32nd Street between 5th and 6th Avenues has become the most exciting block in Manhattan. Known as Koreatown, or Korea Way, the street consists of elegant turn-of-the-century buildings done in the style of the French renaissance. Elaborate, gray facades are now almost hidden behind bright signage in Korean and English. The life of the block extends inside the buildings: restaurants, bars, galleries, and karaoke joints are not only on the street level but also on multiple floors inside the structures: the karaoke studio I went to was on the fifth floor.
The studio served no food—it consisted of a series of soundproof rooms that groups rent by the hour. Customers bring in their own food and beverage. The karaoke menu is in many languages—the English one seemed to consist of every hit song that reached the top five in the American charts since the early days of Frank Sinatra. (more…)
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