CNN Korean-American Reporter "Someone Shouted 'Virus' 10 Minutes Before the Broadcast"

CNN Korean-American reporter Walker revealed his experience of racial discrimination during a broadcast on the 17th. Photo by CNN

[Asia Economy Reporter Hana Na] Amid a surge of anti-Asian hate crimes in the United States following the COVID-19 pandemic, it has been revealed that a Korean American journalist at CNN was called a "virus" by someone just 10 minutes before going on air.

Amara Walker, a Korean American journalist at CNN, reported that she heard a racist remark from a passerby while on her way to appear on the live broadcast "CNN Tonight" on the evening of the 17th (local time). At the time, Walker was en route to report on a mass shooting incident that occurred in Atlanta, Georgia.

During the broadcast, Walker told anchor Don Lemon, "About 10 minutes ago, someone shouted 'virus' in our direction," calling it "an example of the racial harassment Asian Americans are experiencing."

Walker also shared on social media her experience of being subjected to racial discrimination three times consecutively at an airport last October, writing, "I really hate saying this, but I was born and raised in America. I am as American as apple pie and as American as Korean BBQ. I am American, so please do not question me about that."

Meanwhile, the Atlanta mass shooting resulted in a total of eight deaths, including six Asian women, four of whom were Korean American. The arrested suspect, 21-year-old white male Robert Aaron Long, admitted to "sex addiction" as his motive and acknowledged "misogyny," but denied that the crime was an anti-Asian hate crime.

However, foreign media and civic groups have condemned the incident as clear "anti-Asian hate." On the 20th, the Associated Press reported voices of Asian women who were sexually objectified, describing the Atlanta shooting as "a new and horrific chapter in the shameful history of reducing Asian women to sexual objects."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.