LA Koreatown Metro Subway Guide: B Line, D Line, and the 2026 Extension
Plenty of visitors don't know there's a subway running under LA Koreatown. There is. Two lines share the tunnel beneath Wilshire Boulevard, and three stations sit inside the neighborhood itself, close enough together that you can walk between them. For Los Angeles, that's an unusual piece of luck.
I ride buses here more than I ride trains, which I'll get to. But something real changed in May 2026, and it changed what Koreatown is for. The Wilshire line extended west, and the neighborhood stopped being the end of the line. This post is part of my Koreatown series, and it maps the rail and the buses as one network instead of two.
What's in this guide
Why Koreatown has unusually good transit
Los Angeles is wide and loosely packed. Koreatown isn't. Blocks are short, buildings sit shoulder to shoulder, and major boulevards cross it in a grid. The practical effect is that missing your station costs you a walk, not a day. In most of this city that choice doesn't exist.
Geography helps too. You're about four miles west of Downtown and a similar distance south of Hollywood, which puts the neighborhood near the middle of the axes people actually travel. Starting a day from Koreatown is rarely the wrong decision, whatever direction you're heading.
B Line and D Line: same tunnel, different destinations
Two subway lines pass beneath the neighborhood. Both start at Union Station downtown, share the same track for several stops, and then split at Wilshire/Vermont.
| Line | After the split it goes | Take it for |
|---|---|---|
| B Line (red on maps) |
North, through Hollywood to North Hollywood | Hollywood Boulevard, Universal City, the Valley |
| D Line (purple on maps) |
West, following Wilshire Boulevard | Mid-Wilshire, Miracle Mile, Beverly Hills |
Here's the part that trips people up. Both lines pull into the same platform at Wilshire/Vermont, so you can't just board whatever arrives. Read the destination sign on the front of the train. I got this wrong on an early visit and ended up in Hollywood when I wanted Mid-Wilshire, which is a cheap mistake but an annoying one.
What changed in May 2026
On May 8, 2026, the D Line opened roughly four miles of new track heading west, with three new stations: Wilshire/La Brea, Wilshire/Fairfax, and Wilshire/La Cienega.
For anyone staying in Koreatown, that's a straightforward upgrade. Wilshire/Western used to be the western terminus — everything past it meant transferring to a bus. Now the La Brea Tar Pits, the museums along Miracle Mile, the Fairfax district, and the eastern edge of Beverly Hills are all a single ride away. Union Station to Wilshire/La Cienega takes about twenty-one minutes.
Worth knowing when you're reading other guides: a lot of English-language transit advice still lists Wilshire/Western as the end of the line. If you see that, the page predates May 2026 and may be out of date on other details too.
Two more sections are under construction, heading toward Beverly Hills, Century City, UCLA, and the VA hospital, with openings currently forecast for 2027. Expect construction along Wilshire in the meantime.
The stations, and which one to use
On a map they look interchangeable. At street level they're nothing alike.
| Station | Lines | What's above ground | Use it when |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wilshire/ Vermont |
B and D | Hospitals, schools, office buildings | You're switching between the two lines |
| Wilshire/ Normandie |
D | Mostly residential, few visitor draws | Your hotel or rental is nearby |
| Wilshire/ Western |
D | The densest commercial stretch; the Wiltern sits right above | You came for restaurants and shops |
| Vermont/ Beverly |
B | Northern edge of the neighborhood | You're heading toward Hollywood |
A habit that makes this easier: treat stations as directions rather than destinations. You're never more than a block or two off, and Koreatown is a neighborhood where walking a block is a normal thing to do rather than a defeat.
Buses running north and south
Rail here runs east to west. Everything moving north or south is a bus, and three corridors do most of the work.
- Vermont Avenue — Lines 204 and 754. One of the busiest bus corridors in the county. The 754 is the red Rapid version, with fewer stops. Both run from Hollywood down through South LA.
- Western Avenue — Line 207. Also Hollywood to the south, following the western edge of the neighborhood.
- Normandie Avenue. A local line fills the gap between the two, which is useful if your street happens to be Normandie.
Learn these three and the gap in the rail map stops being a problem. The buses themselves are a longer story — three systems, two agencies, and fares that don't match.
Earlier in this series LA Koreatown Public Transit Guide: DASH vs Metro vs Rapid Buses Three bus systems, two agencies, and what each one costs — plus how to board, pay, and get off.Buses running east and west
These duplicate the subway, which raises a fair question — why ride them? Two reasons. Short hops, and anywhere that falls between stations. Subway stops are about a mile apart. Buses stop every couple of blocks.
| Corridor | Line | Where it takes you |
|---|---|---|
| Wilshire Bl | 720 (Rapid) | West all the way to Santa Monica and the beach |
| Olympic Bl | 28 | Century City in one direction, Downtown in the other |
| Pico Bl | 30 | East to Little Tokyo |
| 8th St / Olympic | 66 | East toward Montebello |
| 6th St | 18 | From Wilshire/Western east through Downtown |
The 720 is the one I'd single out. Koreatown to the Santa Monica pier without a transfer is a rare thing in this city, and the fare is the same $1.75 as any other Metro ride.
Train or bus: how to choose
The rule is simpler than it looks.
Take the train for Downtown, Hollywood, anything west of Miracle Mile, and Union Station. Also during rush hour, and on rainy days. When Wilshire Boulevard jams, the bus jams with it and the subway doesn't.
Take the bus for moving around inside Koreatown, for anything north or south, for Santa Monica, and for destinations that sit between stations.
Honestly, for short distances I take the bus almost every time. It's habit more than logic. Watching the street go past builds my mental map of a neighborhood faster than a tunnel does, and I can get off early when something looks worth a stop. If you're short on time, though, take the train. It wins on every measurable count.
Fares and transfers
One fare covers both. Metro charges $1.75 a ride, and a TAP card gives you two hours of free transfers in any combination — rail to bus, bus to rail, bus to bus. Metro also caps you automatically at $5 in a day and $18 across a rolling seven days, so there's no pass to buy and nothing to keep track of.
Rail stations have fare gates and you tap on the way in. On a bus you tap at the front door. Cash works, but it buys a single ride instead of two hours, which is the main argument for getting a card on your first morning. Machines in any Koreatown station will sell and load one.
The exception is DASH, the small Downtown shuttle. It's run by the city rather than Metro, costs thirty-five cents with TAP, and sits outside the fare cap entirely — so it keeps charging after Metro has stopped for the day.
Questions people ask
Does the subway go through LA Koreatown?
Yes. The B and D Lines run under Wilshire Boulevard, with stations at Wilshire/Vermont, Wilshire/Normandie, and Wilshire/Western inside the neighborhood, plus Vermont/Beverly at its northern edge.
Which Koreatown station should I get off at?
Wilshire/Western for restaurants and shopping, Wilshire/Vermont if you're transferring between the two lines. The stations are close enough that getting this wrong costs you a short walk.
How long does it take to get from Koreatown to Downtown?
Ten to fifteen minutes by train, getting off at 7th Street/Metro Center.
Is the D Line extension open?
Section 1 opened on May 8, 2026, adding Wilshire/La Brea, Wilshire/Fairfax, and Wilshire/La Cienega. The Beverly Hills and Century City stations are currently forecast for 2027.
Can I get to the beach from Koreatown without a car?
Take the 720 Rapid west along Wilshire to Santa Monica. No transfer, but set aside the time — it's a long ride.
Between four rail stations and five bus corridors, Koreatown gives you more of Los Angeles without a car than almost any neighborhood in the city. That's not the reputation LA has. It's still true here.
Next in this series: what a day in Koreatown actually costs — transit, food, and the places worth spending on.
