Tracy Nguyen for NBC Newsfor K-pop merch, albums, light sticks and band-inspired stationery. General manager Emily Kim said the shop delivers a buoyant sense of community that young K-pop fans may not be able to find when they shop online.
The bustling Diamond Jamboree mall in Irvine, California, by contrast, has no vacancies, leasing manager Helen Wang said. Pacific East Mall, a 25-year-old mall in the San Francisco Bay Area, is nearly at full capacity after it underwent major renovations last year, leasing executive John Luk said. “I work 365 days without rest,” said MY-A owner Kieu Hue Ly, who sells medicine, cosmetics and household goods exported from Taiwan, Vietnam and Singapore. Most of her customers, Ly said, are Vietnamese refugees who have been shopping at her store for decades.Tracy Nguyen for NBC News
“This is a family mall,” said Jessica Dan, the owner of Chic’s Handbags, a handbag and wig stall she inherited from her brother in the early 1990s. Her sister, Jennifer Dan, runs a jewelry stall by her side.