PERSPECTIVE ON BLACK / KOREAN-AMERICAN RELATIONS : Don’t Fall for ‘Divide and Conquer’ : Blaming one store-owner is easier than correcting problems that affect both our struggling communities.

The current boycott of Chung’s Liquor Store, a Korean- American-owned market in South-Central Los Angeles, clearly reflects the degeneration of inter-ethnic relations in the country’s first so-called “World City.”

Once again, racial hatred and bigotry have led two struggling communities down the path of self-destruction. On the one hand, there exists a community in desperate need of basic local services and resources. On the other, there exists a community in equally desperate need for a way to survive in a newly adopted homeland--a place believed to be the land of opportunity, equality and freedom. Unfortunately for too many Korean immigrants, the search for the American dream has turned into a nightmare.

The Chung boycott is a perfect example of our failure to grasp the lessons of the past. Rather than accept the finding of justifiable homicide out of self-defense, certain segments of the African-American community have continued to insist that Arthur Lee Mitchell was murdered. The persistent cries of “murder” feed into the fever that flows from an entire community feeling the squeeze of economic deprivation and urban blight. By calling for pickets and a boycott of the Korean-owned business, the African-American community was handed a tangible target, a scapegoat. Dealing with a single store-owner is certainly easier than dealing with the social, political and economic sources of the problems in the community.

At first, the Korean-American community was simply stunned. The community met the accusations of rudeness, cultural insensitivity and moral bankruptcy with hurried apologies and explanations about Korean cultural and language differences. Yet clearly, the apologies and explanations were not enough. The Korean- American community knew it. And the African-American community made sure that everyone else in this city knew it, too.

By taking the position they have, the African-American community has fallen into the trap of “divide and conquer.” The answer to these problems must flow from an exchange of information and ideas among those directly affected by the conditions that need to be changed. The reality is that there is economic opportunity to be had for all.

Numerous requests by the Korean-American community for meetings with boycott leaders such as the Rev. Edgar Boyd of the Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church and Danny Bakewell of the Brotherhood Crusade were ignored. The community then sought assistance to open channels of communication from the “masters of dialogue”--our local politicians. Again, not a single political leader rose to the challenge. It became clear that “high risk, high publicity” issues will never be resolved by those already in positions of influence and power.

As Korean-Americans, we see the need for action. Our actions will be directed at undoing the damning stereotypes and myths about our fathers, mothers and grandparents. We will educate ourselves about the sources of anger flowing toward us from the African-American communities in which some struggle to make their living. We will move forward and teach ourselves how to remove the political and economic barriers to ensure that our dreams come true.