September 11 Digital Archive

Koreans unite to censure tyrannical landlord: Soo-yeon Cho cuts his hair to show his resistance

Title

Koreans unite to censure tyrannical landlord: Soo-yeon Cho cuts his hair to show his resistance

Source

born-digital

Media Type

article

Original Name

After a fire in his store, Korean greengrocer Soo-yeon Chos landlord ended his lease instead of repa

Created by Author

yes

Described by Author

no

Date Entered

2002-12-04

VTMBH Article: Edition

45

VTMBH Article: Article Order

4

VTMBH Article: Title

Koreans unite to censure tyrannical landlord: Soo-yeon Cho cuts his hair to show his resistance

VTMBH Article: Author

Raejun Jang

VTMBH Article: Publication

Korea Times New York

VTMBH Article: Original Language

Korean

VTMBH Article: Translator

Jeongwoo Han

VTMBH Article: Section

news

VTMBH Article: Blurb

After a fire in his store, Korean greengrocer Soo-yeon Chos landlord ended his lease instead of repairing the damage. Left without the business and burdened by a lawsuit, Mr. Cho and his wife, supported by Korean-American associations and Mr. Chos former customers, are staging a month-long protest in front of the landlords office building.

VTMBH Article: Keywords

VTMBH Article: Body

Many Korean associations and prominent figures in the Korean community gathered to support Korean greengrocer Soo-yeon Cho, who is suing his landlord, who broke his lease after a fire in the Manhattan building.

On Dec. 3, from 11:00 a.m. to 2 p.m., 150 Korean demonstrators gathered to rally against the landlord in front of the landlords office building located in midtown, at 47th Street and Fifth Avenue.

Despite severely cold weather, people from the following associations participated in the demonstration: Korean-American Association of New York (Chairman Suk-joo Kim), Korean-American Association of New Jersey (Chairman In-cheol Yeon), Korean American Grocers Association (Chairman Young-sik Chang), Flushing Senior Center (Chairman Hyung-bin Yim), and the New York Korean American Jaycees (Chairman Dae- jung Kim). Mr. Cho's regular customers, who are of other ethnic backgrounds, also joined in the demonstration. Local television stations and newspapers from UPN and NY1 came to report on the demonstration.

Soo-yeon Cho, who shaved his head in protest, and his wife, issued a statement in which she appealed that it is impossible to explain the difficulties our family suffered over the last year with words. She also asserted, To get back the shop, which has been the means for our family's livelihood for the last 24 years, is our natural and just right as honest-living American citizens.

The demonstration on this day had more meaning because it united New York Korean-American associations and New Jersey Korean-American associations, and also New York Korean-American Jaycees 1.5 generation [those who came to the United States as children]. Therefore, not only Korean associations from New York and New Jersey, but also first and 1.5 generations gathered together to make one voice.

In-cheol Yeon, chairman of the Korean-American Association of New Jersey, said, "Mr. Soo-yeon Chos pitiful situation is the Korean communitys. He added, in order to participate in this demonstration, the people from the Korean-American Association of New Jersey prepared pickets, a statement and slogans until dawn. He emphasized that minority people should get together and form a powerful group in the face of unjust treatment living in the multi-ethnic community of New York.

Mr. Soo-yeon Cho said, "I appreciate Korean American people from various associations, who, in this cold weather, came to participate in this demonstration," and, "I hope this struggle to secure a tenant's right to make a living will help Korean people living as a minority, avoid unfair treatment in the future.

Mr. Cho had run his green grocery for 24 years in midtown Manhattan. In November of last year, his grocery caught fire and instead of repairing the damage, the landlord tried to break the lease. Since then, Mr. Cho hasnt been able to run his business and he is struggling with the lawsuit. Mr. Cho is continuing his demonstration, holding a picket sign and disseminating protest fliers to passersby in front of the landlord's office building until the end of this month, and he is planning to protest in front of the landlord's house in Flushing.

Anybody willing to help Mr. Cho's protest can contact him at this number, 917-567-5454.

VTMBH Article: Line Breaks

1

VTMBH Article: Date

2002-12-04

VTMBH Article: Thumb

VTMBH Article: Article File

VTMBH Article: Hit Count

102

Citation

“Koreans unite to censure tyrannical landlord: Soo-yeon Cho cuts his hair to show his resistance,” September 11 Digital Archive, accessed November 8, 2024, https://911digitalarchive.org/items/show/1344.