In the 1990s, South Korean entrepreneurs began to buy up inexpensive land in the former entertainment district of Angeles City in the province of Pampanga, the Philippines. The relative success they generated is due to a rare, advantageous confluence of geospatial and sociocultural factors: strategic location in the fertile Central Luzon region, presence of the former United States' Clark Airbase, and a tradition among local Kapampangans of accommodating and adapting foreign influences to strengthen their own culture. This research describes the physical manifestation of Angeles' latest phenomenon: "Korea Town", which shows the unfolding of an enclave inside an urban community that maintains its own identity. It is shown that governance at different levels has become an enabler, and that despite their initial reticence, Korean settlers have gradually opened up to local clientele, through restaurants and bakeries, which have changed the landscape near the Clark International Airport. By highlighting how guardedness and rapprochement alternate to create a unique neighborhood where other foreigners once dominated, this study contributes to the literature on cultural dynamics in Southeast Asian cities and concludes that the Korean Town is no fluke, but a logical result of the interplay of location, culture and institutions, and is still likely to evolve in the future