11 April 2016

Korean-Black Conflict
In 1992, the city of Los Angeles was up in flames because the police who were filmed
beating Rodney King were found not guilty. This anger seemed to be fueled by rage against the
brutality of the police, but the actions carried out were not directed towards the L.A.P.D. Instead,
most of the damage was inflicted on Korean immigrant-owned businesses. This raises the
questions, Why were the Koreans attacked? Did they deserve what had been done to them?
The negative relationship between the African Americans and the Koreans can be traced
back to the 1960s. After taking the place of the Jewish community, Korean immigrants were
referred to as the model minority because they made a success with what little they had.
Koreans were praised for being successful self-sufficient law abiding citizens that dealt with
racial discriminations while also being fed the stereotype that African Americans were lazy
criminals (Cheung). Many African Americans developed the stereotype that Koreans were
treated better by the government to exploit them and believed that Koreans look down upon the
African American community because they thought they are better. This made it easier for
government authorities in the 60s to pit the Koreans against the Black minority in terms of work
ethic and sense of drive for the American Dream.
The tensions between the two continued to grow stronger and became much more intense
by the 1990s. The hostility then reached its breaking point known as the riot of 1992 in South
Central. After the riot was done the Koreans tallied up their losses. 2,280 Korean Americanowned stores had been looted, burned or damaged, amounting to about $400 million in losses
(Chang). Not only that but about 40% of Koreans thought about moving out of Los Angeles

(Chang). These riots caused the Koreans the feeling of helplessness and deteriorated their
optimism to strive for the American Dream because they received no help. This made them think
about their place in America and gained a sense of what it was like to be a minority. However,
despite this tragedy, Koreans were able to build relations with those in their community and
began to look into how they can be recognized as citizens of America with rights and respect.
A popular belief for the negative Korean-Black relationship is the Latasha Harlins case in
1991. A 15-year-old African American girl named Latasha Harlins entered a Korean-owned
store to purchase orange juice. Latasha grabbed the orange juice and put it in her backpack
before paying so the Korean owner, a woman by the name of Soon Ja Du, immediately thought
she was stealing without realizing Latasha had money in her hand to pay for the juice. The two
had fought, then Latasha threw the orange juice back on the counter and tried to leave the store,
but Du grabbed a handgun and shot her in the back of her head killing her instantly. The verdict
for this case was that Du would receive five years of probation, four hundred hours of
community service, and a five-hundred-dollar fee (Smith 259). This made the tension grow even
greater for the two minorities because the African Americans felt as though no justice was served
to Latashas murder.
Another popular reason is the fact that African Americans who lived in South Central felt
victimized. Many in the black community were looked down on and treated harshly based on
their color by the government and those around them. Many African Americans who wished to
better their lives could not receive bank or government loans to do so, but it seemed like the
Koreans did. Because of this assumption the black community justified violence against the
Koreans because they believed Koreans were receiving preferential treatment for loans over

African Americans, but in reality loans were not given to those in poor minority neighborhoods
(Cheung).
Not only did they feel like they werent getting the same opportunities, but African
Americans also felt like they were being exploited. News articles and editorials in South Central
emphasized how Koreans were taking over the black community suddenly and out of nowhere
(Lee). South Central was dominantly African American, but with little African American success
because many were too poor to start their own businesses. Many within the Black community
stated that the Koreans would not hire African Americans, would overcharge them for inferior
products, and not contribute back to the African American community(Chang). They believed
that having foreigners rapidly come in with money for businesses took away their ability to try to
be successful.
These are great examples as to why the Korean-Black relationship had such bad blood,
but they are not the core reason. The core reason is the lack of understanding each others history
and culture. When first coming to the United States the Koreans did not have much knowledge
about the struggles that the African American community faced. They were oblivious to African
Americans long history of struggle and their unfulfilled dreams (Lee). Because Koreans were
blind to this information it made it easier for them to assume that stereotypes of African
Americans were true.
Koreans come from a society that only has one way of doing, believing, and saying
things, so they would have a tough time trying to accept anything different. They hold the
attitude of if a person shows me no respect, I will not show them any either. They hold very
this idea at a very highly because they were taught that this was one of the most important parts
of society. The Korean business owners affiliate their Black patrons with rude behaviors such as

loudness, bad language, and shoplifting, so they often keep a close eye on them and when asked
a question they ignore their customer (Chang). This action through the eyes of their Black
patrons is very degrading. Being ignored by others, and especially by merchants, is a direct
insult to one's humanity, regardless of the nationality or ethnicity (Chang).
There are also different aspects of Korean culture that are seen as bad manners in their
society, but they are seen as good manners by the African Americans. Traditionally Koreans are
not supposed to show and feelings or emotions in public, so such things as smiling at strangers
who also happen to be your customers (Kwang). In the black community, a smile is seen as a
gesture of kindness that makes one feel like they welcomed. Direct eye contact is also something
that is not permitted in public for Koreans. This is a clashing conflict in South Central because
eye contact means you respect that person and their being, so not making eye contact is insulting.
Even the manners of the two are clashing ideas!
For every negative there is a positive, but does the positive outweigh the negative? Does
the initiative the Koreans took to connect with those in their community after the riot justify the
violence? Having meaningful ties after the riots are great, but wouldnt it have been better for the
Koreans to have these ties before the riots were even a consideration? Violence is surely never
the answer, but violence is always heard. Violence is demanding and it will always be
acknowledged; thats what makes it so appealing to those who feel like they have no say.
Communities have to come together and form understandings of each other so no one has to turn
to violence as a voice.

Works Cited
Chang, Edward. Los Angeles Riots and Korean-African American Conflict. Irwinator. Web.
7 Apr. 2016.
Cheung, KK. (Mis)interpretations and (In)justice: The 1992 Los Angeles Riotsand Black
-Korean Conflict. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2015. Echolarship.org. Web. 8 Apr.
2016.
Kwang, Kim. Koreans in the Hood: Conflict with African Americans. Baltimore:The John
Hopkins University Press, 1999. Books.google.com. Web. 10 Apr. 2016.
Lee, Shelley. Asian Americans and the 1992 Los Angeles Riots/ Uprising.
American History: Oxford Research Encyclopedias. Oxford University Press, Mar. 2015.
Web. 8 Apr. 2016.
Smith, Anna. Twilight Los Angeles, 1992. New York: Anchor Books, 1994. Print