This paper examines the historical background of the formation of ‘Shin-Okubo Korea town' in Tokyo, Japan, and reviews the social or academic implications of its transformation. The main contents of this paper are as follows. First, the history of the area where Shin-Okubo is located dates back to the Edo period. As a result, it was confirmed that this area was an ‘open' space that was easy for foreigners to come in and settle down long before the Korea town was formed, and this characteristic became the historical background that facilitated the formation of the Korea town. Second, this paper emphasizes that Shin-Okubo Korea town is becoming an important hub for exchanges between Korea and Japan under the influence of the Korean Wave phenomenon. Amidst Korea-Japan relations, which are prone to crunch due to history and diplomacy, the community called Shin-Okubo plays a role as a barometer to gauge the grassroots cultural exchanges of the citizens of both countries. Third, Shin-Okubo can be pointed out that it is not staying in the ‘Korea town,' but is changing into an ‘ethnic town' where various cultures and ethnic groups come together. This paper also emphasizes that this is not a crisis of the disappearance of the Korea town in Shin-Okubo, but a possibility to evolve and be reborn as a new space where cultural ‘hybridity' and ‘coexistence' can be practiced.