When anti-Asian hate hits the golf course

Anti-Asian hate hits the golf course. Courtesy of Ethnic Media Services

In the video, a person can be heard yelling repeatedly, “I have Covid like a dog.” The scene, a golf course somewhere in Los Angeles. The situation, as explained by the hosts of the new podcast, “All Rise,” produced by the Korea Daily, allegedly involves an unhappy golfer hurling what appear to be racist remarks directed at the Korean golfers ahead of them.

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According to attorney and show co-host Sidney Sohn, tensions have been rising on golf courses across the region over the use of AI bots to reserve tee times as golf course attendance has spiked since the pandemic. Golfers have also been heard commenting disparagingly about the growing number of Korean and other Asian Americans on local golf courses.

“You could feel the (Anti-Asian) hate,” says Sohn, explaining that the common practice of face masks and other protective wear among Koreans and Korean Americans — something many do for reasons tied to beauty and skin care and that are unrelated to public health — sometimes draws this type of response from non-Asians.

This is the second episode to be released by the All Rise team. The first, which you can catch here, looks at the various forms of discrimination that members of the Asian American community often encounter. Episode 3, which just dropped, looks at race and bullying in schools. All episodes are in English with Korean captioning.

Viewers are invited to share or report their own experiences with hate in the comment section of the show.

Korean Americans in Los Angeles’ Korea Town have been on edge of late following a string of attacks targeting members of the community, many of them elderly. According to the LAPD, there have been 54 separate incidents of assault targeting Koreans from January of 2023 to April of this year, the Korea Daily reports.

Sohn and show co-host Alexander Tsao, also a practicing attorney, urge those who have experienced this sort of verbal attack on area golf courses to file a complaint with the management, which they add should take measures to ensure these encounters do not continue unchecked, including by training staff, posting signs warning against abusive language and behavior, or ejecting those violating these policies.

“I got much respect for the small business community,” says Tsao. “But if you’re a business that is… allowing this type of racist behavior to go on in your facilities, we’re gonna come after you. We’re gonna investigate you and we’re gonna watch you.”

Check out the full episode in English below.

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