After my first year in residence, I, like many other students at U of T, fell into the trap of equating U of T with Toronto. When the opportunity came to live in a house in the Christie and Dupont area for my second year, I took it, knowing that now I would be forced to experience a different area of Toronto.
Now, the forty-minute walk from the C&D to campus is definitely not fun. However, I find the walk through the Korean business district incredibly mellowing before class.
The Korean business district, or Koreatown, as I like to call it, runs on Bloor Street from Honest Ed’s to Christie Pits Park. If I had to sum it up in three words, it would be restaurants, the Internet and karaoke.
As a person who loves eating, I will always think of Korean barbeque when I think of this area. You can top this off with the Korean dessert of walnut cakes, which only seem to be sold in two places downtown.
You can’t miss these stores—they are literally called “Walnut Cakes.”
There are at least five Internet cafés in Koreatown, an area that is the equivalent of one subway stop, so if you need to blow off some steam and your computer’s not fast enough to support Quake, these are the places for you. Be warned, though, they tend to be dimly lit.
If you want to perform a loving tribute to Michael Jackson for your friends, then Koreatown also has a large number of karaoke bars at your disposal.
So if you have yet to experience the joy that is Koreatown, I suggest you make the trek down to Bloor and Bathurst and have yo-self a good time.
