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There have been and still are tension between Koreans and everyone else, including other Asians who don't like Koreans.
Of course only those adults who have come here from Korea seem to rub almost everyone I've spoken to the wrong way. As for the young ones born and raised here meaning late teens and 18-21: many say they seem brooding like a dark cloud over their heads and in a sour mood and unpleasant. Many think their parents are hard on them and feel a little bad for the young ones. I've also been told that Koreans (the ones who have come from Korea) really don't like mingling with other but other Koreans and don't like their kids to even consider dating other than Koreans. Koreans don't seem to inviting to non-Koreans in their hang-outs. This could be why LA has never had a Korean/American on the city council even though it has the largest and most robust Korean population outside of Korea: They just don't get involved in that way. They tend to be insular. In fact, there really is no Koreatown to speak of in the sense of Chinatown or Little Tokyo, as in no real destination nor any invitation by Koreans to "come to "Koreatown" and learn of Korean food and culture, etc." "Here's a place we built for you, non-Koreans to learn and explore that starts with a welcoming destination" and Nothing like the museums and outreach of the Japanese community here with their nice plaza that documents Japanese contributions and their history on LA with a number of good Japanese eateries with extremely welcoming people who have owened the business for possibly generations. That's just one example. But not even the kitschy tourist sort of Chinatown for K-town, now with more Vietnamese than Chinese, but even Monterrey Park publicizes its festivals for ALL (as does Chinatown) to attend, but none of this in Koreatown. ONe tends to feel shut OUT. This is not at all the experience of those I've spoken with have had with Chinese and Japanese. Interacting with them has always been positive.
Look, their is something of a hierarchy or pecking order among Asian nationals and cultures, just as there is for the Nordic peoples and the Hispanics; a cruel fact of life. When you speak with other Asians about Koreans, they have some pretty nasty things to say about Koreans, and it is NOT political, but in regards to culture, something like how the Swedes see the Finns as truly beneath them, and Central Americans are not held in high esteem by Mexicans or those from South America. I find that while there may be some truth to broad generality, I find that if we keep an open mind about any individual we meet, no matter what they may be or from where they've come, we can always find human jewels. After all, every human being has the capacity to be a creep no matter their heritage, ethnicity, or nationality.
Last edited by HarryKerryJr; 04-15-2014 at 12:24 AM..
Of course only those adults who have come here from Korea seem to rub almost everyone I've spoken to the wrong way. As for the young ones born and raised here meaning late teens and 18-21: many say they seem brooding like a dark cloud over their heads and in a sour mood and unpleasant. Many think their parents are hard on them and feel a little bad for the young ones. I've also been told that Koreans (the ones who have come from Korea) really don't like mingling with other but other Koreans and don't like their kids to even consider dating other than Koreans. Koreans don't seem to inviting to non-Koreans in their hang-outs. This could be why LA has never had a Korean/American on the city council even though it has the largest and most robust Korean population outside of Korea: They just don't get involved in that way. They tend to be insular. In fact, there really is no Koreatown to speak of in the sense of Chinatown or Little Tokyo, as in no real destination nor any invitation by Koreans to "come to "Koreatown" and learn of Korean food and culture, etc." "Here's a place we built for you, non-Koreans to learn and explore that starts with a welcoming destination" and Nothing like the museums and outreach of the Japanese community here with their nice plaza that documents Japanese contributions and their history on LA with a number of good Japanese eateries with extremely welcoming people who have owened the business for possibly generations. That's just one example. But not even the kitschy tourist sort of Chinatown for K-town, now with more Vietnamese than Chinese, but even Monterrey Park publicizes its festivals for ALL (as does Chinatown) to attend, but none of this in Koreatown. ONe tends to feel shut OUT. This is not at all the experience of those I've spoken with have had with Chinese and Japanese. Interacting with them has always been positive.
Look, their is something of a hierarchy or pecking order among Asian nationals and cultures, just as there is for the Nordic peoples and the Hispanics; a cruel fact of life. When you speak with other Asians about Koreans, they have some pretty nasty things to say about Koreans, and it is NOT political, but in regards to culture, something like how the Swedes see the Finns as truly beneath them, and Central Americans are not held in high esteem by Mexicans or those from South America. I find that while there may be some truth to broad generality, I find that if we keep an open mind about any individual we meet, no matter what they may be or from where they've come, we can always find human jewels. After all, every human being has the capacity to be a creep no matter their heritage, ethnicity, or nationality.
I don't think you know many Korean Americans.
Also, if you think K-town is less popular than Chinatown, maybe you should actually go visit it. Get some kbbq, plenty of soju, and try some noraebang.
Also, if you think K-town is less popular than Chinatown, maybe you should actually go visit it. Get some kbbq, plenty of soju, and try some noraebang.
I agree with this entire statement, especially the part about Koreatown. It's way more popular than Chinatown.
^ Here in Australia we've seen a profusion of Korean businesses: restaurants, grocery stores.etc in the major cities. These seem to cater more for those on working holiday visas and students rather than immigrants, although there are a few. I do feel that Korean staff in business aren't very helpful, although some are and quite friendly. I remember going to some Korean shop and nothing was labelled in English, I felt it was very exclusionary to non-Koreans. That store didn't last very long, but another took it's place and this one did have English labels. I went there often to buy Korean snacks and drinks and got to know the lady, who was pretty nice. She works there like 7 days a week!
The Koreans I've met here have been almost all from South Korea, and most are friendly and pretty extroverted. When I was young we were sometimes babysat by a Korean lady, actually the mother of someone I went to kindy with, and she was lovely and took great care of us.
Korea was never a place I gave much attention to until recently when Korea seems to be everywhere, from K-pop, dramas, Korean BBQ, Korean brands, even in Australia. I wouldn't say I'm dying to visit, Japan has always held more of my interest, but I'm at least kind of interested now. I do love Korean food.
To answer the original question, no. This isn't 1992, and even back then the Koreans were simply defending their businesses and livelihood from being looted. Racial tension in SoCal is amazingly low considering the amount of different cultures that call this place home.
I would say Los Angeles, compared to any other city in the U.S, has a huge amount of actual multiculturalism, more so than San Francisco which simply has pockets of race/culture, but no actual merging like LA. The "Kogi Taco" was invented here for crying out loud.
To answer the original question, no. This isn't 1992, and even back then the Koreans were simply defending their businesses and livelihood from being looted. Racial tension in SoCal is amazingly low considering the amount of different cultures that call this place home.
I would say Los Angeles, compared to any other city in the U.S, has a huge amount of actual multiculturalism, more so than San Francisco which simply has pockets of race/culture, but no actual merging like LA. The "Kogi Taco" was invented here for crying out loud.
Racial tension is relatively bad here actually. Transplants and privileged people don't experience racial tension because they stay in areas where the only color that matters is green, but it definitely exists, though not as intense as 10-15 years ago.
Racial tension is relatively bad here actually. Transplants and privileged people don't experience racial tension because they stay in areas where the only color that matters is green, but it definitely exists, though not as intense as 10-15 years ago.
How does it manifest itself? Is it worse than comparable metro areas?
wow...there are so many ignorant, offensive, sweeping generalizations in the two posts below; where to begin?
above all, i think the most galling aspect of your comments is the unstated-but-strongly-implied insinuation that koreans are primarily responsible for any past or present animosity with african americans and other groups due to our behavior and culture, and thus deserve any contempt directed toward us.
but hey, i guess it's all our fault for being such unfriendly bastards! if only we'd crack a smile once in a while, maybe the LA riots and subsequent looting would've spared ktown and rolled through beverly hills instead.
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Originally Posted by HarryKerryJr
There have been and still are tension between Koreans and everyone else, including other Asians who don't like Koreans.
i'm always amused when ill-informed folks such as yourself try to act like experts about a race/ethnicity other than your own, simply because you heard a few things from a handful of sources. then again, secondhand stories from disgruntled malcontents and bigots are surely an accurate barometer for race relations in a huge and complex city like LA, right?
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Originally Posted by HarryKerryJr
Of course only those adults who have come here from Korea seem to rub almost everyone I've spoken to the wrong way.
"almost everyone?" lol. i'm glad to hear there are still some people who've had the good fortune to avoid crossing paths with those inscrutable FOB koreans!
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As for the young ones born and raised here meaning late teens and 18-21: many say they seem brooding like a dark cloud over their heads and in a sour mood and unpleasant.
hey, thanks for the heads up. it's always so enlightening when non-koreans such as yourself provide such expert armchair psychoanalysis of our community. after all, there's no one who can truly understand the noble korean savage like the enlightened non-korean majority!
based on what you've heard, i'm guessing that ucla, usc, and ktown must be unpleasantly stormy pockets of dark clouds and brooding misery in the midst of sunny los angeles due to all those dour korean kids.
what other kernels of wisdom do you have in store for us today?
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Many think their parents are hard on them and feel a little bad for the young ones.
don't feel bad. most koreans don't care what people like you think.
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I've also been told that Koreans (the ones who have come from Korea) really don't like mingling with other but other Koreans and don't like their kids to even consider dating other than Koreans. Koreans don't seem to inviting to non-Koreans in their hang-outs.
welcome to america, bro. first generation immigrants of every background have pretty much always been accused of this.
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This could be why LA has never had a Korean/American on the city council even though it has the largest and most robust Korean population outside of Korea: They just don't get involved in that way. They tend to be insular.
insularity? what an absurd conclusion.
did it ever occur to you that maybe - just maybe - those inscrutable FOB koreans who manage to "rub almost everyone [you've] spoken to the wrong way" are too busy working themselves to death just to make ends meet and provide for their families? it takes time for any immigrant group to start gaining political clout, and when you're trying to gain an economic foothold in a new country, running for a position on the city council would probably be low on the totem pole of one's priorities. then consider language and cultural barriers, and it's easy to see why an immigrant might not bother with politics.
besides, not having an LA city council member of korean descent doesn't necessarily imply all that much. the korean population in LA, while larger than other cities in this country, is actually a tiny fraction of the overall population of the city/region and pales in comparison to, say, the mexican community. even the chinese and filipino communities are much larger.
that said, there are smaller suburban cities elsewhere in the LA region where koreans constitute a larger proportion of the population and have been making political inroads, albeit slowly. so korean americans are in fact getting involved in politics - but by and large, it's the second generation that's taking the plunge, not the FOB newcomers, due to assimilation and greater financial and social resources.
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In fact, there really is no Koreatown to speak of in the sense of Chinatown or Little Tokyo, as in no real destination nor any invitation by Koreans to "come to "Koreatown" and learn of Korean food and culture, etc." "Here's a place we built for you, non-Koreans to learn and explore that starts with a welcoming destination"
lol what?! jeebus, this is laughably ill-informed and inaccurate.
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and Nothing like the museums and outreach of the Japanese community here with their nice plaza that documents Japanese contributions and their history on LA with a number of good Japanese eateries with extremely welcoming people who have owened the business for possibly generations. That's just one example.
this is not an apples-to-apples comparison.
japanese americans have lived in LA in large numbers for over 100 years. they have had generations to develop an economic, cultural, and social foothold in LA. then consider that unassimilated japanese angelenos have become less common - as the older FOB generations pass away, they're not being adequately replaced since japanese immigration to the u.s. has plummeted in recent years. the result is that socal's japanese community has become more americanized as a whole than any other east asian group in the region.
on the other hand, the korean population in LA was miniscule prior to 1965. most non-korean angelenos probably weren't even aware of a local korean presence until well into the 1970s, and it wasn't until the 1980s that the korean community had genuinely become significant. only in recent years have the americanized children of the first generation korean immigrants begun to establish themselves in large numbers and have kids of their own.
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But not even the kitschy tourist sort of Chinatown for K-town, now with more Vietnamese than Chinese, but even Monterrey Park publicizes its festivals for ALL (as does Chinatown) to attend, but none of this in Koreatown. ONe tends to feel shut OUT.
yeah, you're right: koreans don't ever host big festivals that are open to everyone.
the ktown night market will be taking place this friday, april 18th from 4pm-12 midnight and on saturday, april 19th from 2pm-12 midnight. admission is free and open to the public - yes, that would include you.
but i suppose this "doesn't count" and must not have been widely publicized since you weren't aware of it?
oh and btw:
chinatown is NOT more vietnamese than chinese. the majority of asian residents in that neighborhood are still chinese, and even the ones who immigrated from vietnam (and thailand, cambodia, and malaysia) are overwhelmingly ethnic chinese. same goes for the san gabriel valley.
the great majority of ethnic vietnamese in the greater LA area live in orange county.
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This is not at all the experience of those I've spoken with have had with Chinese and Japanese. Interacting with them has always been positive.
so your personal interactions with the various asian ethnic groups in LA makes you an authority on all things asian, huh? congratulations - you've figured us out! it's great to know that there are non-asians such as yourself who can develop such expertise based on limited firsthand experiences and secondhand gossip. it's even better when folks like yourself decide to convey that knowledge to the ignorant masses.
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Look, their is something of a hierarchy or pecking order among Asian nationals and cultures, just as there is for the Nordic peoples and the Hispanics; a cruel fact of life. When you speak with other Asians about Koreans, they have some pretty nasty things to say about Koreans, and it is NOT political, but in regards to culture, something like how the Swedes see the Finns as truly beneath them, and Central Americans are not held in high esteem by Mexicans or those from South America.
regardless of the validity (or not) of this statement, it is disturbingly arrogant for someone to actually say this out loud. especially when it comes from a non-asian such as yourself.
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I find that while there may be some truth to broad generality, I find that if we keep an open mind about any individual we meet, no matter what they may be or from where they've come, we can always find human jewels. After all, every human being has the capacity to be a creep no matter their heritage, ethnicity, or nationality.
btw, am i the only one who's sick of these race-baiting threads? even when created with sincere intentions, the only thing they end up accomplishing is to induce the bigoted members of the CD peanut gallery to come crawling out from under their rocks.
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