Real-estate mogul Donald Trump is on the front page, looking stern as ever.  He's surrounded by young businesspeople looking to become his next "Apprentice" through the reality TV show with that name.

But this isn't the New York Times, or even the Atlanta Business Chronicle, as one might expect.  The color photo floats in a sea of Korean script that encourages readers to apply for the show.

This is the business section of the Atlanta edition of the Korea Daily, or JoongAng Ilbo - one of the largest national newspapers in South Korea with a total circulation of almost 2 million.  The paper opened its sixth U.S. bureau in Duluth in 2007.

It employs about 80 people in Georgia and is one of about a dozen Korean media outlets in the state, according to New America Media, a California organization that tracks ethnic media outlets in the U.S. and compiles news.

Atlanta is near the bottom of the top 10 cities in the U.S. by number of Korean media, said Kenneth Kim, Korea editor for New America Media.

Los Angeles alone has more than 25 daily and weekly publications, and New York and Washington aren’t far behind.

Still, if newspapers are a gauge of a community's vibrancy, Georgia's Korean population must be thriving, Mr. Kim told GlobalAtlanta.

The most recent U.S. Census data says Georgia is home to nearly 40,000 people who checked “Korean-only” as their ethnicity.

That's 42 percent higher than the 28,000 listed in 2000, pretty strong growth especially considering that the state's Korean population already grew by 88 percent between 1990 and 2000.

But even 40,000 seems a bit low when driving through Gwinnett County.  In the northeast Atlanta suburb of Duluth, Korean signage often dominates shopping centers, and Korean grocery stores, restaurants, banks, churches - even upscale retail developments - are commonplace.

The Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce has estimated that Koreans could account for up to a tenth of the county's 800,000 people.

Korean businesses have sprouted in Gwinnett and all over Georgia. 

Kia Motors, a large Korean car maker, is building its first U.S. manufacturing facility in Georgia, a $1.2 billion project in West Point.  More than 10 Korean auto parts makers have also settled nearby to supply the plant.

With such a concentration of Korean influence, it's only natural that Korean news outlets have a presence here.

Along with smaller dailies, weeklies and religious publications, the two largest national newspapers in Korea – the Korea Daily and the Korea Times – have bureaus here.

A poster on the newsroom wall in the Korea Daily's offices shows how the paper sees itself among this media hierarchy.

The newspaper's circular “J” logo is branded on an outstretched thumb.  In America, the image looks innocent enough, like a positive thumbs-up gesture.  In Korea, though, it's a not-so-subtle jab at competitors, a way of saying unambiguously: "We're No. 1."

The Korea Times might disagree.  But rivalries aside, it's at least clear from a recent GlobalAtlanta tour of their offices that Korea Daily is heavily invested in metro Atlanta.

With 80-90 staff members, many of them recruited directly from South Korea, the paper runs a full-scale media operation.

Graphics personnel, Web developers and page designers fill a digital media suite at the company's offices. Ad salespeople work the phones while the editorial staff logs long hours to fill the free, ad-supported daily paper.

It puts out about a hundred pages per day, which are printed at a facility in Norcross.

About 20 percent of the Korea Daily’s news stories are produced in-house by eight to 10 reporters.  The rest are drawn from the extensive network of Korea Daily bureaus across the U.S. and in Seoul, said editor Jin Suk Kim.

Korea Daily’s radio station broadcasts at AM 1310, hosting talk shows and interviews that keep the Korean-speaking community engaged with what's happening their new home state.

Mr. Jin Suk Kim said immigration issues are a high priority for his audience, as are local and state elections.

Ethnic media usually play a more proactive, supportive role in their communities than do mainstream American outlets, said Mr. Kenneth Kim of New America Media.

While American media usually make pledges to supposed objectivity, ethnic media espouse a posture of advocacy.

“No matter how small your publication is, you have to play the role of the ears and eyes and mouth of your community,” he said.

The Korea Daily models this type of engagement.  The paper offers 40-50 classes where members of the community can learn new skills. 

They range from practical subjects like English, Spanish and computers to fun activities like sushi making, arts and crafts and dance, said Grace Lee, a Korea Daily reporter.

“There are many, many classes that people can join, and it is very cheap, so it's not like we're making money from this.  It's giving back appreciation to the community,” Ms. Lee told GlobalAtlanta.

Anchoring a shopping center around the corner from the Korea Daily offices is Super H Mart, a grocery chain started in New York that caters to Koreans and other minority customers.

Super H Mart has four locations in Atlanta and plans to expand with a new store in Doraville in February.  It’s part of a growing trend of retailers that are targeting Gwinnett's increasingly diverse population.

Store Manager Andrew Kang knows the distribution of his customers’ ethnicities by heart – 26 percent Korean, 18 percent Chinese, 16 percent Indian, 3 or 4 percent African American, about 3 percent Hispanic and the rest white and other, he said..

Super H Mart has more than 40 stores across the country offering a variety of products not found at most stores.

“When you look around, you don't see everything when you go to Kroger or Publix, but we have it here, some special stuff like Asian produce and fruit,” he said.

The Korea Daily faces the same struggles as other print newspapers, but if Georgia’s population and business trends continue, it shouldn’t be hurting for an audience. 

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