As an admirer of Korean culture, this shopping center is one of my go-to spots for shopping, eating, and general hanging out with friends and family in the OC area! I've seen this shopping center grow over the years and how they are constantly adding new shops and eateries which keeps things new and fresh. One of my favorite stores is the newly opened Seoul Stop. This store combines your typical Korean convenience store with a Skincare/Stationary store. There's so many fun and cool things to discover here and I've always visited this store whenever I come to the source. There are also plenty of food options! On the top floor, they have a food court with various options from bakery goods to Korean street food snacks. There's also various restaurant-style spots and the food quality overall is great! I also love the Life4Cuts shop where you can take fun photo strip photos with friends and family with various props. My only critique is the general prices are high for everything from goods to food. It is expensive to shop and eat there, but if you have a couple extra dollars to spare this would be a great place to do it. There's also ample free parking at the Source with various levels of covered parking. read more

There are so many shops and restaurants here. Stopped by the second time during our LA trip and spent about 3 hours here just exploring. There's three levels here and a food court as well. Would like to visit again when I get the chance. Parking was easily accessible and free, we came around 2PM on a Monday. read more

The Source - Shopping Centers Near Me - Buena Park, California

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The Source OC is a mixed-use development in Buena Park, primarily used as an open-air shopping mall. In addition to retail shopping and restaurants, a multi-screen movie theater, a hotel and office space are on site. In 2023, some of the area surrounding The Source OC was designated as the Koreatown neighborhood of Buena Park, so it shouldn't be a surprise that the majority of businesses within The Source are Korean. A project required that I visit Buena Park regularly. I visited this facility because of all the eating options here. I visited both mid-week and on weekends. Midweek, the shopping center is sort of quiet. I suppose it's dealing with changes in brick-and-mortar retail. But if you're interested in Asian cosmetics; clothing with nuanced Asian aesthetics; or K-pop merch, this shopping center is for you. As mentioned previously, there are a lot of eating options within this center. Some of the restaurants, vendors in the food court--and the shopping center itself, gets featured on social media. During the weekends, it's a bit buzzier. For example, on one weekend afternoon visit, I saw a lot of teens participating in a "plaza dancing" event. read more

The Source - plaza dancing event - Shopping Centers Near Me - Buena Park, California

Although the parking lot can be a wild scene during peak hours, there is always seemingly loads of availability throughout, especially on the second and third floors. With plenty of space to film Tik-Tok videos in this mall, it is a wonderfully convenient place for young and old alike to create their content. Amazing new mall plaza in the newly labeled Koreatown Buena Park; ensure to visit during daytime hours to ensure access to all open businesses! read more

I came here a while back for several hours with a friend and there were SO many shops to see between the 3 levels. You could come for breakfast, lunch, and dinner and then shop at several different kinds of stores in between. There are a lot of Asian cultural places here, so be aware the food takes on those cultural characteristics - and it is DELICIOUS. Lots of bakeries too, I had macarons from two different shops. The way I see it, there's so much good food and fun spots in Orange County that I wouldn't go out of my way to come here, but if passing through - absolutely! Make a stop if you can. read more

We came here Saturday and they have busking event and it's fun. We end up spending half of the day there. Some good entertainment for free and had some yummy Korean food as well. Wish they are going to have more live music or dance event since weather it's warmer now. read more

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It's crazy how social media can paint such a different image compare to what reality is. When you see influencers coming to the source or different stores highlighted through Instagram and tik tok, you're thinking "wow!" However when you actually get there...it's a bit underwhelming. It has 3 stories and each are filled with bakeries, cosmetic stores, skincare stores, restaurants, etc. if you're a huge K-pop fan, you might really like this place as it has a variety of different shops It has definitely improved tremendously since a few years ago with more shops. A great place to just check out once with your kids. read more

actually very good spot to kill time, hang out with friends, or eat delicious foods! very koreaboo but reminds me of my childhood obsessions lol plenty of parking even though it can get very busy. read more

My cousin is a huge K-POP fan. She took me on one of her fandom adventures. We went to check out "DFESTA" which is a gallery of K-POP Idols. I am not a big K-POP fan - I will not pretend to be. BUT - yo - I purple BTS. This outside mall was extremely clean and had several eateries. I think I was hungry - that's the only reason why those stood out to me. We went prior to Christmas, so I'm not sure about how packed or busy it gets. When we went to check out the DFESTA it was near the stores closing time - so very little ppl. read more

You can have your choice of meals at this location with several restaurants and two levels of food court. They have desserts, bakeries, and many variety of foods. They also have stores & shops for those seeking K-experiences. You can even pretend you're in the subway stations in korea & buy instant ramen to microwave & consume it right there. Free parking in the structure attached to the shopping center. Just remember the parking structure levels do not match the mall levels (i.e., 3rd floor parking is 2nd floor mall). Good place to meet friends. We run into people we know often here as many gather here. read more

HUGE improvement and way more life in this place than my initial review pre-COVID (2019). I'm glad this place didn't disintegrate into a dead plaza reminiscent of the Puente Hills Mall to be honest. There have been lots of businesses and eateries here that have come and go, but their current selection is pretty solid and they're still expanding and adding more! It's definitely to the point where parking is slightly more difficult to find and a bit tight if you're not going to the upper levels on a weekend, so this is definitely a testament to how successful the Source has gotten. But BIG PLUS is that the parking is free. The Source is a great place to hang out with friends and family, or go out on a date, since there's several floors to walk around, many shops to look at, lots of different restaurants, cafes, and places to pick up sweets, drinks, and treats at. Love the option of food courts (TWO at that) especially if you're with a group of friends and people aren't sure what to get or if you want to try eating a lot of things. For entertainment, there's the theaters, a VR place, a VR/indoor golfing place ??, a play place for kids (paid), various arcade crane game machines in some of the food court areas, and 4 Cut for Life which is a photo strip booth shop and Flippoly also has a photobooth too. OMG (Otaku Market Gathering) was held here years ago pre-COVID but I can easily see way more vents taking place here as there's lots of space and gathering places. Definitely worth stopping by if you're in the area! read more

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The parking garage is conveniently located right next to the entrance into this mall. When we arrived to go to the Karaoke bar the good vibe was just not there. My brother and I walked around to look for some fast food and the food court was already closed at 9pm on a Friday night. We only found one map to guide us around this unwelcoming maze and unfortunately we didn't eat at any of the establishments. They need to offer some maps and update the decor to make it more vibrant and welcoming. read more

The Source - Plenty of free parking FEB2025 - Shopping Centers Near Me - Buena Park, California

The Source is an outdoor mall in Buena Park. It has a variety of shops including a food court, shops, desserts, a movie theater, and clothing stores. One thing that I noticed was that there were tons of Korean shops and kpop related stores. There's parking in the parking structure with multiple levels. There are mirrors across the mall where we spotted multiple groups of people dancing in front of them which was cool to see. It wasn't the nicest mall with the cleanest facilities or the most shops but it was decent. read more

The Source - Shopping Centers Near Me - Buena Park, California

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We love the Source since it 1st opened. Was so ecstatic to have an outdoor Korean mall filled with cool Korean shops, bakeries, eateries along w a Korean theater. It's a 4 story mall. Food court on the 2nd & 4th floor. Lots of tables and chairs available and can easily fill up pretty fast. ~Our fav place is Ocean Snack for sushi, poke fish bowls & Jawz for Korean street food. ~Pelicana Chicken are one of the best fried chicken. Highly recommended. ~The Bakery is the best place for Gombo Korean donuts. Filled red bean and sweet yam fillings. Must try! Lots of varieties of food restaurant for everyone including dessert. You can Eat out at the quad/ performance center where stairs are at. Have your own picnic. Has an indoor playground called Playpie. You can keep pretty busy here. There's stairs along w elevator and escalator to get you to the different floors. Karaoke and bar nightlife on rooftop. Parking lot structure that has Tesla charging station. Mee and my family frequent here like once a month. It's our go to spot for all the Korean yummy grubs. read more

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I love how they are opening more restaurants and stores here at this location it also have good deals and nice things to do read more

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Outdoor multilevel mall with Korean businesses. Parking was free in the parking structure. On a Sunday night it was almost full, but I was able to find a spot. There are some decent restaurants, bakeries, dessert shops, coffee shops, and movie theater. Popular with kpop loving girls and people going out to dinner dressed nice. Just down the street from Knotts. read more

Great place to hang out, eat Korean food, listen to KPOP, walk around and even shop although I normally eat and walk around. Fooood// plenty of places from hotpot to KBBQ and brunch to desserts, ramen and cafes. Can be somewhat on the pricier side but totally worth it in my opinion since the food is good. There food places on all floors. Bottom floor has ice cream, boba, your casual eating places ie Korean hotdog. Middle/second floor has a ramen place, food court, and cafe, and acai place. They provide water for free. Top floor has KBBQ, tofu house, hot pot, and a food court similar to the second but with boba, donuts and more pastries. Water is not free but there are claw machines. The spicy seafood Jjamppong on the second floor was great!! Good spice, lots of noodles and seafood, worth the buck in my opinion. Only thing is to-go containers were 50cents each. Ambience// Went on a Friday evening and many out to eat. There were young dance groups practicing kpop. Very hip place to for those into Korean culture etc read more

The Source - Spicy seafood Jjamppong - Shopping Centers Near Me - Buena Park, California

Interesting mall, but surprisingly with very little foot traffic for Saturday at noon. We stayed at the Doubletree across the street, and we stopped here for a quick bite to eat before hitting the road up North. This mall has three floors so it was hard to find something good in a hurry. We went to Overflo for a bulgogi bowl and sadly I was not impressed by it. There is a coffee shop called, "In-sīt Coffee" that we really enjoyed. It was a cute shop with good service, and great coffee and pastries. If I'm ever in the area, I would definitely stop there again. That in itself was worth the stop, but I have yet to discover what the hype is at The Source OC. Because we were in a rush this time, my first impression was "just okay." It felt like a ghost town mall. read more

The Source - Empty mall for a Saturday late-morning - Shopping Centers Near Me - Buena Park, California

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It's my first time visiting this three level indoor/outdoor mall. There are several food options being offered. You can choose from two level of food courts aside from multiple stand alone restaurants with different price ranges. Most of the shops and restaurants are Asian inspired such as Korean, Japanese, Chinese, dessert shops, coffee shops etc. There is also a Mexican and Italian restaurant on the third floor. You'll see stores that sells cute knickknacks, toys, dresses, consignments, health products, a bakery school, VR/arcade/gaming venue, martial arts studio, after school academy and golf venue. There are several business that offers nail and hair salons, beauty stores, beauty spas, Karaoke bar and cinema. The concept of one mall one stop shopping experience is here for all walks of life. The best thing is the free parking option with several EV chargers available. This is so far a unique and exciting place to hang out with friends and family in OC area. I hope we can have this type of also in the Valley. I like the way they decorate with place using lots of greenery add aesthetic elements when you stroll. read more

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I was on my way to the venue so I stopped by here to see what is new as many stores and restaurants were not open at that time. They have food court both on the second and third floor. They have couple of cool restaurants on the third floor. If you are in Buena Park, come see it for yourself. Check the website as well. Plenty of parking in the parking structure. They also have movie theater. Sometimes over the weekend they have entertainment show in the center. read more

The Source - Store Directory as of 9/19/23 - Shopping Centers Near Me - Buena Park, California

This review is for the mall itself, not any particular store or restaurant. A big red flag is the escalators. I don't know if they're turned off to save costs, but it's a safety risk to have people using escalators as stairs. I'm nervous that the escalators will turn on suddenly while people are on them. The Source needs to turn the escalators on, fix them, or block them off if in need of repairs. read more

After a night out with friends, we were saying our goodbyes in the parking lot when a security guard approached us in an aggressive manner and demanded that we leave. He slammed my car door and even pulled out pepper spray while threatening to call the police. I told him he could call them, but ultimately his coworkers stepped in and allowed us to leave without further issue. When visiting, be aware that security guards with overinflated egos may touch your car and make threats without legal basis. read more

Below is an email regarding an aggressive security guard that I've tried sending to two separate emails listed for The Source's management. Both were marked undeliverable by Google, so I hope they might see it here: ============================= To whom it may concern: We want to warn you that a security guard in the ground-floor level of the parking garage at The Source OC is blinding drivers with a high-powered flashlight. At 4:10 pm on Sunday 1/4, we were following another car out of the parking garage when we discovered that we were turning into a one-way area. We immediately began to back up, while the other car just drove on through. While we were backing up, the security guard walked towards us in a threatening manner and repeatedly shone his flashlight directly into our eyes. He jerked it side to side rapidly so he blinded both the driver and the passenger. He did this three times while we were attempting to back up. Perhaps he was upset that the other car disobeyed the one-way signs and ignored him, but taking out his anger on a different driver who was attempting to correct her error in a busy parking lot was both inappropriate and extremely hazardous to everyone nearby. We have been shopping at The Source since it opened, and generally our experiences with all the employees, including other security guards, have been very positive. We felt that we needed to warn you about this experience with the aggressive security guard so that you can take steps to continue to make the shopping experience at The Source safe and enjoyable for everyone. read more

This place is a dream! This is my 3rd time here, but it was my first time reviewing. The Source is conveniently located off the 91 fwy off Beach Blvd. There is a parking structure right off Beach Blvd. There's probably 4 stories of parking. Just beware, the drivers can be reckless. The stalls are small and tight. Surprisingly, there were plenty of parking on a Sunday afternoon around 12p.m. It picked up after we left around 2p.m. This place is huge! There are 3 levels of everything you need. It is a little Korea town in the OC. Everything looks clean and modern. The only thing I didn't like was some of the foul music they were playing. I don't mind the Korean kpop music as long as I don't understand the words. I don't speak Korean! Anyways there are 2 food courts here! They are less expensive than the free standing restaurants at the Source. I guess these restaurants have to charge high prices to pay the rent! read more

The Source - Shopping Centers Near Me - Buena Park, California

I love coming here. 1. 3-4 stories of free plentiful covered parking! I consider this area like the OC version of Ktown and love that unlike LA Ktown, parking is free here and easier to get by! 2. So many food options to choose from! There's a food court on the third and second floor, sit down restaurants on the third and first floor, and your choice of desserts and quick eats! 3. A CGV Cinema for your Korean flicks and kpop concerts / screenings. 4. Kpop stores and K-beauty stores 5. D-Festa on the third floor, which I heard will have a spot here permanently with interactive kpop activities, exhibit, etc. I have fond memories of coming here during their infancy when some of the shops here were hosting BTS cupsleeve events. Happy to see more stores and vendors filling up the plaza here and making this place a location where you can easily spend a good portion of the day here! And depending on the weekend, there's usually community groups hosting events on the main level or dance groups doing dance practice or even giveaways with K-brands. Never a dull time here! read more

The second floor food court is a scammmmmmmmmmm. It's hella pricey, but unfortunately it is a good meet up spot for big groups. They have something for everyone. Parking is free, and there are restrooms. read more

This place is a nice Korean mall although it needs more stores inside. It's huge but seems like missing some vibe to attract the public. The food court on the higher level has more selection and better tasting options. The have different clothing stores, makeup, K-pop items, and more. read more

The Source - Shopping Centers Near Me - Buena Park, California

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Best place for foodies person, culture and vibe of Korean hang out place. Many food stand shop K pop shop.

After an eventful night with friends, I was at the parking lot to say bye to my friends until a security guard pulled up and aggressively told us to leave. He even slammed my friend's car door and pulled out a pepper spray on me. He threatened to call the cops and I told him to call them but his counterparts just ended up letting me leave the parking structure. I see a lot quite a few negative reviews regarding the security guard. Management should do something about it. If the security guard is reading this, you don't need to tell us that you'll fck us up, there's better ways to deliver the message. FYI, the car you were filming was just a rental. But I'll see you soon again read more

Avoid at all costs! They towed my car at 1:20 at night (see attached) while I was still at the restraunt! And to top it off the tow company ruined my car, it wasn't even drivable, no wonder nobody ever goes to this mall... read more

The Source - The tow truck messed up the underside of my car from the tow truck driver - Shopping Centers Near Me - Buena Park, California

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Food and service there was good, as well as the selections of all the foods and value! But what really made it special to me was that I went for a kpop random play dance there on Oct 3 and even saw and danced with an actual kpop group... ONE PACT! I had the time of my life there! Thank you for the organizers of the venue and event for giving this opportunity read more

This mall is awesome, I'm probably the worst part korean in the world but I love my korean food lol I love all the food here and the stores are so cute. The coffee downstairs is delicious and wakes you up lol. How could I forget the Macaroons downstairs oh my they have the best macaroons I have ever tried before. They are super cute too they have little character ones as well. I just love this mall. Share kindness to everyone, I promise it will make your day not just theirs. :) May you have a beautiful day! read more

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There is a lot of food options. Good spot to kick it. Parking is abit difficult rush hour time. I love the 3rd floor as the food court is nice and there are a lot of options read more

The Source - Shopping Centers Near Me - Buena Park, California

Came on a weekday to grab some dinner and there were still plenty of parking in the structure. This was my first time here and it was such a cute place with different little shops and plenty of food selections. We decided to walk around a little bit to explore. There were also seating outside for you to eat or hang out! We decided to get food at one of the food courts (there were two different food courts). We got food from the Chinese restaurant. At first, I thought you order at the restaurant place, but you order at the front entrance. Then, you will receive a number and make sure to listen to your number being called out then you grab your food from the place. Jajangmyeon & Jampong- The portions were huge and definitely shareable with more than 2 people! The jajangmyeon was delicious and flavorful and came with little bits of meat as well. The jampong was on the spicier side but they were very generous with the amount of seafood inside (clams, squid, mussels, etc). read more

The Source - Jajangmyeon and Jampong - Shopping Centers Near Me - Buena Park, California

A great place to come on the weekend to walk around and build up an appetite for a great variety of good food spots they have in this Plaza. The restaurants here are the real gems and if you're into Japanese anime and accessories then this would be the place for you. Walking around their multi level Plaza, I wanted to stop in every restaurant on-site. Parking garage was spacious and free which is always a treat and it wasn't overly crowded, another plus in my book. There are a few restaurants and dessert places that I want to check out and bring my niece. She'd like this shopping center. read more

The Source - Shopping Centers Near Me - Buena Park, California

Good place for K beauty, and they have a unique movie theater inside. They also have a vegan ice cream place that is sooooo good called Don Melt! I've also eaten at the italian restaurant that floats above the center chamber and it was really good. read more

Service: - most store owners were unfriendly - kind of fast service from food court restaurants Selection: - the top floor is basically empty - main shops are all in the first level - food court were all Korean restaurants Value: - clothing and home goods were extremely overpriced - line for the Photo Booth store was super long read more

The Source OC in Buena Park is a Korean mall gem! Free parking makes the visit hassle-free. This 4-story mall offers everything you need for a fun day out: movie theater, karaoke lounge, food court, kids indoor playground, internet cafe, and a variety of shopping stores and restaurants. A one-stop destination for entertainment and shopping - highly recommended! I love that they have two food courts. There is on the top floor and on the second floor which has more traditional asian foods, from korean popular dishes, to katsu curry and even vietnamese food. It's a must everytime I stop in the area, and I love that they have the best korean skin line products in various stores at the mall. read more

The Source - Shopping Centers Near Me - Buena Park, California

Came here a couple times in the past 6 months and wanted to wait before posting my experience. I love the service here. The ambience is so different and respectful and people actually have common courtesy (at least the workers do). So if you come here, please treat everyone with the same respect and follow their rules. Stores don't allow food or drinks. They leave a cart by the door and everyone knows to leave their food/drinks on the cart, go into the store, then come back out to get your stuff. This is awesome cuz there's no spills, sticky fingers or smells in the stores. Crazy that this place, you can just trust nobody will add anything to your drink or try to steal your food. If only the rest of California felt this safe and respectful. There's a wide variety of stores for everyone! Lots of skincare, kpop, kawaii collectibles, clothes, even a photo booth store with all the props! And they have two food courts? Pretty cool! I will say one food court is better than the other and I wanna say it was on the top floor! They have a bakery on the far left of the food court that has the most amazing cookies ever! Super soft, fresh, & not too sweet & reasonably priced! I should've bought a dozen of the matcha and ube. It was amazing! I've also tried the curry spot and the cutlet was cooked to perfection! Their ding tea was okay, nothing special. Clothing stores weren't really "popular" & I wanna say a lot of them are "consignment"? Kind of like a thrift store but full priced. If you're visiting on crunch time, I'd skip the clothing stores. Recommend checking out the little restaurants & always drinking the tea! It's so good! & also and of the stores that have the cart and a bunch of drinks on it, enter those stores. lol. Those are the stores that have higher foot traffic for a reason! The price is reasonable, the quality of their inventory is amazing, & it's just soooo worth buying there than online! read more

There is a lot that I like. Korean Fried Chicken Korean Bakeries Korean Goods Stores Music stores with K-Pop and what I heard as K-Rap Restaurants of diverse backgrounds Food Court Coffee Ice Cream Donuts Mexican, American New, and more Lots of space to walk Lots of parking in the lot Elevator and Escalator I don't remember where the bathroom are, I will update this review in the future. read more