were up 20 per cent already since the council’s announcement this month.
“What is particularly encouraging is that most of the customers who came here used to be from Asian backgrounds, but now the number of Australians and other tourists is increasing daily.”
Hong Rim Kim, Chairman of the MKBA and CEO of Miracle Ventures Group. Credit: Melbourne Korean Business Association
Kim, who studied law in South Korea, arrived in Australia 18 years ago on a working holiday visa.
After studying commercial cookery, he opened Seven Star Pocha, a Korean restaurant on Healeys Lane, eight years ago.
Despite the excitement over Koreatown, he said all those involved hoped to prevent gentrification.
“Business operators and building owners are working together on ways to prevent the sharp rise in rental costs,” he said.
Community reaction
Members of the local Korean community welcomed the move.
Minhyeok, an aged care worker who lives in Melbourne, said Korean food had been gaining in popularity among his friends who like K-pop and Korean TV series.
“I occasionally visit a Korean restaurant in Healeys Lane with my colleagues. When we heard about the news, they asked me to have a barbecue party there again,” he said.
Eun Seo Kim, a biomedicine student and president of the Melbourne University Korean Students Society, said: “As someone living abroad, Healeys Lane is the first place that comes to mind for Korean food, and I have been to most of the restaurants there.”
“Beyond food, I hope there can be more spaces to promote the full diversity of Korean culture,” she added.
Yi said he expected Koreatown to be a success as a tourist attraction and also “enhance the status of the Korean community living in Melbourne”.
“This change will provide more opportunities to experience Korean cooking and food, positively impacting local business and tourism,” he said.
Kim is hopeful Melbourne’s Koreatown can be part of a broader trend.
“I hope to see Koreatowns in all the Australia cities I visit,” he said.
