Korean immigrants in these areas were often college-educated and came from middle or upper-class backgrounds in Korea, and their decision to open stores in Black and Latino neighborhoods was informed by their access to personal savings, and the minimal start-up capital required.
[1] The socioeconomic inequity between Korean and Black Americans fueled xenophobic sentiments among the African-American community in urban areas of New York, Washington DC, and Chicago.
[4][5] Most Korean-owned stores in Black and Latino neighborhoods employed Koreans at a disproportionately high rate, which was often perceived by members of the African American community as informed by anti-Black racism.
[4] Though the violent altercations between Black and Korean Americans were often portrayed as part of a race war, which concerned only those two groups, some scholars contend that Black-Korean conflict must be viewed as a reconceptualization of white racism.
[11] Theory surrounding Black-Korean relations in the US, and the particular social position of Korean Americans, has often been informed by the concept that Korean-Americans function as a middleman minority group.
[2] Despite their efforts, the BKA did not fully succeed in reducing hostility between Black and Korean communities, as seen in the 1992 Los Angeles uprising, among other boycotts and civil unrest.
[13] Other organizations like the BKA include Harlem's Korean-African Association for Friendship in 1990 which guided 37 African American pastors on a trip to Korea in October 1991 to foster harmony between the groups.