COUNTYWIDE : Koreans Hoping for Peaceful New Year

Thousands of Orange County Korean-Americans will celebrate the traditional Korean New Year on Tuesday, and many are hoping the holiday will mark the end of a disturbing number of hate crimes around the county in 1990.

Following a year that saw such crimes as vandalism to Korean churches and schools, the Korean American Assn. of Orange County is launching a series of programs to promote better ethnic awareness. The group will commemorate the holiday with a recognition of non-Koreans who have contributed to their community, and the distribution of food and blankets to the county’s needy.

“Our whole focus is to help reduce hate crimes and develop a positive image of Koreans,” said Ho Young Chung, president of the Korean American Assn. of Orange County. “The whole focus of the new year is to honor our American friends.”

Chung said that he counted 12 cases of hate crimes against Korean institutions in 1990. Among the most publicized incidents last year was an attack on the Anaheim Korean Presbyterian Church. Twice in three weeks, rock-throwing vandals shattered a glass door in the front of the church.

In the first incident, on Nov. 13, messages including “Get out now” were written in chalk on a church sidewalk and an office blackboard. Anaheim police said that the two incidents appeared to be hate crimes.

Many incidents went unreported, including several at a Korean church in Garden Grove in which schoolbooks were burned and a bus was set on fire, Chung said. Many Koreans don’t want to report such crimes because of a reluctance to draw attention to themselves, he said.

“These kinds of things happened all over Orange County in 1990,” Chung said. “They don’t steal anything. They just hate the Korean community growing here. . . . 1990 was the worst year we have had so far.”

Although population estimates vary from as little as 11,000 in 1980 to more than 100,000 in 1990, many government and Korean officials agree that Orange County’s Korean population has grown rapidly over the past decade. With this growth, more emphasis needs to be placed on making the public aware of the Korean community and reducing intolerance of diverse cultures, Chung said.

“We did all we could,” he said. “We thought the best measure was to demonstrate ourselves to our American friends. The main focus of these programs is to live together in peace.”

On Friday, canned foods and blankets were distributed to three charities and agencies, including Real Help of Garden Grove, Mental Health Agency of Orange County and the Mission of Homeless, a newly formed group in Orange County to aid those on the streets. Last month, Korean Sunday school students sent 2,000 holiday cards to soldiers in Saudi Arabia.

On Tuesday, the Korean American Assn. will hold a ceremony at the Garden Grove Community Meeting Center to recognize 51 non-Koreans for contributions to the community.

Among those recognized will be Louise Barker and her husband, Dean, who help run Real Help, which provides meals for about 100 homeless people each weekday. Many Koreans volunteer several times a month to cook and serve food to the homeless, Louise Barker said.

“It’s increased the awareness of the people who come,” she said. “They see (the Koreans) feeding them. They see how pleasant they are.”

Barbara Considine, a human relations specialist for the Orange County Human Relations Commission, praised the Korean American Assn.’s efforts as a logical way to better relations with other communities.

“That’s great; that’s a great twist,” she said. “They didn’t do this in previous years. Their celebrations were mainly among themselves.”

“It’s not the most profound thing to do, but rather simple,” she added, praising the association’s outreach efforts. “In that simple stuff they can go a long way.”