Korean businesses suffered $350 million in damages during 1992 Los Angeles riots

Following the not guilty verdict for the police officers who assaulted Rodney King, violence spread from the Florence and Normandie intersection toward Koreatown on April 29, 1992. Approximately 2,300 Korean-owned businesses were targeted, resulting in an estimated $350 million in damages.

On April 29, 1992, the flames of the 1992 Los Angeles riots first consumed Korean businesses located in Black residential areas. The events that served as the fuse for the riots were inequitable rulings brought about by a white-centered judicial system. On November 15, 1991, the disposition for Doo Soon-ja was announced. While a crime of involuntary manslaughter involving a firearm could have carried a maximum sentence of 16 years in prison at the time, the presiding white judge, Joyce Ann Karlin, ordered 400 hours of community service, a $500 fine, and probation. Following this, anger exploded as the jury returned a not guilty verdict for the police officers who assaulted Rodney King.

Looting began immediately after the not guilty verdict, moving toward Koreatown

The scene of the not guilty verdict in the Rodney King case was being broadcast live on television at the time. Immediately after the verdict, protest demonstrations began near the Los Angeles courthouse in Cudahy, followed by looting, arson, and violence by angry crowds. The violence, which began at the Florence and Normandie intersection—a symbolic location of the riots—moved northward and spread toward Koreatown. A student present at the time recalled seeing rioters passing by the window of a dormitory. Because there was a perception in the United States at the time that robbers or rioters would not arbitrarily enter a house where people were living, a dormitory proctor even instructed students to "put on the lights" to show that people were inside.

Looting continued like a 'shopping spree,' with the Korean community suffering $350 million in damages

Upon reaching Koreatown, rioters looted and burned Korean-owned stores. The situation was so indiscriminate that it was described using the expression "shopping spree like." Korean businesses, which performed economic roles within the Black community, became the primary targets. Supermarkets and dry cleaners operating within Black residential areas were hit first, after which the focus shifted toward Koreatown. Approximately 2,300 Korean-owned businesses suffered damage, with total losses estimated at about $350 million. This amount accounts for approximately half of the total property damage caused by the 1992 Los Angeles riots.

These damages were also intertwined with accumulated conflicts between the Black community and the Korean community. At the time, the Black community held complex emotions, feeling that other ethnic groups, such as Jews, Japanese, and Chinese, had entered and slightly exploited them. In this situation, as the riots intensified following the Rodney King and Doo Soon-ja incidents, Korean stores became the most vulnerable targets of attack.

Fifteen years of life collapsed amidst the absence of police

Michael Kim, the owner of Cosmos Electronics Store—one of the businesses damaged at the time—hid behind his store and desperately attempted to report the situation. However, for three hours, he received no response from the police or the fire department. Ultimately, the business he had built over 15 years collapsed in an instant. While Koreans had been living by establishing an economic foundation within the Black community, the flames of the riots were a direct hit that they had to face first.

Source: JTBC Entertainment (YouTube)