Older Korean Americans fearful amid anti-Asian attacks

Yong Sin Kim, an 85-year-old Korean immigrant living in an apartment complex in central Los Angeles, says he rarely leaves home these days. When he does, he carries a whistle with him; at least he could call for help if he were to be attacked. Three floors up in the same building, Hyang Ran Kim, 74, waits for her daughter to pick her up. She is temporarily moving into her daughter’s place in a quieter neighbourhood in the suburbs. Kim says her daughter is worried about her safety. Asian Americans have been the subjects of discrimination, threats and violence that have escalated in the past year because the coronavirus pandemic originated in Wuhan, China. Some have blamed former President Donald Trump for fanning flames of intolerance by calling COVID-19 the “China virus” and “kung flu.”