| Albany Park is
one of 77 well-defined Chicago, Illinois, community
areas. It is a residential and commercial neighborhood
on the Northwest Side of Chicago, and one of the most
ethnically diverse in the United States. It has one
of highest percentages of foreign-born residents of
neighborhoods in Chicago. Although the majority of those
foreign-born residents are from Latin America, the majority
from Mexico (especially from the state of Michoacán)
and Guatemala, substantial numbers are from the Philippines,
India, Korea, Cambodia, the Former Yugoslavia (Serbia,
Croatia, Bosnia), Romania, Pakistan and the Middle East
(especially Iraq, Iran, and Lebanon).
Over 40 different languages are
spoken in its public schools. Due to the diverse population
and immigrant population attraction, the population
of the neighborhood has increased by 16.5% in the last
decade. It is part of the 60625 zip code, which is known
as one of the most diverse areas in the entire country.[1]
The neighborhood has been the
"Koreatown" of Chicago since the 1980s. The
majority of Korean shops in Albany Park can be found
on Lawrence Avenue (4800 North) between Kedzie (3200
West) and Pulaski (4000 West).
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