Title: SA-I-GU: From Korean Women's Perspectives Specs: Documentary | 1993 | 36 min | English & Korean w/English subtitles April 29 marks the anniversary of a tragic day in American history. Violence, arson and looting erupted in South Central Los Angeles, sparked by the acquittal of the four policemen who had beaten an African American, Rodney King. During the tragic days of the riot in 1992, Korean Americans suffered about half of the $850 million in property damage, not to mention the emotional and psychological pain. In the days and weeks that followed, media coverage of the upheaval was extensive but rarely presented a fair and in-depth portrayal of the victims. They made the Black/Korean conflict the cause of the crisis, not a symptom. Sa-I-Gu, literally April 29, presents this Los Angeles crisis from the perspectives of Korean women shopkeepers and offers an alternative to mainstream media's inability or refusal to present the voices of victims in human terms but make them issues and numbers. Sa-I-Gu provides a perspective that is essential to discussions on the Los Angeles unrest that brought numerous social issues to the forefront — racism, class divisions, crime, violence, poverty, the urban underclass and political, economic and cultural empowerment. Writer/Director/Producer/Narrator: Dai Sil Kim-Gibson Co-Director/Co-Producer: Christine Choy Co-Producer: Elaine Kim Awards: Bronze Plaque, Columbus International Film & Video Festival Bronze Award, Houston International Film Festival Rosebud Award, Washington, D.C. Recognition: National PBS Broadcast, POV ---------------------------- For information on the filmmakers:
http://www.wmm.com/filmcatalog/makers/fm698.shtml
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0159563/
http://ethnicstudies.berkeley.edu/faculty/profile.php?person=8
Sa I Gu is Another Way the Los Angeles Riots Are Remembered yahoo.com By whitney levon | Yahoo! Contributor Network – Wed, May 2, 2012 COMMENTARY | The Korean community in Los Angeles was hit hard by the Los Angeles riots. Many lost businesses they had worked lives to build. Korean residents have a name for the events that unfolded in April of 1992, Sa I Gu. Literally translated, it means 4-2-9, the date the riots began. Why did this group of people suffer so heavily in the riots? Tensions between Koreans and blacks in Los Angeles had been tense for a long time. Many felt the Koreans were taking advantage by opening businesses in neighborhoods that were predominantly black. The business owners were thought of as rude and condescending to their customers, according to The Huffington Post. The death of black teenager Latasha Harlins added to the tension. She was shot in the back of the head by a Korean shop owner, Soon Ja Du, after the two argued over a bottle of orange juice. The shop owner was not required to serve any time in prison for her death. There were 150 members of the Korean community in the courtroom when Du pleaded not guilty, according to The Los Angeles Times. They applauded the court's decision to release him on bail. The family of Harlins and the rest of the Los Angeles black community were outraged at the situation. When the riots began, Korean-owned businesses were targeted by looters. Over 3,000 buildings were burned during the riots, and 1,867 of them belonged to Korean business owners, according to L.A. Weekly. Participants exacted their own type of revenge for Harlins' death and the perceived treatment of black customers by Korean shop owners. The riots began as a reaction to racism believed to exist within the Los Angeles Police Department. The people who suffered the most from the rioting were targeted for their ethnicity, proving the futility of the riots. The Korean community has rebuilt, but the devastation felt 20 years ago cannot be forgotten or ignored.
Korean American community coalesces
Op-Ed
Isolated and insular before April 1992, it was forced to reevaluate its economic, cultural and political positions and is now an integral part of Los Angeles' mosaic.
April 29, 2012|By Edward T. Chang
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http://www.koreadaily.com/news/read.asp?art_id=171312
인물로본 LA폭동10년]희생자 목소리 필름담는 김대실 감독[LA중앙일보]
기사입력: 04.10.02 09:24
“4·29 폭동 행사는 많은데 피해자는 없습니다.”
정신대 할머니와 사할린 강제징용자, LA폭동 피해자 등 역사의 비극에 피흘린 한국인들의 아픔을 기록해온 다큐멘터리 감독 김대실(63)씨는 폭동 10주년을 맞아 다큐멘터리 ‘젖은 모래알(Wet Sand)’ 제작에 혼신의 힘을 쏟고 있다.
그는 폭동이 일어난 다음 해인 93년 ‘사이구(Sa-I-Gu)’라는 다큐멘터리를 제작해 PBS를 통해 전국에 방송한 적이 있다. 그는 왜 같은 이야기를 또 하려는 것일까. 세월의 문 뒤에서 깊은 잠에 빠진 폭동에 대한 기억을 힘차게 노크하고 싶은 것이다.
“다큐멘터리에 출연한 피해자들에게 물었습니다. 피해자에 관한 얘기가 없는데 다 잘 돼서 그런가 하고요. 그런데 이런 말을 하더군요. 돈없고 목소리 작은 사람들은 들어주지 않으면 지쳐서 말을 안하게 된다고요.”
폭동나고 평화행진에 10만명이 모였을 때 이젠 무슨 일이든 할 것 같았다고 한다. 하지만 다음 해부터 언제 그런 일이 있었느냐는 듯 고통받은 이들을 모두 잊었다는 것이다. 다음 해 폭동 1주년 행사장에는 주류방송이 헬기까지 동원했지만 카메라기자가 참석자보다 더 많았을 정도였다.
지난해 9월 김감독은 USC에서 열린 폭동 9주년 컨퍼런스에 갔다 분개했다. 패널리스트 가운데 피해자는 단 한 명도 없었다. “영어를 잘 못하면 통역이 있지 않습니까 ”
그래서 그는 다시 폭동에 덤벼들었다. ‘사이구’가 폭동의 원인을 한·흑 갈등으로 몰아간 주류언론의 잘못된 시각에 대한 반론이라면 ‘젖은 모래알’은 너무 빨리, 그리고 철저하게 잊혀진 피해자들의 목소리를 담는 입이다.
그가 망각을 경계하는 것은 폭동이 과거형이 아닌 현재 진행형일 수도 있기 때문이다. 그는 다큐멘터리를 제작하면서 한인-히스패닉, 흑인-히스패닉 사이에 심각한 단층이 형성되고 있고 10년 전같은 충돌로 이어질 수 있다는 느낌을 받았다.
김 감독은 한 업소에서 히스패닉 종업원과 즉석 인터뷰를 한 적이 있다. 그에게 물었다. “LA폭동 같은 일이 또 일어난다고 생각합니까 ” 종업원의 대답은 간단했다. “이대로 가면 5년 안에 일어납니다.” 김 감독이 폭동을 잊으면 안된다고 말하는 이유다. 10년 전 그 불길과 총성의 현장을 잊고 현장에서 울부짖던 이들을 잊는 것, 그래서 형식만 남은 것, 그건 폭동을 잊은 것이나 다름없을 지도 모른다.
피해자를 외면하면 우리에게 폭동은 목소리가 사라진, 제목만 남은 공테입이 아닐까. 그렇다면 우리는 거기서 아무 교훈도 듣지 못한다. ‘젖은 모래알’은 그렇다고 한다.
안유회 기자
Employees of California Market in Koreatown guard the store from the rooftop… (Hyungwon Kang / Los Angeles…)
The Los Angeles riots — six days of arson, looting and death — are known to Korean Americans as Sa-i-gu, "April 29" in Korean, the date the civil unrest started. Sa-i-gu erupted after the acquittal of one Latino and three white police officers charged with the beating of Rodney King, a black motorist. Blacks, whites, Latinos, Asian Americans, Korean Americans and others were directly and indirectly affected — and involved — in Sa-i-gu. But it was Korean immigrant merchants who were, memorably, too often caught in the middle.
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