Regrettably, my comment and request to abolish the Crime Blotter (in Letters of the March 2005 issue) has drawn the ire of some of my fellow KAs. Though I believe some people misunderstood the point of my comment completely, I must admit it lacked clarity, even for a two- or three-sentence, impulsively written e-mail.

I wasn’t trying to degrade anybody, and I wasn’t saying money is the most important thing in the world. The points I wanted to make were these: First, a story about a criminal is not newsworthy simply because it involves a KA — the story itself should be able to stand on its own merit. And second, there are so many positive, noteworthy stories from in and around the KA community, why waste print on stories that are not?

The Blotter that prompted my comment, in my opinion, had no constructive value and showed a picture that I felt glamorized the criminal life (which was in the February 2005 issue). It was some sort of promotional photo for a former K-pop star wearing urban clothing, trying to look “hard.” Contrary to what Andrew Suh articulates in his letter (in the June 2005 issue), a story need not subjectively make the criminal feel glorified to be glamorous to its readership. You can’t say it’s impossible for a kid to read a Crime Blotter and think a certain criminal is tough and cool. Just look at our society’s obsession with mob movies and gangster rap.

However, in light of Mr. Suh’s letter, I must admit that an article about a KA criminal could very much so be positive and noteworthy. Indeed, a cautionary article about a KA criminal with sobering details about the pitfalls of life could be beneficial and interesting to read, as was the Steve Kim article (also in June 2005). In fact, I would be very interested to read more about Mr. Suh and his life and experiences. (EDITOR’S NOTE: KoreAm featured Andrew Suh in the June 2002 issue.)

Accordingly, I recant my previous request to eliminate the Crime Blotter and humbly urge you to use the Crime Blotter to do what you good folks at KoreAm do so well in all the other aspects of your magazine: promote and enlighten the KA community.