Carnage and Cultural Self-Consciousness

By Tong Kim

First I would like to dedicate this column to express sympathy and to pray for the victims of the demonic acts of killing at Virginia Tech last week that took away so many young promising lives. We also pray for their families. We pray for healing.

Seven days after, it is still painful to sort out what caused the terrible tragedy that shocked the world, and particularly Korea and America. We know the assailant in America’s most horrible shooting was an immigrant student from Korea who had a history of mental illness.

Initial reactions from the Korean press showed concern for the potential harm that could affect U.S.-Korea relations or negatively impact the prospect of U.S. ratification of the recently negotiated Free Trade Agreement. Then there came concerns of possible backlash against the two million Koreans in America _ including U.S. citizens, permanent residents, and bona fide students.

Almost all Korean daily newspapers promptly published editorials mourning for the victims and consoling their bereaved families. The Korean president and his foreign minister quickly conveyed messages of sympathy and comfort to their American counterparts.

Apparently the Korean government had even considered, until advised against it by the U.S. State Department, dispatching a special condolence team to the scene, as a symbol of apology to the American people. The Koreans living in the United States held massive services across the country to share sorrow and pray for the victims.

Koreans seemed to have been somewhat relieved by watching the American press that identified the gunman as a Korean immigrant, but concentrated on the horrible incident from an American perspective as an American story, without attaching any significance to nationality.

One of the strengths of America comes from the dynamic integration of immigrants from different cultures and nationalities into a ``melting pot’’ and from America’s success in overcoming racial bigotry. The mature and responsible reaction by American society to the massacre at Virginia Tech is a vindication of the greatness of America.

It shows America’s honest soul-searching effort to retrospect what went wrong and what could have been done to prevent the heinous killing, rather than blaming the ethnic ties of the cold blooded murderer. America is again looking into controversial political and social issues _ including gun control, management of mental patients, ineffectiveness of preventive laws, impact of Hollywood productions of violence and video games for copycats, etc.

Before Cho Seung-hui’s rampage, school shootings were largely a white male problem as seen in the Columbine high school shooting. I also remember the young John Hinckley’s attempt to assassinate President Ronald Reagan in 1981, who was later found not guilty by reason of insanity. Even considering psychopathology, it is hard to forgive Cho’s barbaric act of killing 32 people, especially after we saw the disturbing videotapes of his vicious rant.

While we should continue to pray for the victims, we may want to look at the reason why Koreans reacted the way they did at the beginning, felling morally guilty of the monstrous carnage committed by one of their compatriots. I would like to share some of my thoughts on this question as a person who has lived in both cultures, 35 years each, working bilingually for all of my adult life.

I think it has to do with Korean culture, in which Koreans tend to regard all Koreans and even those partly sharing Korean blood as their compatriots, regardless of nationality or place of residence. This predisposition is based on a cultural concept of inclusiveness, not a legal justification. It is kind of a conscious or unconscious sense of nationalism that sometimes erupts emotionally. Koreans may not differ from other peoples in taking a pride in their compatriots’ heroic achievements on the international stage.

On the other hand, also in traditional culture, if a son commits a wrongdoing, his parents feel responsible and ashamed of their relationship. Cho had lived in America since 1993 as an immigrant but still carried a Korean passport. We hear that Cho’s parents are in protective custody, while his sister apologized to Korean students who may face difficulty because of her brother’s action. Likewise the Korean nation as a whole truly felt they were morally guilty for what happened in Virginia.

The Korean ambassador to Washington went to a mourning gathering of Korean residents in Fairfax County, Virginia and suggested that the attendants start a 32-day fast in a remorseful repent for the killing by one of their fellow Koreans. Then there was a warning against the admission of moral guilt, as it may contribute to a negative American perception that Korea was responsible for the tragedy as an effect of cultural miscommunication.

Upon the breaking news report that the culprit was a Korean student, I was asked by two daily newspapers in Seoul and one in Tokyo to comment on what would happen to Korean-American relations and what the Korean government should do to prevent probable backlashes against Korea. The Japanese paper asked me whether it would affect nuclear negotiations with North Korea.

The first part of the question was easy to answer because the shooting incident would not develop as an issue between the two governments. I didn’t think the incident would have a direct impact on the nuclear talks. But the second part of the question from the Korean papers was not that simple due to a cultural gap between Korea and America.

Aware of American experience of racial trouble _ and even understanding temptations for ``profiling’’ and other un-American reactions after 9/11 and also knowing there was no guarantee against isolated incidents of anti-Korean agitation, I, as a Korean-American, chose to think like other Koreans. I wished the killer had not been affiliated with anything Korean. So I said that the foreign ministry of the Korean government or the Ambassador to Washington whose job is to protect and guide Korean nationals in America, though not legally obliged, can convey its moral sense of regret and sympathy for the victims and their loved ones.

At first I did not think the Korean president should do anything, but when I learned he had sent a message to the American president, I said that was a positive move in the sense that Korea should share sorrow as allies.

The last word, the Korean responses were natural acting from their traditional culture that has the beauty of taking moral responsibility for something they are not legally responsible. Koreans were very concerned about how they may be seen by Americans. We should all pray for the victims. What’s your take?