Update 3: Hot Air has a new thread asking the question, “Was Cho schizophrenic, “mean,” or both?” The continuing trend is to focus on the individual in the States, and the ethnicity in Korea.

Update 2:

• Cho Seung-hui posted a warning on a V-Tech online forum, “”im going to kill people at vtech today,” before the killing spree.
• An article about the circumstances of the Cho family immigration from Seoul to the U.S.
• A report on Cho being ordered to a mental health facility in 2005 for two alleged instances of stalking. And his creative writing teacher found his writing so disturbing that, “I was willing to resign before I was going to continue with him.”

Update 1: The actual reaction to the shootings in the U.S. vs. what many South Koreans expect and how they are reacting is revealing:

• In Korea, “President Roh Moo-hyun is presiding over an emergency meeting of his aides at his office Cheong Wa Dae to discuss the fallout from the massacre at…” V-Tech.
• South Korean Ambassador to Washington Lee Tae-shik [said] “On the occasion of this shocking incident, the South Korean community must reflect on itself and seek another opportunity to blend in with the mainstream of the United States…”
• But as Kevin Kim points out, Koreans in American in reality have little to fear, aside from isolated incidences; there will be no protest rallies or business rejecting Koreans.
• Kevin also notes that Cho’s name in Korean is 조승희.

To me, the fear many – though not all – South Koreans have concerning reactions in the U.S. is due to both a misunderstanding of American society, and because of how they likely would react if an American, a English teacher or an expat’s child for example, had done something similar in Korea. They know what would happen in Korea; my wife got two calls from Korea yesterday urging her to “be careful” and to “watch out” (which is a good idea in any metro area at any time, but for different reasons).

There is a certain irony, however, in the fact that while the vast majority of Americans will logically blame the individual (rather than a group or nationality) as being responsible for his/her own actions, some will also blame inanimate objects; like firearms.

Cho’s victims include his parents after the fact, according to Radio Korea in LA:

• Cho’s father reportedly slashed his wrist after having learned of his son’s alleged killings… Cho’s mother attempted to commit suicide by taking toxic drug… she was transported to a nearby hospital, but is listed in critical condition…

Original post: So far there does not seem to be a focus on Cho’s ethnicity, which is a good thing; clearly he was a disturbed young man who snapped over a presumably failing relationship, and had other festering issues that have nothing to do with being Korean. Updates are:

• Cho Seung-Hui purchased a Glock 9mm for $571 last month, and “A fellow student said Cho had written two plays so ‘twisted’ that his classmates suspected he might become a school shooter.”
• You can read one of his plays at The Smoking Gun (h/t OFK).
• The Joongang Ilbo has an interview with a Korean student wounded during the shooting, “Park Chang-min, 27, a master’s degree candidate in civil engineering.” (h/t ROK Drop).
• The Chicago Tribune has an article on the note he left behind, as well as more personal and family details (h/t Marmot).
• Hot Air has an extensively updated post, including maps of the V-Tech campus.