Advertisement
Anti-Asian hate: in South Korea, reports of attacks on Asian-Americans focus on suspects’ race – a lot
- Unlike in the US, South Korean media put heavy emphasis on the race of attackers, many of whom were African-American
- The stark contrast in framing highlights differing sensitivities around race that permeate the two cultures, analysts say
Reading Time:5 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
27
When news broke of the latest violent attack against an Asian-American in New York City on Monday, it ricocheted across the South Korean mediasphere, generating countless articles and news bulletins.
Advertisement
The brutal attack on a 65-year-old Filipino woman, documented in graphic footage, was the latest example of a trend of rising anti-Asian violence in the United States that has captured attention in South Korea, where media outlets have highlighted the Korean background of some of those targeted.
Four of the eight people killed in last month’s Atlanta spa shooting – which prompted widespread soul-searching about anti-Asian bias in the US – were women of Korean descent, while two were ethnic Chinese.
On Thursday, an article about Brandon Elliot – the suspect in Monday’s attack – ranked as the most-read piece on the website of Korean broadcaster JTBC.
Elliot, a 38-year-old homeless man who was previously convicted of killing his mother, has been charged with three federal hate crimes after allegedly kicking and stomping on the first-generation immigrant in front of an apartment complex.
Yet the flurry of attention in South Korea, one of the world’s most ethnically homogenous countries, at the uptick in violence has differed from coverage elsewhere in one notable respect: a heavy focus on the race of the suspects involved, many of whom have been African-American.
While US news reports did not highlight the race of alleged assailants in many recent attacks, South Korean media outlets have readily identified suspects by race in articles and even headlines.
Advertisement