Looking Back on the LA Riots of 1992 as a Korean American(2)

This is a second part of my writing on the Los Angeles Riots.

아랫글은 두번째 글입니다.

Continued from the previous posting...  ( http://blog.daum.net/la_regina/7153714 )

 

 

Twenty years ago, April 29, 1992, to put it succinctly, Los Angeles was on fire. The riot was racially charged. 

Korean-Americans bore the brunt of the damage. In fact, the African-American community seemed to select

the Korean owned businesses as targets and set them ablaze. The media seemed to portray angry, mistreated

blacks attacking rude Korean merchants. In fact, for some time, the kindling for the fire had been percolating

in the air: the bad economy in the 1990's, high unemployment within the African American community,

mistrust between police and the blacks, lack of communication between then police chief, Daryl Gates, and

then LA mayor, Tom Bradley, influx of immigrants into historically African American neighborhoods,

conflicts between shop owners and black customers. At times of riots, Korean American were politically naive, culturally ignorant, socially isolated, and too personally engrossed in earning a living for themselves. Most of

the Koreans arrived here less than 10 years before the riots.

Much like many newly arrived immigrants, we regarded ourselves as Koreans living in America, rather than Korean American. Although most of immigrants were educated highly in Korea, our jobs were decided mainly by who would pick us up at the airport and guided us in adjusting to this country. We arrived here with a lack of knowledge on social, economic, or political issues of America. We came with the belief that America is the best country to live and raise our children and that if we work hard enough, we would achieve our dream. After the Korean War, our only encounter was with American soldiers having fought with us against the invasion of North Korea and China. American dramas on TV portrayed Americans as well off , humorous and generous. The Korean word for the US literally translates to "Beautiful Country." Indeed, we were not prepared to live in a salad bowl country.

At 3:15 p.m., on the day, the Los Angeles riots were ignited by the not guilty verdict of four police officials in the beating of Rodney King. Soon after, at 5:25 p.m., at the now infamous intersection of Florence and Normandie avenues, the first disturbance was reported. At 6:45 p.m., the angry mobs dragged out a driver named Reginald Denny from his truck stopped at a traffic light and beat him unconscious. Although police showed up, they soon retreated from the intersection for hours without valid reason. Then Mayor Tom Bradley called a local state of emergency at 8:45 p.m. The next day, at 12:15 a.m., Bradley declared a sunset-to-sunrise curfew. 2,000 National Guard troops were deployed in the city, not in the ravaged Koreatown but mostly in suburban areas.

 

At the end of the second day of riots, the mayor and governor requested more National Guard troops to bring the total to 6,000. During the first three days, the Korean Americans' businesses were singled out as targets of attacking and about 2,000 businesses were burned down. Street gangs became involved and they threw fire bombs from the windows of moving cars. At 4 p.m., April 2, the first Marine Corps unit arrived in South Central. May 3, at 11:30 a.m., Bradley lifted the dusk-to-dawn curfew. The following day, at 6 a.m., citizens were allowed to return to work and school. The violence and looting lasted for six days, but it remained much longer in everyone's emotions.

Soon after the Rodney King verdict, most Korean American merchants closed their shops early and went home out of fear. on that night, to their horror, they had to watch on TV as their shops were burned to ashes, while mobs were everywhere, and the streets were lawless. The next day, only a handful of lucky Koreans opened their unburned stores, only to be met with mobs, drive by shooters, and violent looters. Police did not respond to their frantic calls for help. From the second night, many shop owners armed themselves with shotguns or handguns and took actions to protect their properties into their own hands.

 

Instead of calling the unresponsive police, Korean Americans called Radio Korea to get information, ask for help, comfort each other and listen to other Koreans' opinions on dealing with the damage. Radio Korea turned into a lifeline in the midst of chaos, uncertainty, and despair. one caller to Radio Korea, Mrs. Cho, suggested a peace rally to call attention the media and Americans to our plight during its late night talk show. May 1, at 1 p.m., the first rally was held at the parking lot of the Wilton Theater. The next day, about 50,000 Korean Americans converged for another peace rally at the Ardmore Park and marched on Olympic Boulevard. The peace rally and the marching became a defining moment of self-healing and a political awakening for the heartbroken tiny ethnic community. We had realized that we needed to do something if we did not want to remain voiceless and powerless.

 

When the riots occurred, I was working as a real estate agent at Coldwell Banker. Our family was so scared, and my father in law ordered his children to gather at my sister in law's townhouse in Koreatown.  I hastily packed a few things and clothes and drove to her house, which has an iron front gate and thick walls around the complex. We stayed behind locked doors, except to take a drive through Koreatown to inspect the damage. 

I was so upset that I sent a letter to the LA Times, which luckily printed my words, and called Radio Korea to support Mrs. Cho's idea of the peace rally. Upon resuming work, at our Tuesday weekly meeting, I talked about the riots and how we Korean Americans were targeted and suffered. No one, even the manager, mentioned the riots, let alone discussing outreach to Korean Americans. I was really disappointed and felt very alienated from well off mainstream Americans. I xeroxed several articles describing how we Korean Americans had been damaged by the riots and put a copy each in agents' mail boxes. Surprisingly, I soon found out that most of copies were put back into my box.

What did Los Angeles learn from the riots? What did Korean Americans learn from it? It affected all Angelinos. We knew that Los Angeles had to be changed. People’s handling of racial tensions had to be changed, and the way of distribution of economic assistance to the perpetrators and victims needed to be devised, as well as police reform was a must. After the riots, for some time, some other ethnic Asian Americans said, "We have nothing in common but appearance (with Korean Americans)." How ignorant! They were afraid of being mistaken as Korean Americans. Many LA residents seemingly possessed no empathy for the plight of the Korean American community, although some offered sympathy and aids individually.

 

The riots exposed the hidden truth that Angelinos lived without crossing racial boundaries, cared only about their own communities, and looked suspiciously upon other ethnic groups. However, surely, now we all do try to understand others better, respect more, and feel much more comfortable about differences. Consequently, Korean Americans got lessons about politics. They slowly were becoming aware of the political power necessary to get their voice heard, and to be treated as decent people, as well as to get acknowledged as dutiful, taxpaying citizens. I know that Angelinos still have to go a long way, but in all corners of Los Angeles, I see many improvements. Who would deny that America is a country of people with desire fulfilling their dreams? Look at Koreatown! It was reborn and is moving forward.