Le Privé was a successful

Korean Korean may refer to: People and culture * Koreans, people from the Korean peninsula or of Korean descent * Korean culture * Korean language **Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Korean **Korean dialects **See also: North–South differences in t ...

club Club may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Club'' (magazine) * Club, a ''Yie Ar Kung-Fu'' character * Clubs (suit), a suit of playing cards * Club music * "Club", by Kelsea Ballerini from the album ''kelsea'' Brands and enterprises * ...

or "K-Club" in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

which was believed to be the largest Asian dance club in North America.

Significance and Design

The significance of this club had been reported in a variety of news media including

LA Weekly ''LA Weekly'' is a free weekly alternative newspaper in Los Angeles, California. The paper covers music, arts, film, theater, culture, and other local news in the Los Angeles area. ''LA Weekly'' was founded in 1978 by Jay Levin (among others), ...

Asianweek ''AsianWeek'' was America's first and largest English-language print and on-line publication serving East Asian Americans. The news organization played an important role nationally and in the San Francisco Bay Area as the “Voice of Asian Americ ...

KoreAm Journal ''KoreAm'', or ''KoreAm Journal,'' was a monthly print magazine published from 1990 to December 2015. It was dedicated to news, commentary, politics, lifestyle and culture published in the United States. It was the oldest and most widely circulat ...

and the

Seoul Times Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...

. The club featured Gothic accents, gargoyles with lights piercing from their eyes, plush velvet couches, private karaoke rooms, a large dance floor with integrated floor illumination system, and marble trimmed bathrooms. The club was located on 721 S. Western Ave and opened in 2000, but closed in 2006. In 2007, it reopened under new ownership and a new name, Le Cercle. A traditional bar set up where patrons would buy drinks at a localized station was not used. Instead, patrons were required to reserve a table/booth and order a bottle of liquor at a set price, which a waiter would bring to you along with a plate of fresh fruit. This was common practice at the venue, as well as other Korean-American clubs. A novel idea at the time, this practice made way into the Hollywood clubs as well the Las Vegas night club scene.

Booking

Booking Booking may refer to: * Making an appointment for a meeting or gathering, as part of event planning/ scheduling * The intake or admission process into a prison or psychiatric facility. * ''Booking'' (manhwa), a Korean comics anthology magazine ...

", a unique Korean club practice in which waiters introduce club patrons to each other, was common at Le Privé. Booking is a practice in which waiters bring women (sometimes forcibly) to a table to sit with men. Both parties are free to leave at any time, or depending on mutual interest, they can continue to sit together and drink and talk. This is one of the few instances in Korean culture where tipping is encouraged, as waiters usually give a better effort depending on gratuity. The system was based on quid pro quo, whereas females were offered drinks in return for their time chatting with male tables. Seldomly, roles were reversed where males would be brought to all female tables by the waiters.

Clientele

Approximately 65% of the patrons were Koreans (Korean Americans and immigrants), 20% Chinese (Chinese Americans and immigrants), 5% other Asians, 10% non Asians. The club hosts an average age range from 21 to 30.

Jennifer Lopez Jennifer Lynn Lopez (born July 24, 1969), also known by her nickname J.Lo, is an American singer, songwriter, actress, dancer and businesswoman. Lopez is regarded as one of the most influential entertainers of her time, credited with breaking ...

, DMX,

Sugar Ray Sugar Ray is an American rock band formed in Newport Beach, California, in 1986. Originally playing heavier funk metal and nu metal style music, the band achieved mainstream popularity in 1997 with their more pop-influenced single " Fly". Th ...

and

Gerald Levert Gerald Edward Levert (July 13, 1966 – November 10, 2006) was an Americans, American singer-songwriter and Music Producer, producer. Levert performed with his brother, Sean Levert, and friend Marc Gordon with the R&B vocal group, LeVert. Le ...

have filmed music videos at Le Privé.

External links

Police: Booze Fuels Koreatown Crime
(Asian Week - June 14, 2002)
Cracking the Clubbing Code
(LA Weekly - February 5, 2004)
It's Koreatown, Jake
(Seoul Times)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Prive, Le Nightclubs in Los Angeles County, California Korean-American organizations