John Cho to Speak at L.A. Uprising 30th Anniversary Event From Korean American Leaders of Hollywood

John Cho, The Good Doctor‘s Will Yun Lee and Rep. Marilyn Strickland will convene in Koreatown on May 1 for LA Stories: Sa-I-Gu, an evening to mark the 30th anniversary of the civil unrest that rocked Los Angeles in 1992 and made headlines across the nation.

Hosted by the advocacy organization Korean American Leaders in Hollywood and sponsored by Overseas Koreans Foundation, the Korean Consulate General in L.A. and 3Arts, the lineup will also include comedians Paul “PK” Kim, Lizz Adams, Peter Kim, Dante Chang, Walter Hong, Grace Jung and Julie Kim. Tickets for the fundraising event, held at Intercrew, can be purchased online, with proceeds going to the Koreatown Youth + Community Center as well as the KHEIR Clinic, which provides healthcare and support to the underserved and uninsured in the neighborhood and throughout southern California.

Korean Americans have come to refer to the 1992 uprising as Sa-I-Gu, Korean for “4-2-9,” signifying April 29, 1992, the date of the acquittal of the police officers who were captured on tape beating Rodney King nearly to death. Agitation over a prolonged lack of justice boiled over into violence, with Koreatown serving as ground zero for much of the weeklong physical unrest that left 63 people dead across the city, thousands injured and, according to KALH, more than 2,000 Korean American small businesses razed.

“Sa-I-Gu was a tragic moment in American history where the Korean American experience was caught in the storm of political, cultural and racial reckoning. It exposed the fragility of the American dream, which had compelled so many of our parents to move here in search of a better life,” KALH chair Kymber Lim said in a statement. “Our hope is that [our event] Sa-I-Gu can shine a light on the events of the past and use storytelling and humor as a means of remembrance, healing and hope for our future.”