History – A glance
In the early 1900s, the first wave of the Korean immigrants settled at the foot of Pillbox Hill, which was known back then as “Old Koreatown”. Due to their social status, many of them found themselves labouring menial and domestic jobs, jobs that were otherwise considered below local residents. It wasn’t until the 1930s that the Korean population began relocating to what is now known as Little Seoul, establishing a proper community.
“They moved there, because, as people of color, they weren’t allowed to live in other areas.”
Little Seoul is a neighborhood in Central Los Santos, dubbed “K-Town” due to the formation of an ethnic enclave in the early 1970s. Whilst records show that Korean emigration to the United States began as early as 1903, Korean-American communities did not grow significantly until after the passage of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965. The communities saw a 2,500% increase in the Korean immigrant population in just ten years, which helped stimulate growth in the district.
By the late 1970s, most businesses on Palomino Avenue and Lindsay Circus were owned by the Koreans. This played a crucial role in cultivating a sense of communal identity within Little Seoul, establishing itself as the primary hub of the Korean community in southern San Andreas. This has been strengthened by South Korean investment flowing into the neighborhood’s economy.
Little Seoul, despite its name, is considered one of the most highly diverse areas in Los Santos, due to its composition being primarily Hispanic and only a third being Asian.
“There were racially restrictive covenants in place until 1948. So, they were able to live in that area among African-Americans and Latinx and the Japanese-American community.” - Katherine Yungmee Kim, commenting on the migration of Korean immigrants in an article entitled ‘The best Koreatown outside of Korea’
During the 1980s, the neighborhood of Little Seoul was officially designated by Los Santos.
Asian Organized Crime
Organized crime in Korea began in the early 1940s during the occupation by the Imperial Japanese forces. They started as political enterprises, seeking to further the Korean National Independence movement, which eventually turned corrupt. In Korea, these criminal organizations are referred to as “PAs” and have rigid organizational structures. Their organizational structure is akin to that of its Chinese counterparts, Triads and Tongs, however, allowing more room between blue and white-collar crime.
The South Korean dictatorship of Park Chung-hee, during the 1960s, saw habitual Korean mobsters, otherwise known as Kkangpae (깡패), flee to established Koreatowns around the world, including San Andreas’ very own Little Seoul. While Koreans had faced little trial and tribulation settling into Little Seoul, it is not to say that they didn’t face difficulties with local gangs in the area such as Crips, Bloods, and Sureños. Taking the initiative, groups began to form in order to protect their own, albeit they were frowned upon by the Korean population. They began forcefully recruiting teenagers from immigrant homes that were deemed dysfunctional to further their own causes.
In 1990 the Korean government had declared a “war on crime” in an effort to crack down on violent and non-violent acts by criminally organized groups. Takedowns crippled organizations and gangs, but didn’t completely eradicate them as a play of being able to control them, which led to further emigration from Korea. Some fled to the United States where they would re-establish their criminal enterprises. New additions in Little Seoul meant that ties to home were strengthened, especially to the port city of Pusan.
Come April 1992 race relations plummeted, following a trial which acquitted four officers of the Los Santos Police Department for excessive force in the arrest of an African-American man. Unrest spread like wildfire throughout the Los Santos metropolitan area and resulted in six days of violent riots. Koreans violently came to blows with the African-American community following the killing of a 16-year-old African-American high school student at the hands of Korean shop owner. Koreans disputed that the killing was in self-defense whilst the African-American community argued that it was racially motivated, which lead each side to stand by with their respective races. Korean stores were often guarded by volunteers as well as Korean gangsters armed with handguns, shotguns, and even semi-automatic rifles, as they could not rely on the LSPD. By the end of the riots, the Korean criminal groups had become solidified in the area and unified under their racial hatred for the African-American community in Little Seoul and saw to it black gang members were actively targeted, although these feelings were subdued over time after community leaders had discouraged this.
Korean Americans not only faced physical damage to their stores and community surroundings, but they also suffered emotional, psychological, and economic despair. About 2,300 Korean-owned stores were looted or burned, damage that was estimated to be around half a billion USD, making up 45% of all damages caused by the riot. Modern day Little Seoul is still recovering from the chaos and economic disaster caused by the riots. The majority of the local stores that were damaged were never rebuilt as many store owners had little to no savings and they faced difficulties in obtaining loans that would help them rebuild their stores.
In spite of all the hardship, Little Seoul today is one of the most attractive areas for investors, which has active establishments providing opportunities to local residents. It has also opened a window for illegal activities. These criminal groups operate in a similar manner as in Korea and engage in criminal activities such as drug trafficking, money laundering, extortion, home-invasion robberies, loan sharking, prostitution, insurance fraud, and alien smuggling.
CREDITS: @stew
OOC
We reserve the right to character kill any individual who associates themselves with the organization. Those wishing to join must send a character kill agreement to myself. Any questions or concerns can be directed to myself. If you intend on posting screenshots, you must seek out administration's approval before doing so, anything else will be removed. We intend on starting at the very bottom and working our way up. This doesn't necessarily mean that we will be working or involved in violent crimes. If you're looking for a generic gang, or organized crime unit, then this thread and roleplay is not for you. You will be expected to roleplay your character to its fullest extent and not just for the sake of the faction. For those more interested in the community side of things, please see the Little Seoul thread.
You can join us on our Discord here: https://discord.gg/eMBg5Ee2Za
Intellectual Property of Crocker.
