LOS ANGELES — It’s been more than three decades since Yongsik Lee grabbed a shotgun and climbed to the top of his furniture store during the 1992 Los Angeles riots — becoming one of the infamous era’s “Rooftop Koreans.”
After protesters once again squared off with cops on LA’s streets — this time over federal raids targeting migrants — the armed vigilantes who defended the city’s Koreatown are back in vogue.
The “rooftop Koreans” became a viral punchline and meme for anyone who worried LA was descending into violence, and thought Mayor Karen Bass wasn’t doing enough to crack down.
