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Korean United Methodist Church Gets Landmark Designation
The congregation poses on the front steps on Easter 1950.
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Courtesy of USC Digital Library via Cultural Heritage Commission
)
L.A. has a new historic-cultural monument: the former site of the Los Angeles Korean United Methodist Church. The L.A. City Council voted on the designation earlier this week.
The building, which is located near USC and now serves as apartments for students, was a house of worship from 1945 to 1959.
UCLA professor David K. Yoo says Methodist churches were community hubs for Koreans who came to the United States during the early 20th Century.
"It was a place where students and others would come to for connecting with other Koreans, finding jobs, looking for housing, trying to figure out how to navigate American life," Yoo said.
The roots of the Korean Methodist Church stretch back to American Missionaries who arrived in South Korea during the late 19th century.
The church is still operates in Westchester, where congregants have worshipped since 1989.
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