I remember where I was and how I felt on this exact day 18 years ago. In a way, it’s my “JFK moment.” I was a sophomore at UCLA trying to get in touch with my Asian and Korean identity, after many years of going to school with mostly white peers. And then, on April 29, 1992, I never felt more Korean in my life.
After hearing the news about the “not guilty” verdict in the infamous beating of motorist Rodney King at the hands of Los Angeles police, I remember walking back to my dorm room and finding my roommate watching TV news coverage of what would become known as “the L.A. riots.” I remember seeing a Korean immigrant business owner weeping uncontrollably as she witnessed her cleaning business being looted and decimated before her eyes. My friend, an exchange student from Yonsei University, was standing next to me as we watched this woman’s televised nightmare, and just let out an empathetic gasp, holding back tears herself. A U.S.-born Korean American, I felt exactly the way she did. I felt the lump in my throat, the tears gathering in the gutters of my eyes.
I would later learn ethnic Koreans were actually targeted for destruction, which explains the fact that Korean-run businesses accounted for half of the total damage (nearly $1 billion) suffered by the city of Los Angeles. During those three days of fires and violence, I was also never more afraid to be Korean. Community activists like to call Sa-i-gu (4-2-9) our defining moment and in a way, I think the trauma of those days may explain why I find myself working at an English-language Korean American magazine 18 years later. “You have to explain how we feel,” an immigrant storeowner told Korean American journalist John Lee, then a Los Angeles Times staff writer, in 1992. Though they weren’t spoken to me directly, I’ll never forget those words.
Perhaps, many of you have memories of 4.29, as well. I always feel like I need to mark this anniversary in some way, at the very least, by a moment of silence. For the next three days, I welcome you to join me in this moment of reflection and share your first-hand memories here. Also, for some wisdom and perspective, please read the words of our community’s conscience, veteran journalist K.W. Lee.
