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Local Korean radio stations in Los
Angeles put out a call to help Korean business owners, leading to volunteers arriving with their own firearms. The intersection of 5th Street and Western Avenue served as a flashpoint, where the California Market (also called Gaju or Kaju) Korean grocery store was a
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The rooftop
Koreans have been cited by gun rights advocates for the value of citizen ownership of firearms and "being your own first responder." In recent years, it has also been the subject of social media memes, contributing to ease of tensions with African American communities especially in the
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The actions of the rooftop
Koreans sparked debates about gun control and vigilantism, while simultaneously spurring praise for the residents' bravery and resourcefulness. Edward Song Lee, a Korean American was shot and killed mistakenly by his peers when protecting shops near 3rd street. Hector
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communities in Los
Angeles. According to some Koreans, there was a feeling among blacks that Koreans were taking from the community, via the operation of small businesses in the area, which led to racial resentment. Previous violent incidents including the 1991
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Following the Rodney King verdict, Los
Angeles police were unable to provide protection to many affected areas due to the overwhelming scale of the riots. Controversially, they opted instead to set up a defensive perimeter around the
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229:"KING CASE AFTERMATH: A CITY IN CRISIS : Looters, Merchants Put Koreatown Under the Gun : Violence: Lacking confidence in the police, employees and others armed themselves to protect mini-mall"
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https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/insurrection-act-explained?shem=ssc#:~:text=The%20Insurrection%20Act%20was%20last,beating%20Black%20motorist%20Rodney%20King
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Castro, a Latino was also fatally shot in
Koreatown during the riots. Authorities could not determine who killed him, as both merchants and rioters were shooting in the area.
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who armed themselves and took to the rooftops of local businesses to defend themselves. The unrest in urban areas was sparked by the acquittal of four
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major point of conflict. Other locations that were defended by citizens with firearms, included 8th and Oxford, as well as
Western and Third Street.
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Police were on "tactical alert" thus not responding to any calls from citizens. Order was not restored until
President Bush invoked the
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to mostly fend for themselves. In response, many Korean business owners and residents took matters into their own hands.
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stated there were multiple people on the roof of the grocery with "shotguns and automatic weapons".
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cities, cutting off
Koreatown and abandoning other minority and low-income communities, leaving the
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and resulted in rioting, and looting, along with widespread violence and arson throughout the city.
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647:"When The Police Abandoned Them, These Korean Business Owners Took Up Arms During The LA Riots"
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148:(declaring it an insurrection) deploying 15,000 troops. Order was restored almost immediately.
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for males, it was noted that many Korean immigrants had experience with handling firearms.
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The True
Stories Behind The âRooftop Koreansâ Who Took Up Arms During The L.A. Uprising
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Du was tried, convicted, and given ten years in prison. However, the sentence was
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366:"Policing a Global City: Multiculturalism, Immigration and the 1992 Uprising"
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200:"The Real, Tragic Story Behind That 'Roof Korean' Meme You May Have Seen"
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511:"Who were the Roof Koreans/Rooftop Koreans? The Crazy meme from 1992"
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439:"Remapping Koreatown: Folklore, Narrative and the Los Angeles Riots"
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392:"Remapping Koreatown: Folklore, Narrative and the Los Angeles Riots"
254:"Communities work to build understanding 25 years after LA riots"
621:"As Rooftop Koreans Knew, You Are Your Own First Responder"
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Howitt, Arnold M.; Leonard, Herman B. (February 11, 2009).
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Asian American Dreams: The Emergence of an American People
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Managing Crises: Responses to Large-Scale Emergencies
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284:Park, Jeong; Campa, Andrew J. (April 29, 2022).
538:DeCook, Julia R.; Mi Hyun Yoon (January 2021).
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691:The Guns of the Roof Koreans, by Travis Pike
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579:Staff, Los Angeles Times (April 25, 2012).
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486:"South Central: 20 Years Since..."
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64:Tensions had existed between the
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198:Wong, Brittany (June 12, 2020).
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651:All That's Interesting
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48:beating of Rodney King
40:1992 Los Angeles riots
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120:The Los Angeles Times
58:Further information:
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726:Anti-Korean violence
625:The Truth About Guns
159:2014 Ferguson unrest
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163:Black Lives Matter
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586:Los Angeles Times
350:978-1-5443-1702-1
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