I've been here for about a week and a half now. Seoul still amazes me. There's still so much more of Seoul to see, things to do, and many more people to meet. European style waffles are a lot cheaper here than they are in the US, so that makes me very happy!
What has been most interesting is how I have been perceived as a black person in one of the world's most homogenized countries. Generally, I have noticed a genuine curiosity. Some Koreans have excitedly approached me to take pictures with them. Some have spoken about their love for music created by African-Americans. Some have even asked genuine questions about Africa.
The questions about Africa were not necessarily surprising, nor was I offended. I think the only thing that bothered me was for such a highly advanced country that pushes such a strong emphasis on education was the ignorance about Africa as a continent. So far, almost all of the Koreans I spoke to expressed their ignorance about Africa. But, the difference that I have noticed from the ignorance of Africa here to the ignorance of Africa back in the United States is that it seems to almost always have this innocent vibe, as in Koreans really want to know to more about Africa.
The images here of black people are very few. I saw a poster of Ne-Yo outside a store in COEX Mall, one of Seoul's most popular shopping venues; I watched My Wife and Kids with Korean subtitles; and so far I have seen commercials about donating 500 won to help the poor in Africa. That's it. I have stated several times the power of the media and how omitting images can be just as dangerous as giving a false image.
A Korean guy I met a few days ago, who knows a lot more about the Blues than I do (or possibly ever will) told me that the general perception of Africa is that everyone is poor and suffering. I explained to him, and others who have posed questions about Africa that even though there are plenty throughout the continent that are living at or below the international poverty line, many African countries are actually experiencing explosive economic growth, growing middle class groups, and governments that are finally attempting to clean up corruption (or at least we hope). Several African countries (Nigeria and South Africa, for example) have been repeatedly sited for being among the next global economies within a decade (Nigeria and South Korea are on the same list).
Another Korean guy expressed his interest in doing humanitarian work in Africa. I asked him where and he didn't know. He assumed that majority of the continent was poor. I had to explain to him that each country has its on unique successes and problems and some countries are easy to get into and others are not. I also had to explain to him that the culture(s) in each country is different and in many African nations, there are many cultures, sometimes in the hundreds within one nation. I told him think of how different South Korea is from China. There might be some similarities, but there are some very distinct differences.
After giving these explanations (and I am sure these will not be my last here), what I found most interesting was the response. Each person I spoke to wanted to learn more. I left with a feeling that they are all going to Google about Africa and check out my blog and other blogs dealing with the Black World. They are going to educate themselves.
When I am dealing with Americans, I rarely have that feeling. It seems like the learning stops once our conversation is over. Then again, I believe the American way of learning has been Amero-centric for so long that it is hard for many Americans to educate themselves outside of what directly affects America, even though I think (hope) that is beginning to change since the world is increasing becoming smaller and countries are becoming more dependent on each other.
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