Le Privé was a successful Korean club

Nightclub

A nightclub is an entertainment venue which usually operates late into the night...

 or "K-Club" in Los Angeles

Los Ángeles

Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

 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

LA Weekly is a free weekly tabloid-sized "alternative weekly" in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in 1978 by Editor/Publisher Jay Levin and a board of directors that included actor-producer Michael Douglas...

, Asianweek

AsianWeek

AsianWeek was a widely circulated publication of Asian American news, across all Asian ethnic groups, providing coverage of Asian-American issues such as the killing of Vincent Chin, Asian American college admissions, and quotas on Chinese students in competitive San Francisco examination schools...

, KoreAm Journal

KoreAm Journal

KoreAm is an award-winning monthly magazine dedicated to news, commentary, politics, lifestyle and culture published in the United States. It is the oldest and most widely circulated English-language monthly magazine for the Asian American community. The magazine has featured prominent Asian...

 and the Seoul Times.

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.

Booking

"Booking", 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. The men can then sit and talk to the women or tell them to leave depending on interest. This is one of the few instances in Korean culture where tipping is encouraged, as waiters usually give a better effort depending on gratuity.

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, as well as a number of underage persons who have managed to sneak past the bouncer

Bouncer (doorman)

A bouncer is an informal term for a type of security guard employed at venues such as bars, nightclubs or concerts to provide security, check legal age, and refuse entry to a venue based on criteria such as intoxication, aggressive behavior, or attractiveness...

 checking ID at the door.

Celebrities who came to Le Privé were Ben Affleck

Ben Affleck

Benjamin Géza Affleck-Boldt , better known as Ben Affleck, is an American actor, film director, writer, and producer. He became known with his performances in Kevin Smith's films such as Mallrats and Chasing Amy...

, Nicolas Cage

Nicolas Cage

Nicolas Cage is an American actor, producer and director, having appeared in over 60 films including Raising Arizona , The Rock , Face/Off , Gone in 60 Seconds , Adaptation , National Treasure , Ghost Rider , Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans , and...

, Vince Vaughn

Vince Vaughn

Vincent Anthony "Vince" Vaughn is an American film actor, screenwriter, producer and comedian. He began acting in the late 1980s, appearing in minor television roles before attaining wider recognition with the 1996 movie Swingers...

, Owen Wilson

Owen Wilson

Owen Cunningham Wilson is an American actor and writer, known for his roles in the films The Haunting, The Royal Tenenbaums, Zoolander, Meet the Parents, Wedding Crashers, You, Me and Dupree, Bottle Rocket, the Cars series, The Darjeeling Limited, Marley & Me, Midnight in Paris, Shanghai Noon,...

, Jackie Chan

Jackie Chan

Jackie Chan, SBS, MBE is a Hong Kong actor, action choreographer, comedian, director, producer, martial artist, screenwriter, entrepreneur, singer and stunt performer. In his movies, he is known for his acrobatic fighting style, comic timing, use of improvised weapons, and innovative stunts...

, Chang Chen

Chang Chen

Chang Chen is a Taiwanese actor, born in Taipei, Taiwan. His name is sometimes seen in the Western order . He is the son of a Taiwanese actor Chang Kuo Chu and brother of a Taiwanese actor, Chang Han .-Career:...

, Brian McKnight

Brian McKnight

Brian McKnight is an American singer-songwriter, arranger, producer, and R&B/Pop musician. He is a multi-instrumentalist who plays nine instruments: piano, guitar, bass guitar, drums, percussions, trombone, tuba, flugelhorn and trumpet....

, Mickey Rourke

Mickey Rourke

Philip Andre "Mickey" Rourke, Jr. is an American actor, screenwriter and retired boxer, who has appeared primarily as a leading man in action, drama, and thriller films....

 and Oliver Stone

Oliver Stone

William Oliver Stone is an American film director, producer and screenwriter. Stone became well known in the late 1980s and the early 1990s for directing a series of films about the Vietnam War, for which he had previously participated as an infantry soldier. His work frequently focuses on...

. This is also where Nicolas Cage

Nicolas Cage

Nicolas Cage is an American actor, producer and director, having appeared in over 60 films including Raising Arizona , The Rock , Face/Off , Gone in 60 Seconds , Adaptation , National Treasure , Ghost Rider , Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans , and...

 met his wife, Alice Kim. Shaquille O'Neal

Shaquille O'Neal

Shaquille Rashaun O'Neal , nicknamed "Shaq" , is a former American professional basketball player. Standing tall and weighing , he was one of the heaviest players ever to play in the NBA...

 held his birthday party there as well.

Trivia

Jennifer Lopez

Jennifer Lopez

Jennifer Lynn Lopez is an American actress, singer, record producer, dancer, television personality, and fashion designer. Lopez began her career as a dancer on the television comedy program In Living Color. Subsequently venturing into acting, she gained recognition in the 1995 action-thriller...

, DMX

DMX (rapper)

Earl Simmons , better known by his stage name DMX, is a multiplatinum American rapper and actor who rose to fame in the late 1990s. His stage name pays tribute to the Oberheim DMX drum machine, an instrument he used when he made his own rap beats in the 80's...

, Sugar Ray

Sugar Ray

Sugar Ray is a band from Orange County, California. The band, starting off more as an alternative metal band, first gained fame in 1997 with their release of the song "Fly". This song's success, coupled with its pop rock sound that was quite different from the rest of their material at the time,...

 and Gerald Levert

Gerald Levert

Gerald Levert was an American R&B singer. Gerald Levert sang with his brother, Sean Levert, and friend Marc Gordon in the R&B trio LeVert. He was also a part of LSG, an R&B supergroup comprising Keith Sweat, Johnny Gill, and Levert...

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)