Violence and trauma as constitutive elements in Korean American racial identity formation: the 1992 L.A. riots/insurrection/saigu

• Published in: Ethnic and racial studies 2012-11, Vol.35 (11), p.1999-2018
• Main Author: Kim, Rose M.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Asian Americans; Asian Cultural Groups; Collectives; Consciousness; Cultures and civilizations; Ethnic groups. Acculturation. Cultural identity; Ethnic Identity; Ethnic relations. Racism; Ethnicity; Identity; Interethnic relations; Korean American; Koreans; Los Angeles, California; Mass media; Media; Minority & ethnic violence; Neighbourhoods; Police Community Relations; Race; Race relations; Racial identity; racialization; Racism; racist violence; Rebellions; Riots; Social unrest; Society; Sociology; Sociology of communication and mass media. Sociolinguistics; Sociology of knowledge and sociology of culture; Trauma; U.S.A; Violence
• ISSN: 0141-9870; 1466-4356
• DOI: 10.1080/01419870.2011.602090

This paper proposes a new understanding of race as an artifact constructed from racist violence and the trauma it engenders. The paper applies Jeffrey Alexander's concept of 'cultural trauma', i.e. when 'members of a collectivity feel they have been subjected to a horrendous event that leaves indelible marks on their group consciousness', to the case of Korean immigrant merchants who were victims of violence during the 1992 L.A. riots/insurrection/saigu in Los Angeles, California, following the acquittal of four white police officers charged with violently assaulting a black motorist. Though the violence was contained to distinct neighbourhoods, the larger society experienced the terror because of the mass media. Over time this media-event led to the construction of a new identity rooted in violence and trauma. Through an examination of various texts, this paper argues that the Korean-American collective consciousness shifted discursively from an identity rooted in nationality to one incorporating race.