Korean's at UNL don't foresee backlash after Virginia Tech shootings

Title

Korean's at UNL don't foresee backlash after Virginia Tech shootings

Description

By: Adam Templeton
Posted: 4/26/07
The recent shootings at Virginia Tech have caused many to worry about a backlash against South Korean students.

However, Korean students at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln say acts of discrimination have not occurred. And they hope it stays that way.

"It hasn't been a problem," said Min Suk Shin, a business management graduate student and a member of the Korean Student Association. "Maybe in larger cities with larger Korean communities, but not here."

Other students feel the actions of Cho Seung-Hui, a student from South Korea who committed the shootings, should not represent the South Korean community or the country itself.

They also agree that Seung-Hui was unstable and burdened with psychological issues.

"The first time I heard the news, it was surreal, that he was a South Korean-born student," said Sung Tae Kim, who is also a management graduate student and KSA member.

"I felt some sort of connection," he said. "But, nothing's really connected; he had a personal problem."

Shin said he felt a connection to the Virginia Tech tragedy "as a human being, a college student and as a Korean" but said Seung-Hui is not and should not become a symbol for the Korean community.

Although there has been no reaction against South Korean students at the university, some were worried that the announcement of Seung-Hui's ethnicity could lead to violence.

Shin said he became worried when he heard that Seung-Hui was born in South Korea because he felt it could lead to violence."I hope that doesn't happen," he said.

Still, students remain confident that acceptance will prevail over ignorance.

"I'm sure many people in Lincoln don't connect him (Seung-Hui) to the whole of the Korean people," Kim said. "I don't feel some serious problem will happen in the community or to any individuals."

Some students were concerned some people would not differentiate between North and South Koreans, associating all Koreans with President George W. Bush's "Axis of Evil." However, that sort of thinking does not appear widespread, they said.

"That sort of ignorance may be there at the junior high or high school level, but it rarely happens in college," Shin said.

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Original Source:<a href=http://media.www.dailynebraskan.com/media/storage/paper857/news/2007/04/26/News/Koreans.At.Unl.Dont.Foresee.Backlash.After.Virginia.Tech.Shootings-2881896.shtml>Daily Nebraskan - April 26, 2007</a>

Creator

Adam Templeton

Publisher

Daily Nebraskan

Date

2007-09-03

Contributor

Sara AA Hood

Rights

Josh Swartzlander <jdwriter19@yahoo.com>

Language

eng

Citation

Adam Templeton, “Korean&#39;s at UNL don&#39;t foresee backlash after Virginia Tech shootings,” The April 16 Archive, accessed November 5, 2024, https://april16archive.org/index.php/items/show/1271.