Koreans (including Korean Americans) in Los Angeles have a more negative view of the current economic situation and city government than other ethnic groups.
A Loyola Marymount University (LMU) survey of 1,011 Los Angeles residents in March found that 37 percent of Korean respondents believed the city was being run well, while 62.7 percent thought it was being run poorly. The survey included a total of 510 Asian residents, 132 of whom were Korean. Among the other Asian respondents, 49.2% expressed a positive view of the city’s management, whereas 50.8% had a negative view. Across all respondents, the percentages were 46% positive and 54% negative.
Korean Americans have relatively low expectations of the police, with 8.9% saying that the police “always make the right decision,” 47.1% saying “most of the time,” and 35.2% saying “only some of the time.” Other Asian groups expressed slightly higher expectations, with 10.1%, 49.1%, and 34.4% respectively.
When asked to rate the quality of police services, Koreans rated 20.4 percent as good, 49.3 percent as fair, and 30.3 percent as poor, compared to 28.9 percent, 56.6 percent, and 14.5 percent for other Asians.
However, Koreans’ satisfaction with the police has improved slightly. In the same LMU survey in the summer of 2022, at the height of the pandemic, 40 percent of Koreans said they were dissatisfied with the police, and only 14 percent were very satisfied. In that survey, 62% of Koreans responded affirmatively to the question “Do you feel served and protected,” compared to 71% of English speakers, 78% of Chinese speakers, and 69% of Spanish speakers.
City services for homeless-related problems are viewed relatively positively, with overall respondents rating them as good (30.1%), fair (48.2%), or poor (21.7%), but Koreans remain harshly critical, with 15%, 13.9%, and 71.1% respectively.
This sentiment is also reflected in the question, “Would you recommend your neighborhood to someone you know?”
In terms of “affordable housing,” 83.4% of Koreans would not recommend their neighborhood to a friend. This is nearly 10 percentage points higher than the 73.4% of other Asian residents and 74.4% of all respondents.
When asked about their support for labor unions, which have seen a rise in protests and strikes in recent years, 82.3% of Koreans (18% strongly support and 64.3% partially support) expressed support, compared to 72.7% for other Asians (19% strongly support and 53.7% partially support).
When asked how much the pandemic has affected their living conditions, 26.7% of Koreans said it has affected them “very much,” nearly twice as many as other Asians (14.4%). Among all respondents, 19.9% said the same. This suggests that the rising cost of housing has had a significant impact.
Similarly, when it comes to “health impacts,” Koreans are more likely to report a greater impact than other Asian residents (17.3%), with 25.4% reporting a very high impact.
When asked how they would grade Mayor Karen Bass’s performance on homeless issues over the past year, only 1.1 percent of Koreans gave her an A, with 14.4 percent giving her a B, 25.1 percent a C, 32.2 percent a D, and 27.1 percent an F. Other Asian residents gave grades of A through F at 4.6%, 18.8%, 34.6%, 23.6%, and 18.4%, respectively. All respondents gave slightly higher ratings: 8.8% A, 24.8% B, 27% C, 17.8% D, and 21.6% F. Koreans also gave the mayor lower ratings than other groups for public safety and race-related issues.
BY BRIAN CHOI, JUNHAN PARK [ichoi@koreadaily.com]
