Reports of Cho Seung-Hui prior to the Virginia Tech Massacre are, as detailed elsewhere, notably limited. Though he attended Virginia Tech for some time before his rampage few of Cho Seung-Hui’s fellow alumni’s of Westfield High
School have been able to identify him. More disturbingly these fellow alumni are now deceased. What could they have told us about Cho if anything?
In order to answer further questions about Cho Seung-Hui we must also answer some questions about the cultural relevance of tattoos in East Asia. In Japan tattoos are largely regarded as solely the territory of criminals, most notably the Yakuza. These criminals will often use tattoos as symbols to represent qualities possessed or desired. It should be noted that classical Japanese tattooing often concerns itself with religious motifs.
But how does this relate to South Korea? The South Korean National Police often deny the existence of organized crime, however in Seoul in (1990) they posted signs encouraging citizens to report any information concerning “p'ongnyokpae”, violent bands of men armed with knives and improvised weapons. The ties these bands and later violent groups had with the Japanese Yakuza are evident. From 1990 onward this criminality greatly escalated.
It should also be emphasized that Seoul is the city in which Cho Seung-Hui’s family resided prior to their arrival in the United States. Their “former landlord” Lim Bong-ae states that "I didn't know what (Cho's father) did for a living. But they lived a poor life," Lim told a newspaper. "While emigrating, (Cho's father) said they were going to America because it is difficult to live here and that it's better to live in a place where he is unknown."
Is it at all possible that Cho’s father was involved in organized crime? Is this involvement what inspired him to move to the United States?
Cho Seung-Hui's father is also alleged to have made money in Saudi Arabia.
"They bought the tiny shop with the money my son-in-law made in Saudi Arabia before he got married," Said Cho Seung-Hui's Uncle Kim. What exactly was Cho Seung-Hui's father doing in Saudi Arabia that earned him this money? Saudi Arabia is known to have close ties to American Government, so much so that 140 Saudi Arabians were permitted to leave the country even while a nation-wide No-Fly-Zone status was in effect, in 2001.
How was Cho Seung-Hui's father involved with Saudi Arabia and was he involved with South Korean criminality? It's difficult to know, considering that the majority of Cho Seung-Hui's family are now under Federal custody.
It should also be emphasized that 
1 comment:
South Koreans worked in Saudi Arabia in the 80s and early 90s because South Korean companies built oil piplines there. I was young so I don't remember all that well but it was this big thing because a lot of people went and I guess it paid pretty well. A lot of fathers who needed money for the family went, although it was a hard manual labor job and they had to be separated from their family for several years. So it's not anything suspicious that he was there.
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