Koreatown

In the last three elections for mayor of Los Angeles, voter turnout has ranged from 18% to 38%. And that's of registered voters. Nice work, loafers. Of course, the perennial no-shows had their reasons for not voting. Didn't like any of the candidates. Didn't know anything about any of them. Nothing ever changes anyway. Went to the beach. Couldn't care less, blah, blah, blah. This time around, if you're thinking you might sacrifice two minutes of your day and cast a ballot on Tuesday - but you're still not sure - I'm going to offer up a little inspiration.

Now that thrill-seeking diners have advanced beyond pork belly and crispy pig's ears and are going hog wild over snout-to-tail pork events, it may be the perfect time to check out Koreatown's best jokbal . The braised pork foot and shank, Korea's answer to charcuterie , often shows up boned and sliced as anju — the snacks served in pubs and other hangouts for hard-drinking night crawlers. But few versions will thrill the souls of pork junkies as completely as jokbal from the homespun Jangchung-Dong Wong Jokbal on Western Avenue.

Police are searching for the person who stabbed a man to death Saturday morning as he worked in his office in Koreatown. Du Hwan Hwang, 57, was found shortly after 9:50 a.m. Saturday near his office at 9th Street and Western Avenue, where he managed a business complex and operated a check-cashing business. Detectives believe the motive may have been robbery. Hang left a wife and two grown children.

I was disappointed by "Riots' Effects Are Still Smoldering in Koreatown" (April 29). The article's overemphasis on the generation gap among Korean Americans suggested that the main reason first-generation merchants did not recover was due to miscommunication with the "1.5" and second generations. Hundreds of younger Korean Americans began working for their communities as a direct result of the civil unrest. We need to recognize their contributions and encourage their involvement. And to truly understand the problems of the first-generation Korean American merchant, we must dig wider and deeper, for the problems persist and the solutions lie far outside this population.

Two years ago, Los Angeles City Council President Herb Wesson shared a happy moment with Koreatown's civic leaders, basking in their praise as they thanked him for putting their neighborhood — complete with new street signs — on the official city map. Now, that jubilant moment seems a distant memory. Koreatown neighborhood leaders, civic groups and activists are locked in a rare display of open political insurrection against Wesson, a seasoned politician who has spent the last six years representing much of their community.

A block from the Wiltern, giant ivory silk lanterns in crystalline geometric shapes and finished with a tassel hang from the double height ceilings. The floor stretching ahead is marble, the appointments are a mix of traditional and contemporary Korean elements, which is what the menu is too. Right now, the new Bann Restaurant & Lounge may be the splashiest place in Koreatown. Just inside the entrance, a bartender shakes up a Manhattan and then pours out soju for another guest.

Los Angeles Police officers shot and killed a man in Koreatown early Saturday morning after he reached into his waistband for what officers believed was a weapon, authorities said. Steven Eugene Washington, 27, died from a single gunshot wound to the head shortly after midnight. Although no weapon was found, officers said they feared for their lives because Washington did not respond to their commands and appeared to be reaching for his waistband. Hours after the shooting, Washington's relatives criticized police and said the dead man had suffered from learning disabilities and was generally afraid of strangers.

Charles Kim still remembers how jarring the cuisine of South Korea was to his taste buds when he first landed there in 1995. Those first dishes he tried looked like the ones he ate growing up in North Korea, yet the flavors, overwhelmed by seasoning and laden with MSG, felt so alien. Two decades later he and his wife, a fellow North Korean refugee he met in Seoul, run an unassuming restaurant on the western edge of L.A.'s Koreatown where they create the tastes of the homeland they fled.

First published on Oct. 30, 2011. Revised and expanded in early 2012. Set an out-of-towner loose to roam the Los Angeles area between West Hollywood and Koreatown, and what can you expect? A food-truck overdose, perhaps. Or the bold suggestion that we extend our subway system westward. (Hey, we're working on it.) Or maybe just your basic Asian-Russian-Latino-gay-vegetarian-barbecue-automotive-modernist-tar-pit-chili-dog weekend. In other words, it's a trip worth taking, and a great way to catch the city in the act of reinventing itself, from the Japanese department store that's now a car museum to the Jewish avenue that's now a skateboarder haven.