A wave of shame washed over the Rev. Kun Sang Cho when he learned the Virginia Tech shooter was a native of South Korea.

He knew the murders occurred hundreds of miles away, possibly at the hands of a mentally ill young man. But what most pained Cho and many other Korean-Americans living in Colorado was that the shooter was Korean -- one of their own.

"They feel ashamed," said Cho, pastor at Asbury Korean United Methodist Church. "This is our culture. If one of my members got involved in a crime, all members feel the shame."

Korean-Americans have expressed concern that their shared heritage with Virginia Tech gunman Cho Seung-Hui may subject them to a backlash.
In Colorado, Korean-Americans say the news has put an uncomfortable spotlight on a traditionally low-key group that takes pride in honorable behavior.

"The feeling is it's a privilege for us to be guests in this host country and for one of us to behave this way is so shameful," said Esther Cho, 34, who was born in South Korea but was raised in the United States. "There's this sense of collectively losing face."

Chong Lee, a Korean immigrant who settled in Colorado in 1966, said he hopes it won't be that way.

"This is not a racial issue," Lee said. "This is not a nationality issue. This is an issue of a sick person killing innocent people."

The national media have been "overemphasizing that his nationality is Korean," he said. "I personally do not like that."

Heon Suh Park, a Denver technician, said he doesn't fear a backlash. But recently at a Target store, a stranger told the 23-year-old Korean-American that he resembled the shooter. His parents have cautioned him this week "not to go out to a lot of places."

His girlfriend, who is Asian, was also warned by her parents that "there might be some retaliation because of this happening," Park said.

Park said he believes the average American wouldn't target Koreans for what Cho did. [Link]