Han, Solo.

Kim's article was quite insightful for me. While aware of the uprising in 1992, I was unaware of it's social and racial implications outside of those between whites and blacks. From perhaps a very narrow view, I believed that, if there were racial tension, it was universally directed towards whites by non-whites who were united by a common opression. For the most part, I am not surprised. I did know that there is "social stratification" among the those in Korean community relating to their occupations; a friend of mine's, who are Korean, own a grocery store in a predominantly black community in northern Harrisburg. I often recall hearing my friend's mother complain about the "lazy Koreans", but she never did much to flesh out or identify who she believed these were, or what qualified them to be considered one. I do remember that their store played an integral part in the community which they lived in; they knew most of their customers on a first name basis, and whenever there was a robbery, the whole community would watch out for store, or even provide a sense of community protection through belonging. I am shocked to hear that things seem to be so different in Los Angeles (which seems to be getting a pretty bad rap from this course). I primarily am surprised because LA appears to be a place where there are greater numbers of Koreans integrated into black communities, and I would therefore expect a greater tolerance or feeling of comradery between the two groups. Hopefully, some of the other ideas presented in the text can be examined more succinctly during class.