As immigrant rights marchers gathered in downtown Los Angeles on Monday morning, garment manufacturer Mike Lee said many of his fellow Korean American merchants closed early, fearing a repeat of the 1992 riots.
Lee closed his Poison Ivy shop as well, but did something more. He joined the march.
"I am also an immigrant," Lee said as the throngs on Wilshire Boulevard crossed Western Avenue.
Just as the 1992 disturbances were a defining event for L.A.'s Korean American community, the recent immigrant rights marches may be a defining event for the community today -- highlighting the growing economic interdependence between Koreans and Latinos, and budding efforts by Koreans to cross the cultural divide.
Latinos constitute the largest workforce for many Korean businesses in the city and are an increasingly important customer base. Although Koreans and Latinos struggle to overcome cultural and language barriers, there have been strides, by design and by economic necessity.
Latinos increasingly shop in Korean grocery stores, served by Latino cashiers who speak Spanish and a smattering of Korean. Some Korean restaurants now offer menus in Spanish. And Monday, two days after the 14th anniversary of the riots, Lee and some other business owners joined their Latino workers in demonstrations.
It is a far cry from 1992, when Korean-owned businesses took the brunt of looting and burning after the acquittal of four white Los Angeles policemen in the beating of black motorist Rodney G. King.
Some 2,200 Korean-owned businesses had about $400 million in damage. One of the riots' most indelible images was a picture of Korean men, armed with rifles, standing on the roofs of their businesses after police had left.
After the riots, Korean businesses were criticized for being too insular and uncaring about the communities they served, mainly black neighborhoods in South Los Angeles.
"After the riots, Korean [businesses] simply moved out of black neighborhoods," said Kyeyoung Park, an associate professor of anthropology and Asian American studies at UCLA. "That can't be done in relation to Latinos."
Latinos, not Koreans, constitute the single biggest group of residents in Koreatown -- now a booming business and residential district that has prospered in recent years thanks in part to investments from South Korea. In downtown's garment district, Korean-owned businesses depend on Latino labor to keep the sewing machines whirring.
