After decades as a Koreatown fixture, Radio Korea has quietly packed up most of its gear and headed south. The Korean-language station has bought a new facility in La Palma, now broadcasts primarily out of Orange County, and keeps only a shrinking footprint on Wilshire Boulevard. For longtime listeners and former staff, the shift feels less like a simple move and more like an emotional break from the neighborhood it helped define.
As reported by LAist, Radio Korea relocated its main operations to La Palma in December after a search for new space in Koreatown ended with the decision to buy property in Orange County instead. CEO Michael Kim told the outlet that operating costs are lower in La Palma and that the center of Southern California’s Korean community has been steadily edging beyond Los Angeles city limits.
One of the most recognizable voices from the station’s Koreatown era, Richard Choi, chose to retire rather than make the longer drive. The veteran host, who stayed on the air through the 1992 unrest, stepped away after the move because the new commute would have added more than an hour to his mornings, according to The LA Local. At 3700 Wilshire Blvd., the station’s longtime home and a tower many residents simply call the “Radio Korea building,” only a faded outline remains where the station’s sign once hung.
A 1992 Lifeline
Radio Korea’s departure hits especially hard because of what the station meant in 1992. During the Los Angeles unrest, it became an emergency information hub, broadcasting Korean-language updates that helped neighbors organize, share resources and begin to rebuild. That history is a big reason community members say the station’s physical exit from Wilshire feels deeply symbolic, not just like a cost-cutting measure, as LAist notes.
Why The Move
Station leaders told The LA Local they were up against steep Koreatown rents, tight parking and declining advertising revenue, a combination that made staying put feel increasingly unrealistic. Radio Korea considered several locations within Los Angeles, but cost and parking problems kept scuttling those options. Jamison Properties, which owns the Wilshire building, has not publicly shared a timeline for when more tenants might move out.
What Koreatown Loses
The move stripped Koreatown of a staffed newsroom and walk-in studio that once offered face-to-face access for reporters, advertisers and listeners. Some veteran employees opted out of the longer commute and left the station altogether. The office tower at 3700 Wilshire Blvd. is listed in property databases as Wilshire Park Place, the same address many locals automatically associate with Radio Korea, according to PropertyShark. Even though a small satellite office remains in Koreatown, advocates warn that the loss of a central, bustling studio can weaken neighborhood reporting and civic connections over time.
Where The Korean Community Is Headed
Demographic and economic shifts have already nudged many Korean families and businesses toward Orange County suburbs, and local leaders are watching to see whether major institutions follow that path. Radio Korea says its move reflects those realities but insists it is not walking away from Los Angeles. Station representatives say coverage of the city will continue, even as more of its operations are based in La Palma.
For Koreatown residents who grew up with Radio Korea as a constant presence on Wilshire, the move feels personal. For the neighborhood as a whole, it raises bigger questions about who will anchor local information in the years ahead. Jamison’s plans to repurpose the Wilshire site for housing are part of that transition, and residents say they will be keeping an eye on whether new community institutions step in to fill the gap the station leaves behind.
