▲ This photo of the new Koreatown in Melbourne, Australia, is captured from 9 News. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE)(Yonhap)

 

SEOUL, May 19 (Yonhap) -- The city of Melbourne now has its own Koreatown as part of a plan to expand its multicultural heritage, according to vernacular reports of Australia on Monday. 

 

Two three-metre-high “jangseung,” or Korean traditional wooden totems, were hand-carved by a master craftsperson especially for Melbourne, guarding the front gate of the new precinct at Healeys Lane, Aussie media outlet 9 News reported.

 

Healeys is reportedly home to around 25 Korean businesses, mostly restaurants, which earned the place the natural hub for K-culture and cuisine in Melbourne.

 

Last year, the City of Melbourne endorsed Koreatown as an official precinct in Melbourne, just like its own Chinatown and the Greek Quarter.

 

The establishment of the  Koreantown dubbs Melbourne as one of the other global-scale cultrual hubs like Los Angeles, Toronto, New York and Sydney with Koreatowns. 

 

The Consul General of the Republic of Korea in Melbourne funded the production and installation of the jang seung, with the Melbourne’s Council leading the project management. 

 

South Korea is emerging as a popullar destination for Melburnians, with a record 90,000 Australians visiting the fourth largest economy in Asia in 2022–2023, according to Australian state statistics data. 

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