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Schoenhof’s Foreign Books
Arabic, Dutch, English, French, General, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Irish, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin, Persian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Swedish, Yiddish, Websites, Bookstores/Libraries, Kids
Founded in 1856, Schoenhof’s claims to have the “largest collection of foreign books in North America.” As a student at Harvard, I used to shop at their main store in Harvard Square for my language and literature course materials. I…
Jackson Heights, Queens, for Many Languages
General, Hindi, Korean, Polish, Russian, Spanish, Neighborhoods
This is a fantastically polyglottal community in northwestern Queens. Take the subway to Roosevelt Avenue/74th Street and you will find yourself in possibly the most diverse community in the world. You can hear massive amounts of Spanish along…
The Korean American Association of Greater New York
Korean, Organizations
This association, whose acronym KAAGNY automatically makes me think “Lacey,” offers both Korean and English versions of its website. KAAGNY has been around since before I was born, serving the roughly half a million Korean-Americans living in the New York…
Central Park
Arabic, Dutch, English, French, General, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin, Persian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Swedish, Yiddish, Parks, Kids
Central Park draws international visitors year round, but if you really want to hear other languages, walk around here during the three non-freezing seasons: spring, summer, and fall. Summer especially is crazy with tourists. You can hear dozens of languages.…
Go Hyang Jip
Korean, Food and Drink
I have eaten Korean food a number of times, but I have no meaningful expertise in it, so I can’t judge the resources of this Bedford Park store. I can, however, say, I enjoyed a nice little visit with…
Bedford Park, The Bronx
Korean, Neighborhoods
On 204th Street between the Grand Concourse and Mosholu Parkway is a small strip of Korean stores and restaurants. Back in 2010 when I visited, the area did not give the initial impression of full economic health. I had a nice…
Koreatown, Manhattan
Korean, Neighborhoods
Koreatown isn’t actually big enough to qualify as a town. According to Google, it runs from 31st to 36th streets, between Fifth and Sixth avenues, though I know of it primarily as a 32nd Street phenomenon. Korean abounds…
Älskling
Arabic, Dutch, English, French, General, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Irish, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin, Persian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Swedish, Shopping, Kids
Älskling, which means “darling” in Swedish, sells baby clothes online in dozens of languages. When I first encountered this product in an Upper West Side shop some years ago, I was fortunate enough to be given a tour by…
Koryo Books
Korean, Bookstores/Libraries
Koryo Books is located in the Manhattan mini-neighborhood of Koreatown. I went there in 2010 and found a book to help me learn the Korean alphabet. It was a good thing, too; I had reached dead ends in both of the…