The emergence of Montreal's unofficial Koreatown

Sunday afternoon on Sherbrooke Street West is a time and place that resonates profoundly with Korean Montrealers. The borough of Notre-Dame-de-Grâce (NDG) is home to many cultural groups, but it’s been the first home for many of the city’s Korean immigrants. Affordable housing in a predominantly anglophone neighbourhood was a good fit for Koreans, and many families have since branched out and moved into the rest of the city with NDG as their gateway.

The first wave of Korean immigration to Montreal is unclear. Many speculate it was in the late 50s and 60s, but the majority of Koreans certainly arrived in Quebec in the late 1980s. At 1,000 people, the community was small, but steadily grew. 

Today, the Korean community has grown to 10,000 people. Korean churches are dotted throughout NDG, but at the heart of these clusters of churches is Épicerie Coréen et Japonais, a store that became a community staple and is now the foundation of the expanded Marché Korea.

The roots of the community

Opened in 1992, Épicerie Coréen et Japonais became a staple at the heart of Montreal’s quasi-Koreatown. Proprietor Byung Ho Kim and his son Ben remember how many Koreans came to the city seeking Canadian citizenship and new opportunities for their families.

At that time, the Quebec government had an immigration policy in which the path to permanent residency status could be expedited if aspiring citizens invested $100,000 into a small business. They were known as ‘investing immigrants.’ Koreans took note, saved up their money and started opening dépanneurs, flower shops, and restaurants.

For Byung Ho Kim’s parents, they made the decision to move to Montreal and one of his brothers noticed a dep for sale on the corner of Sherbrooke Street West and Beaconsfield Avenue. The family decided to purchase it and turn it into a Japanese-Korean grocery store.

“We’re a big family. I have three brothers and one older sister. For a grocery store, you need manpower. And we had the manpower,” says Ben Kim. 

From then on, Épicerie Coréen et Japonais became an anchor of the community for its location. “After church, they all came to the store to shop and then go home. This is why he chose this location.”

The unofficial Little Asia 

Sainte-Catherine Street West, between Fort Street and Guy, has become Montreal’s unofficial Little Asia: Numerous Chinese, Korean, Japanese, and Indian businesses dot the four-block strip. Among those businesses is the second location of Épicerie Coréen et Japonais known as MTLKFOOD. Opened in 2015, Byung Ho and Ben wanted a second location catering to college students. Ben manages the downtown location, while his father continues to manage the original NDG location. “There was a demand from students for foods such as kimbap,” said Ben.

Along with selling Korean grocery items such as meats, kimchi, rice, and snacks, what sets them apart from neighbouring businesses are the ready-made meals aimed at students who were mainly non-Korean. As Ben shared, “we sell ready-made foods like onigiri and kimbap. We were the first ones to do it. The focus was affordable foods.”

When asked why Byung Ho opened a grocery store instead of a restaurant, he cited the language barrier, as it was difficult to translate Korean names of dishes into French. But others have decided to go that route.

Quebecois palates meet Korean dishes

Sharing Parc Avenue with historic family businesses and newer hangouts, Hansang has been silently producing some of the best traditional Korean food in the city: Bibimbap, bulgogi, and kimchi jjigae. Never a disappointment. 

Hansang, in Korean, means “a variety of Korean foods set up on a table,” as described by the owner, Mrs. Lee. Hansang opened its doors in 2017. Mrs. Lee struggled to find employment due to the language barrier, as she didn’t speak French. 

“Thankfully, I was gifted by God to cook very well. This is why I decided to open a restaurant to support my family and cook good food, and so people can learn about Korean culture and food,” she says. 

As Mrs. Lee works in the kitchen, her children work in front of the house and can translate the food into French and English. She noted that Hansang reached new levels of notoriety due to the popularity of K-pop and K-drama. 

“When I started the restaurant, Korea was not known as it is now. As K-pop grew, people became more aware of Korean culture and wanted to eat what they saw on TV.” 

It’s a common theme for many businesses in the city: For local Koreans, the popular culture of the homeland disseminated via the internet helped translate the culture to the masses.

The classics never die

Back in NDG, across from Épicerie Coréen et Japonais, Byung Ho Kim opened another business called Mukja. A Korean restaurant with Byung Ho’s niece as its general manager, Elissa, it opened in 2021 as a takeout-only restaurant. It later converted to a dine-in restaurant in 2023.

In a similar spirit to Hansang, Elissa expressed that many Korean fusion restaurants cater to a wider audience, “and we felt like it was time for Montreal to have a Korean restaurant that introduced some more authentic dishes to the community.” 

From tteokbokki to gamjatang and soondubu jjigae, these dishes are staples in Korean cuisine. While Hansang and Mukja demonstrate authentic Korean dishes, other restaurants aim to tailor their menu to the new generation.

The new generation

In downtown Montreal, on De Maisonneuve Boulevard West, Jako has been building momentum since 2020 and has pivoted from authentic Korean food to a more nouveau cuisine.

Owners Jeehoon Park and Sit Thirakul would describe their cuisine as “Japanese-Korean food made with Montreal in mind, but it is food that Koreans enjoy.” Korean and Japanese cuisine has always influenced one another, and Jako represents that duality.

The dynamic between Jeehoon and Sit is one of balance. The former is a reserved character who works in the kitchen and designs the menu while Sit works in front of the house, socializing and adding a welcoming atmosphere for the guests. 

Jeehoon, born in Korea, came to Montreal via Vancouver with the dream of opening a restaurant. Sit, a Laotian from Laval, has worked in Korean restaurants including the popular Bar Ganadara. Both envisioned a restaurant aimed at being a place where people feel comfortable in a casual setting. 

Younger crowds have flocked to Jako. Moreover, both Jeehoon and Sit have noticed the influence of K-pop in the city. Jeehoon saw it as an opportunity to open a Korean restaurant during this uptrend of interest.

Sit recalled, “I saw the Korean community booming so much, and I saw it click in 2017.”

The rise of Korean popular culture has given context and opportunity for new businesses to emerge. Jako is an example of such. However, given that most of Jako’s clientele is non-Korean, it was a surprise when Jeehoon and Sit noticed Korean families dining. 

“We usually have young people come in. In the last two months, we’ve been receiving Korean families, and I wonder if they’re talking amongst themselves about us,” says Sit.

Moreover, he emphasizes that whenever Korean guests enter the restaurant, he sends his Korean colleagues to serve them as a way of giving back to the Korean community. “I want them to feel comfortable and welcomed by being able to speak their language.”

The beginning of a Koreatown

The history of the Korean community in Montreal is young compared to the communities in Vancouver or Toronto. However, Montreal’s Korean community is unfolding deep within NDG. What started with Korean immigrants looking to set up shop to serve the local community has spilled over to non-Koreans.

For Ben Kim, the next step for the store and the future of his family was to move to the former location of Persian supermarket Akhavan across the street, to grow the business, and realize their ambitions.

It's from here that Ben envisions a future Koreantown on the same block where this story began. 

“We’re trying to make this a Koreatown. That’s our vision,” he says.