'Trouble City'

Korean-Black Conflict in Post-Insurrection Los Angeles

By Sung Hak Choi

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About the Book

This book explores the causes of Korean Black conflict as well as the methods of containing and managing such conflict. The author conducted field research from 1994 to 2003 in a Korean owned grocery store in South (Central) Los Angeles and followed the lives of a Korean American merchant family, their customers, and the lives of residents in a neighborhood which has been the object of a great deal of popular discussion (and especially scorn) in both journalistic and academic circles. The author offers detailed stories about the lives of Korean shopkeepers, their African American and Latino employees, neighborhood residents, security guards, police officers, "gangbangers" and addicts in South Central Los Angeles as their lives intersect in the confines and immediate vicinity of a store owned by "Brother Jang" and "Mama (Jang)" in "Trouble City" (i.e., South Central Los Angeles).

Table of Contents

Part 1: Dissertation Overview 1. Introduction Part 2: Theory 2a. Critique of Middleman Minority Thesis 2b. Foucault: The Link between Surveillance and Power Part 3: Methodology 3. Towards a Holistic Approach to Field Reserach Part 4: Substantive Chapters 4. Surveillance in Jang's Market 5. The Security Guards of Jang's Market 6. Moral and Normative Classification in Jang's Market 7. Violent Retribution in Jang's Market: The Etiology of "Righteous Slaughter" 8. Methods of Escape: The Economy of Vice-Drinking, Gambling, and Fantasizing in South Central Los Angeles Part 5: Conclusion 9. Dissertation. Conclusion

About the Author(s)

Sung Hak Choi is a recent graduate of UCLA's Ph.D. program in sociology, and am currently an adjunct assistant professor at California State University, Northridge and at Los Angeles Valley College.