The Wild West Atmosphere Must Be Tamed : DANIEL H. KIM

As a business owner, I’m very concerned that crime in Koreatown has increased since the (April-May) riots. There’s always been violence in the city. But before it wasn’t directed at any particular group. Now Korean-Americans are seen as easy targets.

Because of a lack of security, a lot of people won’t come to Koreatown after dark. Consequently business has been down 20% to 25%.

Korean-Americans are disliked by some black leaders who feel that Korean merchants take money out of their neighborhood. Some unemployed black kids are venting their frustrations on Koreans.

We Koreans benefited quite a lot from the black struggle for civil and minority rights. I respect those leaders. But some of them exploit the situation for their own advantage.

A lot of Korean small-business people are not street-smart. They carry cash that has to be deposited the next day. Every month I hear about muggings, shootings or car jackings of Korean-Americans.

There is a Wild West atmosphere. A lot of homeless people approach you demanding money. At the parking lot, if you tell them you don’t want your windows cleaned, you worry about what they’ll do to your car while you are in the store.

We didn’t have a security guard at the KOA Medical Center before the riots. But after a patient and an employee were beaten, the hospital was forced to hire one.

I grew up with blacks and Latinos in school. I had no fear of blacks. I saw them as cool people. Some were really nice.

But now I see some blacks are violent--unnecessarily violent. I see a gang subculture that is dominating the young people’s minds.

No, race relations have not improved since the riots. Korean-Americans are much more fearful of the violence and damage blacks can do to Koreatown. Before the riots we only saw a potential danger for store owners in the black community.

We do share some responsibilities. Some Koreans do not understand the needs of the black community nor black history. Some only want to go into the black community for a few years, then get out. That kind of mentality contributes to the image of Koreans being rude to blacks. If the Korean community becomes too greedy, with no regard to the surrounding community and its needs, we may become the target of crimes.

Latinos and Koreans have been getting along pretty well up to now. Latinos have played an important role in the growth of the Korean community, providing a source of labor. But recent increased Latino gang activity is putting a strain on the relationship.

For us to have good business, we need a safer environment with less crime.