{"id":264527,"date":"2026-04-12T21:43:21","date_gmt":"2026-04-12T21:43:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/264527\/"},"modified":"2026-04-12T21:43:21","modified_gmt":"2026-04-12T21:43:21","slug":"how-koreatown-run-club-accidentally-built-one-of-las-largest-running-communities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/264527\/","title":{"rendered":"How Koreatown Run Club accidentally built one of LA\u2019s largest running communities"},"content":{"rendered":"

This\u00a0story<\/a>\u00a0first appeared on\u00a0The LA Local<\/a>.<\/p>\n

On a weeknight in April 2016, about 20 people gathered in Koreatown for a run organized by two friends who weren\u2019t sure what they were doing or if anyone would even show up.<\/p>\n

Ten years later, that group has become Koreatown Run Club<\/a>, a weekly fixture that now draws hundreds at a time and roughly 800 to a thousand runners across a typical week, according to co-founder Duy Nguyen. The club has expanded well beyond the neighborhood through partnerships with major brands, including sneaker collaborations with Nike and a banner encouraging the group for this year\u2019s L.A. Marathon.<\/p>\n

Neither Nguyen nor co-founder Michael Pak expected it to last this long, or to take on the kind of role it has in people\u2019s lives. The pair, Nguyen said, were \u201cjust looking for stuff to do together.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201cI don\u2019t think we thought that far ahead. The idea itself was kind of spur of the moment and then when we had the first run, we were like, \u2018oh, what are we doing next?\u2019 And then you blink and it\u2019s 10 years later,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The first run was loosely organized. Nguyen, an avid soccer guy, had originally planned to start a soccer club, but field access and liability concerns made that difficult. Running was simpler to coordinate and required little beyond a meeting point and a time.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou could run for free and people could come out at their own will and join,\u201d Pak said.<\/p>\n

Even then, they were unsure how it would work in practice.<\/p>\n

\u201cNone of us are runners,\u201d Nguyen said. \u201cSo we were worried like, what route do we run?\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Two<\/p>\n

Koreatown Run Club founders Mike Pak and Duy Nguyen at Love Hour in Koreatown.<\/p>\n

(<\/p>\n

Brian Feinzimer<\/p>\n

\/<\/p>\n

The LA Local<\/p>\n

)<\/p>\n

About 20 people showed up that first night, many of them friends who came to support the pair. Pak said much of the attendance over time happened through word of mouth rather than any formal outreach.<\/p>\n

As the runs became more organized and more people came out to run, the nature of the group began to change. Pak said he started to notice it in conversations with runners who were willing to share more about their lives outside of running. He recalled one woman telling him about her struggle with alcohol addiction and how the club had helped her through it.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s when a light bulb went off,\u201d he said. \u201cThey have their own personal life, they\u2019re going through their demons in life, and for them to express those feelings at a run club where they don\u2019t know anyone, I realized, well, if it\u2019s just that story, I\u2019m sure there are thousands of other stories that maybe we have an opportunity to learn from.\u201d<\/p>\n

For many members, the club functions as a place to build relationships that extend beyond the runs themselves.<\/p>\n

Julie Lee, co-captain of the crew on Thursdays, joined in 2023 after seeing its runners hype each other up in the Rose Bowl Half Marathon. She already knew who they were from Instagram, but said experiencing their energy in person made her want to join.<\/p>\n

Originally from Maryland, Lee said finding a community she can trust in a new place has been life-changing.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese are the friends that I call when I\u2019m having hard times in life, when I\u2019m going through my breakups, when I need a ride to the airport. This has become my family outside of my actual home,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Charles Austin, another co-captain, said the club filled a similar role for him after returning to the city after college. He\u2019s invited people he met through the club, including Lee, to his wedding last year.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s the sort of bonds that you end up building. And that\u2019s something that kind of fulfills me day in and day out,\u201d he said. \u201cI probably couldn\u2019t make it through some of the harder things I\u2019ve been through in the last couple of years if not for KRC.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Runners pose for a group photo before running with Koreatown Run Club at Love Hour in Koreatown.<\/p>\n

(<\/p>\n

Brian Feinzimer<\/p>\n

\/<\/p>\n

The LA Local<\/p>\n

)<\/p>\n

The club has also influenced how participants interact with the neighborhood itself. Pak said that before joining, he felt some people were hesitant to spend time in the neighborhood or felt unsure navigating it.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you have friends in the neighborhood and you live in the neighborhood, you get a little curious and have curiosity to explore more of the neighborhood that you live in. And I think we just opened a little door,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Nguyen agrees.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think maybe the run club opened it up more to being like, \u2018Oh, I\u2019m just gonna walk to get coffee after a run and stumble upon all these places and meet all these people,\u2019\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Running through the neighborhood also shapes how people experience it. While the streets of Koreatown are \u201cunpredictable,\u201d Pak said, moving through the area on foot allows runners to notice details they might otherwise miss.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think in the beginning, I didn\u2019t expect to see some really undiscovered restaurants and businesses,\u201d Pak said.<\/p>\n

Over time, Koreatown Run Club has expanded well beyond the city. Lee said that while traveling in South Korea for a marathon, she was welcomed by a local run club simply because she was associated with KRC.<\/p>\n

Nguyen described a similar experience while traveling in Taiwan, where someone recognized the club\u2019s name on his shirt and came up to talk to him.<\/p>\n

Similarly, Pak said while traveling Japan, he ran into someone wearing a KRC shirt and ended up going to dinner together.<\/p>\n

But Pak felt one of the clearest indicators of the club\u2019s reach was when runners began sending him photos of unofficial club merchandise being sold overseas.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s when I thought we really made it,\u201d he said, laughing. \u201cWe didn\u2019t know we could be bootlegged.\u201d<\/p>\n

The club has also taken on a larger role during moments of crisis. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Pak and Nguyen said runners used group chats to coordinate grocery deliveries and other forms of mutual aid.<\/p>\n

More recently, after the L.A. fires, the club converted one of its spaces into a relief center, collecting and distributing donations to affected families. Pak said volunteers from the community showed up consistently to help run the effort.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere were just so many volunteers that came through every single day,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s the community that we built. They all come together in a time of need.\u201d<\/p>\n

To Austin, the run club has become something he could rely on.<\/p>\n

\"People<\/p>\n

Runners along their route with Koreatown Run Club at Love Hour in Koreatown.<\/p>\n

(<\/p>\n

Brian Feinzimer<\/p>\n

\/<\/p>\n

The LA Local<\/p>\n

)<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a spot where I can come to and I can build on friendships and family,\u201d he said. \u201cIt all starts here and it just kind of branches out from here.\u201d<\/p>\n

On a recent weeknight at Love Hour \u2014 a burger joint co-owned by Pak and Nguyen \u2014 Lynn Nguyen, who joined the club in 2017, was in the middle of an interview after a run when she turned to Pak.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m getting married, Mike! You\u2019re invited to my wedding!\u201d she said, before returning to her answer.<\/p>\n

A few moments later, another runner walked by and stopped to greet her. Nguyen mentioned she had officiated their wedding three years earlier, then laughed and gestured toward the exchange.<\/p>\n

\u201cSee? That\u2019s how it is.\u201d<\/p>\n

Both founders said their lives have changed dramatically. Neither expected to run full marathons \u2014 Pak has done 10, Nguyen 31 \u2014 or to meet people from around the world and see strangers become friends who go on to get married and have kids.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s really inspiring to see how many people look at us outside of just Los Angeles. And at this point, it\u2019s way bigger than us and it\u2019s really cool to see new people coming in who I have no idea who they are, but they are part of this long-term journey,\u201d Pak said.<\/p>\n

Ten years after the first run, they say they still approach running the club without a long-term roadmap and take things day by day.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve been doing that from the start and it\u2019s gotten us here, so I think we\u2019ll just keep going at it,\u201d Nguyen said. \u201cWe never think too far ahead.\u201d<\/p>\n