Little Tokyo is about to take on a distinct Korean flavor.

In a transaction that marks a turning point for the area, the Little Tokyo Shopping Center last week was purchased by a group of Korean-American investors.

While non-Japanese landlords of Little Tokyo properties have become common, this sale of the large shopping mall on Alameda Street will lead to a cultural change: Korean businesses, including a grocery, spa and electronics store, will replace the current Japanese tenants, said Ryan Oh of Coldwell Banker, who brokered the deal for the new owners.

Little Tokyo and nearby downtown have seen an influx of Korean-Americans as well as non-Asians, he explained. Meanwhile, much of the ethnic Japanese population has slowly decamped for Torrance and other areas.

“The downtown population is booming and much of Little Tokyo is still catering to Japanese tourists, not the local community,” Oh said.

The three-story, 250,000 square-foot shopping center houses 45 retail tenants including the 40,000-square-foot Mitsuwa Marketplace, a Japanese grocery that’s something of an anchor for Little Tokyo. It is part of a chain with eight other locations in Southern California, Chicago and New Jersey. It is unclear when it will have to leave.

Little Tokyo, bordered by Alameda and Los Angeles streets between First and Third streets, has been home to Japanese businesses for more than a century. There are 300 members of the area’s business association, although not all are Japanese.

In fact, over the past few years, a series of purchases has changed the ownership landscape. The Japanese Village Plaza was bought by American Commercial Equities. Jamison Services Inc., a local Korean-American commercial developer, picked up three properties in Little Tokyo.

Last fall, Persian investors took over what was formerly the New Otani Hotel, now Kyoto Grand Hotel and Gardens. In November, they sold the third-floor restaurant area, including the 30-year-old Thousand Cranes Restaurant, to a Korean restaurant operator.

But those owners are committed to preserving the cultural heritage of the Japanese-themed business district, said Frances Hashimoto, owner of Mikawaya, a Japanese pastry shop that has been in Little Tokyo since 1910. The purchase of the shopping center by the Korean-Americans marks the first time a new owner has moved in with plans to part from the traditions of Little Tokyo.

“If they’re going to make it into a Korean shopping center, then why don’t they go to Koreatown?” asked Hashimoto, whose store has locations in the Little Tokyo Shopping Center and Japanese Village Plaza.

However, bustling Koreatown is overflowing and many Korean-Americans are locating in Little Tokyo.