Parramatta. Koreans on the rise

The opening soon of yet another Korean-Japanese restaurant – Asadal, in Phillip Street, in the CBD, to join the other dozen or so in and around Parramatta – reflects the increasing number of Korean nationals in the region. Parramatta City Council’s Community Profile ranked Korean nationals sixth in its non-English speaking background top 10 ladder (Japanese nationals were not included in the top 10). Of the 2611 Koreans living in the city, in 2006, up to some 50 per cent lived in the north-east sector of the local government area (e,g, Epping, Carlingford, Dundas). Some 682 live in and around the CBD – 322 in the suburb of Parramatta,which includes the CBD, 213 in Rydalmere and 147 in Westmead. The Korean population increased by 8 per cent in the 2001-2006 census period.