Korean American community leaders in Queens, N.Y., have called for a McDonald’s boycott after news broke that a McDonald’s in Flushing had appeared to mistreat several elderly Koreans who loitered at the restaurant for hours.
Over the past few months, management at the fast food chain has run into problems with older Koreans who spend up to 10 hours at the restaurant, arriving as early as 5 a.m. When asked to leave, the elderly citizens would purchase a single cup of coffee and continue to sit. When McDonald’s resorted to calling the police to remove these group of elders, it sparked outrage in the Korean American community.
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On Thursday, Korean community leaders went to the McDonalds on the corner of Parsons and Northern Boulevards to hand deliver a letter expressing their anger over the situation.
Christine Colligan, a leader of the Korean Parents Association of New York, stood outside therestaurant and said “senior citizens should not be treated as criminals,” the New York Times reports.
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In a letter, she has expressed her discontent with the “stark racism” exhibited by McDonald’s and also wrote “we will teach them a lesson.” Colligan has called for a “global” boycott against McDonald’s for the month of February.
Hee-Jin Park-Dance, who works at the Community Affairs Bureau of the Police Department commented how elders are highly respected in Korean culture.
“In Korea or any Asian cultures, the elder is treated like gold. When you see an elder you get up, you give a seat right away. It’s a sign of respect,” said Park-Dance.
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At the McDonald’s in Flushing, there are signs that prohibit customers from loitering for more than 20 minutes. While the franchise operator, Jack Bert, understood the complexity of the situation, the chain had been losing money because of the senior citizens. Other customers complained that there were not enough seats to eat their meal and some asked for refunds.
