Filicide in Koreatown, USA
Cases of fathers killing their children, often along with themselves and their wives, usually in cars, while not common, happen often enough here in South Korea. Usually, the motive is financial, a failure to keep up with the Kims. Often, the high-cost of cram schools is a factor. Tragically, the story has repeated itself in LA: Koreans Stunned by Tragedy: The fiery deaths of two children horrify the community. Experts say immigrant men like the father face pressure to attain financial success.*

What is surprising is that both the author nor the so-called experts he cites, all of them Korean-American, fail to acknowledge the background situation in Korea and rather place the blame on American society or adjustment to it, as these comments from the article suggest:

But most struggling with personal or financial troubles find ways to resolve their problems through family and friends, their church or social service agencies, said Edward T. Chang, professor of ethnic studies at UC Riverside, who has spent a quarter century studying the Korean American community of Los Angeles.

"Korean immigrants live under tremendous pressure to earn a living and to educate their young," he said.

"Sometimes those pressures can reach crisis proportions…. But what Mr. Yun did is so extreme, even those of us who know the community well are at a loss to explain. His action is an aberration — a tragedy for him, his family and, also, the community," he added....

Grace Yoo, executive director of the Korean American Coalition, said many immigrants struggle with the pressure to achieve financial success, especially in a status-conscious society like America's.

"It's so much of what you wear and what you drive versus your character," she said. Korean Americans "have fallen for that. A lot of Americans have fallen for that. Think about it: Why do so many Americans have huge credit card debt?"

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