Rooftop Koreans

“Rooftop Koreans,” also called “Roof Koreans,” is a label applied to Korean American business owners and residents who armed themselves and positioned themselves on the roofs of stores and other commercial properties during the 1992 Los Angeles riots. The term does not describe a conventional company, consumer brand, or organized membership association. Instead, it identifies a widely circulated historical image and later cultural symbol associated with Korean American self-defense, community organization, racial tension, and perceived failures of public protection. The events occurred after the acquittal of four Los Angeles Police Department officers charged in the beating of Rodney King. The verdict triggered widespread rioting, looting, arson, and violence across Los Angeles. Koreatown and other minority neighborhoods were heavily affected, while police resources were concentrated in defensive perimeters around areas such as Beverly Hills and West Hollywood. Many Korean American merchants believed that emergency services were unavailable or insufficient, leaving them to protect stores and livelihoods themselves. The imagery became especially associated with locations including the California Market, also known as Gaju or Kaju, near Fifth Street and Western Avenue, as well as commercial areas around Eighth Street and Oxford Avenue and Western Avenue and Third Street. Contemporary reporting described people carrying rifles, handguns, shotguns, and other firearms on rooftops. Some Korean immigrants had prior firearms experience connected to South Korea’s mandatory military service system, although the people involved were not a single coordinated force. Radio Korea also helped circulate requests for assistance and information, facilitating informal community coordination without formally organizing armed patrols. The episode was shaped by earlier tensions between Korean American merchants and African American residents. A particularly important precursor was the 1991 killing of fifteen-year-old Latasha Harlins by Korean American convenience-store owner Soon Ja Du. Du was convicted, but her sentence was suspended in favor of probation, community service, and restitution. The outcome was widely criticized as excessively lenient and became one of the grievances surrounding the 1992 unrest. The history therefore involves both Korean American vulnerability and the broader racial, economic, and political tensions of South Central Los Angeles; it cannot be reduced solely to a story of heroic defense. The armed defense of businesses generated competing interpretations. Some observers praised the participants’ courage and resourcefulness, while others raised concerns about vigilantism, escalation, racialized suspicion, and gun violence. Korean American Edward Jae Song Lee was mistakenly shot and killed by fellow Korean Americans during the unrest, illustrating the dangers of armed, improvised defense. The police department was on tactical alert and did not respond normally to many civilian calls. Order was eventually restored after President George H. W. Bush invoked the Insurrection Act and deployed federal troops and other military forces. In later decades, the phrase became a meme and a political reference, particularly in pro-gun and Second Amendment circles. It has been used to argue that private firearms are necessary when government protection fails. At the same time, Korean American commentators and community organizations have emphasized the trauma, property loss, racial complexity, and historical context behind the photographs. The image has also appeared in discussions of the Ferguson unrest, Black Lives Matter, anti-Asian violence, and Stop Asian Hate. Its reuse remains contested because it can either commemorate community resilience or erase the broader history of racial conflict and suffering. The term received renewed attention during protests in Los Angeles in June 2025, when Donald Trump Jr. shared a photograph from the 1992 riots with the caption “Make Rooftop Koreans Great Again!” The Korean American Federation of Los Angeles criticized the post as an exploitation of painful historical trauma. Photographer Hyungwon Kang, who took the image while reporting on the 1992 riots, said the photograph was being used out of context and pursued its removal. Rooftop Koreans therefore functions today less as a commercial identity than as a contested historical symbol whose meaning changes across journalism, social media, gun-rights advocacy, Korean American public memory, and debates about civil unrest.

The history of Rooftop Koreans is rooted in the social and economic conditions of Los Angeles before and during the 1992 uprising. Korean immigrants and Korean Americans operated many small businesses in predominantly Black and Latino neighborhoods, including convenience stores, liquor stores, markets, and other retail outlets. These businesses provided important services but also became sites of mistrust and conflict. Some African American residents viewed Korean merchants as outsiders who extracted income from local communities, while Korean merchants often described themselves as isolated, exposed to crime, and insufficiently protected by public authorities. A major source of tension was the 1991 killing of Latasha Harlins, a fifteen-year-old African American girl, by Soon Ja Du, a Korean American convenience-store owner. Du was convicted, but the judge suspended the sentence and imposed probation, community service, restitution, and payment of funeral expenses. Many people considered the punishment disproportionately lenient. The case became a symbol of racial inequality and helped intensify distrust between Korean American and African American communities in Los Angeles. On April 29, 1992, a jury acquitted four Los Angeles police officers accused of beating Rodney King. The verdict prompted an uprising marked by looting, arson, assaults, and confrontations with police. Koreatown and nearby commercial districts were severely affected. Korean American merchants reported that police protection was absent or delayed, while law-enforcement resources were concentrated elsewhere. In response, residents and business owners gathered at threatened properties, carrying firearms and using rooftops as defensive positions. The best-known images came from the California Market, also referred to as Gaju or Kaju, near Fifth Street and Western Avenue. Other reported defensive positions included areas around Eighth Street and Oxford Avenue and Western Avenue and Third Street. Photographs and television reports showed armed people observing streets and buildings from rooftops. The participants were not a formal militia and did not operate under a single command. Some had familiarity with firearms because of military service or other personal experience, while others were responding spontaneously to immediate threats. Community communications were also important. Radio Korea suspended normal programming and broadcast appeals from merchants seeking help. Although it did not officially establish armed units, the station helped people exchange information and locate assistance. Following the riots, it supported recovery work, including help with insurance claims and the organization of a food bank at a local church. These efforts broaden the historical picture beyond the iconic photographs of armed people on roofs. The episode also produced tragedy. Edward Jae Song Lee, a Korean American, was mistakenly shot and killed by other Korean Americans during the unrest. His death demonstrated the danger of improvised armed defense and complicates portrayals that treat the rooftop images as an uncomplicated success story. The riots ended after President George H. W. Bush invoked the Insurrection Act and deployed federal troops and other forces. The use of military power, as well as the earlier absence of effective local protection, reinforced debates over policing, racial inequality, gun ownership, and state responsibility. In the decades after 1992, “Rooftop Koreans” evolved from a description of a particular event into a flexible cultural reference. Pro-gun advocates and Second Amendment supporters adopted it as evidence that civilians may need firearms when public institutions fail. Others use the phrase to discuss Korean American resilience, immigrant insecurity, and the unequal distribution of police protection. Critics note that meme versions can flatten the relationship between Korean and African American communities and remove the context of Harlins’s killing, economic competition, property destruction, and the death of Edward Lee. The image circulated again during debates surrounding Ferguson, Black Lives Matter, and anti-Asian violence during the COVID-19 era. In June 2025, Donald Trump Jr. used a 1992 photograph in connection with protests in Los Angeles, prompting criticism from the Korean American Federation of Los Angeles. Photographer Hyungwon Kang objected that the photograph was being taken out of its historical context and sought its removal. The continuing disputes show that Rooftop Koreans is not a product brand in the conventional sense. It is a living cultural signifier whose meaning is repeatedly renegotiated in arguments about race, guns, public order, immigrant communities, and collective memory.

• 2025

  Use of 1992 photograph during Los Angeles protests sparks criticism

  [1]Rooftop Koreansen.wikipedia.org

  A social-media post invoking Rooftop Koreans during 2025 Los Angeles protests was criticized by the Korean American Federation of Los Angeles and by the original photographer as historically insensitive and out of context.

• 2010

  Rooftop imagery becomes a social-media meme

  [1]Rooftop Koreansen.wikipedia.org

  The photographs and phrase gained renewed circulation online and increasingly became detached from their original Los Angeles context.

• 1992

  Korean American residents defend businesses during the Los Angeles uprising

  [1]Rooftop Koreansen.wikipedia.org

  Following the Rodney King verdict, armed Korean American residents and merchants defended commercial properties from rooftops and nearby positions while normal police protection was widely perceived as unavailable.

• 1992

  Edward Jae Song Lee is mistakenly killed

  [1]Rooftop Koreansen.wikipedia.org

  Edward Jae Song Lee was shot and killed by fellow Korean Americans during the unrest, highlighting the risks of uncoordinated armed defense.

• 1992

  Radio Korea supports post-riot recovery

  [1]Rooftop Koreansen.wikipedia.org

  After the riots, Radio Korea helped residents with insurance claims and assisted in creating a church-based food bank during a recovery period.

• 1991

  Killing of Latasha Harlins intensifies community tensions

  [1]Rooftop Koreansen.wikipedia.org

  The killing of fifteen-year-old Latasha Harlins by Korean American store owner Soon Ja Du and the subsequent suspended sentence became a major source of anger and distrust before the 1992 uprising.

A contested historical and cultural symbol of Korean American self-defense, community resilience, and the perceived failure of public protection during the 1992 Los Angeles riots.

• 2025

  Controversial political reuse of Rooftop Koreans photograph

  Donald Trump Jr.’s use of a 1992 riot photograph during 2025 Los Angeles protests was condemned by the Korean American Federation of Los Angeles as an exploitation of historical trauma. Photographer Hyungwon Kang also objected to the image’s use out of context.

  Source

• 1991

  Latasha Harlins killing and disputed sentencing

  The killing of Latasha Harlins by Soon Ja Du and the suspension of Du’s sentence became a highly controversial episode in Korean American–African American relations and an important precursor to the 1992 unrest.

  Source

Read more

• 1992Radio Korea emergency coordination and recovery effort

  Los Angeles, United States

  Radio Korea replaced regular programming with calls for assistance from Korean American business owners during the uprising. Afterward, it helped residents navigate insurance claims and supported a food-bank initiative.

  Outcome. The broadcasts facilitated informal community coordination and contributed to post-riot recovery, although the station did not formally organize armed groups.

  Source

• 1992

  Residents adopt improvised armed defense of businessesStrategy

  Background

  Korean American merchants and residents believed that police were not adequately protecting Koreatown and other affected commercial areas during the uprising.

  Action taken

  Individuals gathered firearms and positioned themselves on rooftops and around businesses to deter looting and defend property.

  Aftermath

  The tactic became an enduring cultural image but also generated debate about vigilantism and contributed to the accidental death of Edward Jae Song Lee.

  Source

• 1992

  Radio Korea shifts programming to emergency communicationStrategy

  Background

  Business owners needed information and assistance while ordinary emergency responses were disrupted.

  Action taken

  The station broadcast requests for help and information from merchants instead of maintaining its normal programming schedule.

  Aftermath

  Radio Korea later entered a recovery period and assisted with insurance claims and food relief.

  Source

1. 1Rooftop Koreansen.wikipedia.org