For many, the LA Korean Festival is more than a party. It’s a taste of home.

The 53rd annual Los Angeles Korean Festival took over Seoul International Park this weekend, marking a full-throated celebration of Korean culture that also reflects just how far the Korean community in Los Angeles has come.

Approximately 300,000 people attended the four-day festival, according to organizers.

Kathy Park almost skipped it this year. The 64-year-old Santa Clarita resident has been coming for years, but the triple-digit heat gave her pause. Ultimately she decided to make the trek to check out the vendors from the Jeolla province, where she’s originally from.

“The quality of the food itself is different,” Park said. “It feels more special because it tastes like home.”

That’s part of what keeps bringing her back, even though Los Angeles has no shortage of Korean restaurants, grocery stores and other businesses. The Korean Food and Agricultural Goods Expo at the festival provided shoppers a chance to find regional foods and products brought directly from the motherland.

Along Irolo Street, rows of white tents stretched between Olympic Boulevard and San Marino Street, with vendors from eight Korean provinces selling regional goods and traditional specialties.

The setup was reminiscent of a Korean jangtuh, or traditional marketplace. For some vendors, the festival has given them an excuse to make the annual trip across the Pacific.

Choi Yoon-ah, who runs Uiryeong Kind Farm in South Gyeongsang province, has been coming for four years and said she now looks forward to seeing customers who return to her booth each year.

“I think what I look forward to most is seeing regulars,” Choi said. “When I come to the Korean festival, I’m not just thinking about selling as much as possible. It’s a marketplace that warms my heart, and that’s what I look forward to most.”

For Seong Eui-jeong of Hangwadream in Uiryeong, this year was her first visit. Seong, who makes traditional Korean confections and sweets, is a myeongin, a title given to people recognized for their expertise in a traditional field. She ended up setting her highest sales record over the weekend.

“I honestly had no idea there were this many Koreans here. It feels like someone had just picked up Korea and moved it here,” she said.

Uiryeong, where Seong is from, is the least populated in South Gyeonsang province.

“Seeing so many people was really exciting. They felt like people from my hometown, and it even made me think, ‘Maybe I’d like to live here someday.’ It was just really nice to be here,” she said.

Yi Ki-won, the owner of Onggojib in Gunsan in North Jeolla province, has been making the trip for 13 years. Her family business makes traditional fermented foods, including doenjang, gochujang and ganjang. Yi is also recognized as a traditional jang master.

“There’s a sense of nostalgia when I come here,” Yi said. “And there’s a lot of jeong, too. I’ve made friends here over the years, and I only get to see them when I come here.” ■