US gun culture drives Koreans to change lifestyle
Allen High School seniors gather in a circle to pray at a vigil, May 10, four days after a gunman shot and killed multiple people at the Allen Premium Outlets mall in Allen, Texas, north of Dallas. Reuters-Yonhap
By Dami Kim
DALLAS ― Laura Lee is an average 20-year-old, going to school and working a part-time job at her local Gong Cha, a famous Asian boba tea franchise.
“My mom recently asked me if I felt safe working at an Asian drink store. She is scared something might happen to me with all these recent hate crimes and shootings,” Lee explained. “I'm scared too. I work here because I enjoy it, but now I get nervous when I'm working by myself. I even catch myself wondering what I would do if a shooter came in here. It's sad, but that's our reality.”
Lee is one of many Korean Americans scared for their safety in America.
The American Psychology Association has reported that one-third of U.S. adults say fear of a mass shooting taking place prevents them from going to places or certain events.
A report by the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research and AAPI Data reported two-thirds of Asians were “very worried” or “somewhat worried” about falling victim to a violent gun crime. Within the Asian population, Korean Americans reported the highest level of fear of gun violence.
Lee is concerned for her safety, but she feels hopeless as to lawmakers doing anything about gun control.
“I've seen on TikTok how much the National Rifle Association (NRA) spends to lobby against gun control legislation,” she said.
Despite the fact that Americans' dissatisfaction with gun laws is at a new high, according to the latest Gallup poll conducted earlier this year, the U.S. public is left without any substantive reform, causing younger people like Lee to feel hopeless and scared about America's future.
Asked what her thoughts are on owning a gun for protection, Lee made it clear that this was an uncomfortable question.
She explained, “I would never own a gun … And, no, I'm not an outlier. My friends and I talk about this a lot. Guns are so stupid. Unnecessary killing machines. No one needs to own a gun. American lawmakers just need to do something.”
Lee is not the only person who feels uneasy around the subject of gun ownership.
Jennifer Song is a resident of Dallas where the recent tragic mass shooting took place on May 6, the day a hate-filled gunman used an AR-15 style rifle to take away innocent lives, some of them children.
For many Korean Americans, this mass shooting hit closer to home than ever as three of the nine killed were Korean Americans.
“I no longer go to the malls on the weekends because I know it'll be crowded. You know shootings happen on busy days.” Song said.
Asked the same question about gun ownership, Song quickly responded, “Never. There is no need to own a gun. It does not solve any issues. If you're not a police officer, you do not need a gun.
“With all these crazy people being able to own guns and buy guns from places like Walmart, I think people will probably think America is the perfect place to get shot,” she said.
Song is not wrong.
There have now officially been more mass shootings than days in 2023 in America. Other countries tell their citizens to exercise precaution when traveling to the U.S. as “incidents of mass shootings occur.”
Some English academies in Korea are even changing their classroom names from American cities to European ones. Such decisions are completely understandable.
Parents are scared that their kids may get killed at school and anxious people avoid grocery stores and malls by shopping online. And locating exits and mentally planning escape routes at theaters and other large venues has become common practice for ordinary people living in the U.S.
Protestors hold signs in support of gun control outside Cotton Wood Creek Church before a vigil, May 7, a day after a mass shooting at an outlet mall in Allen, Texas. AP-Yonhap
As fear escalates to new heights, some Korean Americans have decided to take their safety matters in their own hands. How? It's simple. Owning your own gun.
While advocacy groups are firm in their belief that gun ownership is never the correct way to deal with fears, some Korean Americans feel it is the only way for them to feel safe in America.
Brian Kim is one of those people.
“I had returned home from visiting my parents and noticed my window was left wide open,” he explained. “I knew then I had to protect myself. Up until then, I had no idea how easy it was to obtain a gun.”
Kim states that with his gun, he feels much safer than before.
“Obviously, if I were living in Korea, I would never feel the need to own a gun because no one else has one, but in America, your safety is kind of up to you,” Kim said. “I was also threatened with a gun last year, so I've been thinking about purchasing another one for my car.”
Kim, however, does not agree with open carry, which refers to carrying a firearm in public in circumstances where the firearm is fully or partially visible to others.?He thinks there are simply way too many people that are unhinged for open carry.
“Anyone could start shooting out of anger and an innocent bystander could lose their life,” he said.
While there may not be a major shift in Korean-American gun ownership numbers anytime soon, Kim is certainly not the only person feeling this way.
A national survey of gun retailers in 2021 showed that 30 percent of respondents saw an uptick in Asian American customers. This number has likely gone up since.
Jason Park is another Korean American who decided to purchase a gun after a chilling shooting encounter that happened near his home.
“I was at home enjoying my Saturday and then all of a sudden I heard a bunch of gunshots. Those gunshots felt so close. It was deafening and I was so scared,” he said.
A few minutes later, police arrived at the scene and there, in fact, had been a shooting with multiple casualties. That shooting took place less than a mile away from Park's home.
“I never felt I needed a gun and then that happened and I started becoming paranoid of any kind of loud noise. I talked to a therapist and it didn't really help. I didn't feel safe enough,” he said.
Park shared his story with a Caucasian friend whose family has always owned firearms and hunts for pleasure. The friend suggested he purchase a gun for protection. Park said that is when it clicked for him ― maybe a gun was what he needed to feel safe.
He went on to obtain a firearm license and purchase a pistol for $500, and proudly openly carries his pistol in a holster as it is legal in his state to carry a handgun in a holster without a permit.
“I want people to know I am protected and that I can retaliate,” he said.
With each gun violence tragedy and hate crime, Korean Americans are discovering what it means to be a person of color in America.
“These are scary times and I wish America would do better for us,” Lee said, letting out a big sigh.
Whether they're living their lives in fear and hoping for stricter gun legislation or taking matters into their own hands and purchasing firearms for self-protection, Korean Americans are yearning for an answer for how to stay safe while in pursuit of their “American dream.''
“If my country can't protect me, there's no one else but me. I've always been an eye-for-an-eye kind of person. If someone tries to attack me, I will fight back in any way I can,” Kim exclaimed.
Dami Kim (
) is a freelance journalist based in Dallas.