The Brief

The story first appeared on The LA Local.

Koreatown is preparing for major 2026 FIFA World Cup watch parties next month, with thousands of fans expected to cheer on South Korea during three of its group stage matches.

As excitement builds around the World Cup, concerns remain about possible federal immigration enforcement during the international event.

The three watch parties are scheduled for June 11 and June 24 at Liberty Park and June 18 at Seoul International Park, which organizers expect to draw thousands of attendees.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass attempted to reassure any concerns about federal raids Tuesday while promoting the watch parties. 

“I want folks to know that the World Cup is going to be peaceful,” Bass said during a press conference at Liberty Park. “With this administration, I can tell you the best that I know at this hour. So with that in mind, I do not believe that ICE will be at any of the watch parties.”

Bass could not give a firm guarantee that immigration enforcement would not take place during the tournament.

At a media roundtable on Thursday, Bass said federal law enforcement would have a visible presence around World Cup events and venues.

“The events will be safe, because these are international events. And so it’s not just going to be LAPD, it’s going to be a lot of other local law enforcement agencies as well as federal support,” she said. “So in some instances, especially near the venues, you will have federal presence, not ICE, probably the National Guard, but they will be here.”

Bass said she feels confident there will not be ICE raids during the World Cup matches in Los Angeles, because President Donald Trump and his administration do not want the games to project chaos on the international stage. 

“I think during these games … the last concern will be security, because you’ll see an overwhelming force of security. We just have to get our people to not be fearful that there will be ICE raids that happen,” she said about the World Cup and the 2028 Summer Olympics. 

“He doesn’t want the world to see chaos on our streets. He really doesn’t. And that’s why I feel confident that we will not have ICE raids,” she said about Trump. 

Bass added Tuesday that she believes ICE would be present in Inglewood during the World Cup to “look for people who might be on the no-fly list.”

Where to watch the World Cup in Koreatown

Viewing parties for South Korea’s June 11 opener against the Czech Republic and its June 24 match against South Africa will be held at Liberty Park in Koreatown, with programming beginning at 2 p.m. for both events.

The June 18 match against Mexico will take place at Seoul International Park and is expected to draw the largest crowds. Organizers say programming for that event will begin at 10 a.m. and continue throughout the day, with the match livestream beginning at 6 p.m.

Each event will feature large outdoor viewing areas with giant LED screens, live cheering squads and a main stage with K-pop performances, taekwondo demonstrations, traditional Korean performances, ballet and other entertainment throughout the day.

Organizers are also planning mini soccer games, face painting, photo booths and other family-friendly activities. Food trucks and vendors will line the festival grounds, and a separate senior area is being planned so older attendees can participate safely alongside younger fans.

Young-wan Kim, consul general of South Korea in Los Angeles, said the World Cup carries deep emotional significance for many in the community because of memories from South Korea’s historic 2002 World Cup run.

“It’s an opportunity for us to demonstrate our strengths and our unity and our solidarity,” Kim said. “I hope our celebration of unity goes beyond our community, bringing all races, all people with different backgrounds together.”

Viewing party organizers are working with the Los Angeles Police Department, Los Angeles Fire Department, private security teams, medical staff and city officials to prepare for the large crowds, said Duha Hwang with marketing agency and organizer Advue.

He added that organizers already have insurance coverage and safety measures in place for the events.

The watch parties are being organized by the Korean American Federation of Los Angeles, the L.A. Korean Festival Foundation, the Korean American Chamber of Commerce and more groups.

The first 1,000 attendees at each match will receive free “Red Devils” shirts and cheering items. The “Red Devils,” the official supporters group for South Korea’s national soccer team, became a defining image of the 2002 World Cup, when massive crowds dressed in red packed streets across the country to cheer on the team during its historic run to the semifinals — still the furthest an Asian men’s national team has ever advanced in the tournament.

Hwang said organizers hope to recreate some of that atmosphere in Koreatown.

“We believe this event is becoming something much bigger than a traditional Korean community gathering,” Hwang said.

Southern California was built on radio.

"I can still hear the jingle KFWB News 98,” wrote  Taline in Los Feliz, during a recent conversation on LAist's daily news show, AirTalk, which airs on 89.3 FM. “I grew up hearing that in my dad's minivan on the way to and from school. It has a special place in my heart.”

Back in April, broadcast company Audacy announced KNX News — one of the last-remaining all-news FM stations — was leaving the FM dial where it had simulcast on 97.1 FM since 2021. The station, which is also one of the oldest in L.A., is not budging from 1070 AM where it has been on the air for more than 100 years. The move away from FM officially happened in May to make way for a new sports talk station, which Audacy officials called an area of growth for advertisers in today’s media landscape.

The move is one in a long line of changes for radio and a reminder that before podcasts, playlists and algorithms, many Southern Californians built their days around radio broadcasts.

Radio, a daily ritual

The construction of KNX

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Herman J. Schultheis

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Los Angeles Public Library

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Michael Jackson, a well-known KNX, personality

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Los Angeles Public Library

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Larry Mantle, now in his 41st year hosting AirTalk, remembers being a kid and dreaming of what it might be like to be behind the mic at one of these radio stations.

“ I grew up with KNX," he said. “My dream job as a kid was to be an anchor on KNX or KFWB, the two local all-news radio stations, 'cause there was nothing like hosting AirTalk that even existed at that point.”

Mantle opened up the phone lines on a recent show to hear from his fellow SoCal radio lovers about the shows they miss and the memories they have. Here's what they had to say:

A love for radio, then and now  

A pilot of KMPC's traffic alert helicopter pictured with his daughter and grandson.

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Los Angeles Public Library

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A 1963 picture of Valley State College (now Los Angeles Valley College) preparing to launch KVCM

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Larry Leach

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Los Angeles Public Library

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“When you'd walk down Hollywood Boulevard where the station was, you could hear it playing as you went down the street,” said  Olivia in Glendale about KLAC 570 with Al Jarvis.

 Larry in Yorba Linda shouted out KBCA Jazz for its 24-hour jazz, saying “When I first moved out here in '68 from Phoenix, which had like an hour a week, it was a real wonder.”

 Mark in Glassell Park emailed that he loves KCRW’s Henry Rollins, writing, “I used to bristle at his unique DJ persona, but over time, I came to love him and his crazy eclectic playlists. I find his knowledge in history and punk rock fascinating. He's a gem and a legend."

"I'd like to give a shout-out to all the DJs working at KXLU, the college station at Loyola Marymount University, said  Jeremy in Culver City in an email. “That station's been on the air for nearly 60 years. I believe it's one of the best examples of what's possible with radio."

"KFWB and KRLA back in the day when they were rock music stations —  Dr. Demento, one of my favorite on-air personalities, also had eclectic music taste," said  Carrie in Desert Edge.

“ Dr. Demento was must listening when I was a kid in junior high school at Le Conte Junior High in Hollywood,” Mantle added. “Every Sunday night on KMET, we would make sure we were listening to Dr. Demento and his funny records.”

The question remains…

An 11-year-old winning a car in a KMPC contest in 1963.

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Los Angeles Public Library

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Listener support is vital to any radio station, and it’s clear KNX has many lifelong fans. AirTalk listeners highlighted their support for household KNX names over the decades like Bill Keene, Melinda Lee, Mike Roy and Jackie Olden.

As KNX makes changes, many are watching closely and thinking about the future of radio.

Listeners like Tommy in La Quinta are left wondering if the radio dial will be the same…

“I’m a hardcore listener, but I don't know about casual listeners [and] if they'll tune to AM,” he said.

After months of hand-wringing, Los Angeles and LA28 have come to a tentative agreement on how Olympics organizers will reimburse the city for its expenses for the 2028 Summer Games.

According to the deal, the private Olympic organizing committee will pay upfront for the estimated cost of services that are not eligible for federal reimbursement, like trash pick-up and traffic control. Under another proposal, the city would also be able to tap an LA28 contingency fund if it isn't fully repaid by the federal government for policing costs at Olympic venues.

The agreement is nearly nine months overdue and still needs approval by Mayor Karen Bass and the City Council.

The 2028 Olympics are intended to be privately financed, and an existing city agreement with LA28 states that the Olympics organizers, not L.A., will pay for extra costs for public services in support of the Games. But L.A. is the financial back-stop for the Olympics, meaning if LA28 goes in the red, taxpayers will pick up the bill.

Beyond that, the city services agreement presents another area where L.A. could incur additional unexpected expenses for hosting the Games. L.A. City Councilmember Monica Rodriguez warned LA28 CEO Reynold Hoover earlier this year that a bad deal could "bankrupt" the city.

Jacie Prieto Lopez, an LA28 spokesperson, and Paul Krekorian, who leads the city's office of major events, said in statements that the freshly inked agreement would help deliver a fiscally responsible Games.

"Mayor Bass’ priority is that the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games be fiscally responsible, protect taxpayers, and benefit Angelenos for decades to come. This agreement helps deliver that commitment," Krekorian said.

But the contract between the two parties doesn't fully resolve one of the biggest areas of financial risk for the city: the enormous cost of security for an event as extensive and high-profile as the summer Olympics and Paralympics.

Organizers are counting on the federal government to pay for public safety at Olympic venues that are considered part of a "national special security event." That includes costs for LAPD staffing. LA28 has not included security costs in its $7.1 billion budget — a fact that City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto criticized earlier this year.

The federal government has so far allocated $1 billion for security costs for the Olympics. Exactly where those federal funds will go has not yet been determined, and there's no guarantee they will cover all of L.A.'s policing costs.

To address this, city officials have also proposed an amendment to a 2021 agreement between the city and LA28. That amendment would establish that if L.A. is not reimbursed by the federal government for all its eligible expenses, it could dip into LA28's contingency fund of $270 million before the private organizing committee could use those funds for any legacy projects.

But that bucket of money will first be used for any costs that Olympics organizers still owe if they run out of revenue — meaning if the Olympics don't turn a profit, the city's access to that money will depend on how much is left for the taking.

Civil rights attorney Connie Rice, who has been tracking the city's negotiations with LA28, told LAist the agreement was a "PR document" not a deal. She pointed out that if the federal government does not pay up for security spending as expected, L.A. could be in trouble.

" It leaves the taxpayers with a GoFundMe strategy," she said.

The city services agreement lays the groundwork for more negotiations between LA28 and the city. Each venue will require its own agreement, to be negotiated by July 1, 2027. Venues in the city of L.A. include Dodger Stadium, the L.A. Convention Center, L.A. Memorial Coliseum and the Venice Beach Boardwalk.

The City Council's ad-hoc committee on the 2028 Games will meet Tuesday afternoon to vote on the agreement.