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K-pop group BTS lands at Dulles International Airport just outside of Washington, DC, on May 29 (local times). (Yonhap News)

“On my daily walk in my hometown Sausalito [I was] wearing a face mask, [and] a white woman yelled at me, ‘I hate Chinese people! Why do they come to this country!’ when she passed me. I was stunned by her words and caused me to fear and be more alert of my surroundings,” said one Asian American living in Sausalito, California.

“I am a 70-year-old disabled woman living alone. I was assaulted and battered by two women in front of my apartment. One woman verbally abused me [. . .] and the other punched me in the face on my eye and cheekbone,” shared another Asian American from Columbia, California.

According to the non-profit organization Stop AAPI Hate’s Sunday analysis of the 10,905 anti-Asian hate crimes it received reports of between March 2020 and December 2021, anti-Asian hate crimes intensified in severity following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic beginning in China in early 2020.

The acronym “AAPI” stands for “Asian American and Pacific Islanders” and is used to signify Americans with Asian or Pacific Islander heritage.

One of the most noteworthy findings in Stop AAPI Hate’s report is that 824 cases or 7.5% of all anti-Asian hate crimes reported to the organization targeted elders aged 60 or above. The report concluded that “over the past two years, COVID-19 exacerbated threats to the safety and wellbeing for Asian American elders ages 60 and up.”

Among seniors who reported hate incidents against them, 57.6% said they were verbally harassed, while 26.2% said they were physically assaulted. Many also reported being denied services (5.7%) and having their property vandalized (7.2%).

Respondents reported experiencing increased anxiety, fear and stress during the COVID-19 pandemic, with 65.5% of respondents stating they struggled with higher levels of stress. Almost all (98.2%) Asian American seniors who reported experiencing hate incidents said they “believe the US has become more physically dangerous for Asian Americans.”

BTS members pose for a photo on the red carpet at the Grammys, held in Las Vegas in April.

With increasing anti-Asian hate crimes emerging as a social issue within the US, US President Joe Biden announced that he’d invited members of the K-pop group BTS to the White House on Tuesday to discuss hate crimes and discrimination faced by Asian Americans. This event is being held in the hopes of raising awareness against mass shootings motivated by white supremacist beliefs, which have successively made headlines recently, and to celebrate the Asian American and Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month of May.

“President Biden and BTS will also discuss the importance of diversity and inclusion and BTS’ platform as youth ambassadors who spread a message of hope and positivity across the world,” the White House said in a statement Thursday.

BTS arrived in Washington, DC, on Sunday ahead of the event.

Meanwhile, in order to respond to anti-Asian hate crimes that have skyrocketed since the COVID-19 pandemic, Biden signed the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act last May. A law that enables law enforcement agencies to more actively respond to hate crimes, the bill was signed after a white male in his 20s shot and killed eight victims including four Korean American women in March of the same year after saying he would kill all Asians.

By Kim Mi-hyang, staff reporter

Please direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]