Korean Collective Action Over the past two decades, boycotts and demonstrations against Korean grocery stores by African Americans have become increasingly common. This anti-Korean stance has been fueled by reports of Koreans' rudeness and physical violence towards customers, suspicions of shoplifting and price discrimination. However, by exploiting these same grievances, Korean-Americans have also done their part in shaking up the system. By the early 1980s, agricultural retailing had become the dominant business among Koreans in New York City (Min, 61). There are several reasons to explain this phenomenon. One reason is new immigrants' lack of English language skills and professional skills. Although most Korean immigrants arrive in America with high levels of education and professional experience, these skills cannot be easily translated into American white-collar work (“The Koreas,” 223). Therefore, the only alternative for them is to invest in small businesses. Furthermore, Koreans entered America at a time when retired Jewish and Italian farm store owners were willing to sell their stores because their children had already entered the mainstream of the American economy (“The Koreas,” 239 ). These stores are predominantly located in low-income countries. minority neighborhoods where there are acts of vandalism, high crime rates and the perception of low spending capacity by residents (Min, 67). Since large chain stores have been unwilling to invest in these areas, opportunistic Korean immigrants have stepped in to fill this void (Min, 230). As a result, where did the Jews and Italian Americans go? One area where Jews and Italian Americans predominate is the wholesale business. Korean produce retailer... middle of paper... does this mean that Korean traders, who have been mistreated by Jewish wholesalers, will one day BE the wholesalers of the future and will mistreat the next wave of immigrants? I am irritated by this generalization because it assumes that all Koreans will move up the American socioeconomic ladder. Personally, this concept is difficult for me to understand since my father actually fell off the American ladder after losing his store to bankruptcy. Works Cited: Kim, Illsoo. "The Koreans: Small Businesses in an Urban Frontier." New immigrants to New York. Ed. Nancy Foner. New York: Columbia University Press, 1987. 219-242. Kim, Illsoo. New Urban Immigrants: The Korean Community in New York. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1981.Min, Pyong Gap. Caught in the Middle: Korean Merchants in Multiethnic American Cities. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1996.