The Seoul Namsan Tower is place where love is locked up in colorful padlocks. The Seoul Namsan Tower is one of the popular places filmed in Korean dramas. It's a must go places for lovers, friends and family! I will share the most Instagram-able zones around the Tower. I recommend people to visit the tower all season especially at sunset! The sunset is so beautiful.
Seoul Namsan Tower: View in front of cable car deck
The cable car costs around 13,000 won for a round trip for adults. There are discounts for senior citizens and children. Climbing up to the Namsan Tower is very tiring but a great way to burn some calories.
Love locks at Seoul Namsan Tower
The love locks area is where all the love is padlocked. Love is a beautiful thing!
Seoul Namsan Tower "no locks allowed there"
Love locks are only padlocked on designated places. No padlocks allowed on the big heart!!!
Up and above the Seoul Namsan Tower
The Seoul Namsan Tower looks so beautiful at night. This is one of my favorite pics of the Day!
Sunsets are so beautiful "view from the Namsan tower"
Sunsets are so beautiful and so divine. This view was captured from the far-right side of the Namsan Tower, closer to the love lock balcony!
View from the Namsan Tower "Myeondong area"
Night city views are the most beautiful ones. I really loved the sunset horizon over the mountains. This post will be updated with more Instagram-able photo ideas!
This is a continuation from the previous post: What it is to be black in Korea! The truth is some culture shock always happen, whenever you go to a new place. Based on that experience, I have compiled some of the statements or comments I have been hearing from Korean people concerning my hair braids.
African hair: Long hair braids
I'm sharing these experiences for cultural exchange purposes! So, the greatest shocker to Koreans is the way we braid our hair!! So they would ask:
Shoulder length hair braids
How much was it? How much time we spend braiding? If it gets itchy! If it's fake or real hair. How do we wash it? Someone thought maybe I braided myself every day. Some even think that the braids would fall off the moment we put water. So I have to explain myself over and over that the same way you wash your hair is the same way I wash mine! But I just need longer drying time. Some people also asked me if there is a machine to braid hair, lol! This question shocked me so much the first time I heard it. Then I said by hand, and they would applaud the hairdresser saying they are so talented!
African Hair Styles "twisted hair"
Some people just touch our hair without even asking for permission, and this has been a normal thing to me. But some kindly ask before touching! I remember several occasions, most grandmothers and Ajuma's or aunties asked me if they can touch my hair. I never said no! Not only women are interested in our hair braid styles, even men!
I remember most taxi drivers if they notice you can speak Korean well, they would ask about where, how much and how do we get our hair braided. All these encounters require one to understand Korean language. Sometimes if they see you don't understand Korean, they just do sign language to say your hair is good. I encourage you all African brothers and sisters to go and practice how to answer the hair questions! In a day if I go for some errands (in the shopping area or the market, on the bus or subway) I can answer more than five people about my hair!
The hair questions or comments have become so normal to me that I just smile whenever someone asks me about it. I hope from this post; I will motivate someone to study Korean so that they know how to respond to "HAIR QUESTIONS." As for me, responding to hair questions helped me to improve my Korean speaking skill! And most Koreans would say I speak Korean so well, not knowing that I just recited those answers over and over.
You can imagine how my Korean vocabulary has improved over the years! Anyway, I will record some podcasts and share on my channel anchorfm.com/shiyeliainkorea.
For more about Korean people's reactions, please check this video.
Being black in Korea means you are at the center of attraction. Yes, people will just notice you! This is a positive vibe post of the things which have become normal to me here in South Korea for the past 10 years. I have some sweet and bad first-time encounters with Korean kids.
At Starfield Library, Samsung World trade exit 6.
What normally happens when I come across Korean kids: some kids cry or scream, some become shy and some are exceptionally nice. Here is a list of the things I have heard from Korean kids, firstly they scream with excitement saying:
- black person or,
- African person
- American person
- English teacher
- Foreign national
- Movie actor
- Some may even mention some black actor.
Some kids become so shy that your eyes can't even meet, LOL. Most parents would say, "greet her you know English..." Some KIDS would shyly say hello while other KIDS' English disappears and they just wave and bow. I think I have said enough about kids. Let me move on to the Korean grandfathers and grandmothers, you would wonder why I skipped other age groups! It's only because those age groups are more reserved, they don't say anything. But I remember one day I passed a group of high school students, they all said, "Reggae style" because I was having hair braids. Anyways, the grandmothers/grandmothers usually ask in Korean, "where are you from?" If you respond in Korean, they become so happy and continue with conversation asking about your life in Korea or your country. Most grandfathers are retired army generals, I have met a lot of them who speak English so well. These experiences sum up, what it is to be black in South Korea.
I will write part 2 of this post, but if you are interested in knowing what Koreans think about black girl's hair please check this video;
All about being black in Korea in this video.
If you are black in Korea, please inbox me your experiences if you can't comment for other reasons.
An electronic dictionary or smart phone dictionary apps were very handy for understanding Korean language. Most students who were on good scholarships could afford them. I remember very well that I couldn't afford such smart devices. At the same time, I didn't want to buy a 'buttons phone' or kambudzi in Shona because it only limited me to text messages and calls. Though some of those phones had dictionary apps, but the absence of color pictures was something else.
Buying a phone in South Korea
My scholarship was partial, but it was good because the dormitory (including breakfast, diner) and tuition were fully covered! The downside was my stipend. It was just little but better than nothing. I was receiving 150,000 won (~$125). I was living on a very tight budget, and I kept pondering on how to buy a phone. In South Korea that time, smart phones were rolling in and most people were transitioning to smart phones. With that tight budget of mine, I also decided to buy a smart phone. THIS WAS A VERY WRONG MOVE.
The 2011 smartphone
Fast forward to how I bought a phone. I went to an LG shop near Yongsan station in Daegu. My Korean Buddy accompanied me because I couldn't speak Korean. I only knew greetings and few phrases for buying food. We got there, I selected my cheapest smart phone, LG brand. The LG shop was going to auto deduct money from my account every month. The fixed installment was 34,000 won per month for two years. It was the cheapest option available. I don't know if some explanations were lost in translation, the LG salesman assured the installment was fixed inclusively of data. I settled for it and signed the contract.
One month down the line, 94,000 won was deducted from (bank account) my little allowance of 150,000 won. I STARTED REGRETTING the whole idea of buying a smart phone. I went off the budget and sacrificed my lunch money for some time. I kept complaining whenever I discuss about contract phones with my friends. Most students were also going through similar contract bill dilemma, but most of them could afford. I then decided to switch off data and the next two months the bill came around 70,000 won and 45,000 won. I did the Maths again and realized the data wasn't fixed at all. I was paying more than the stipulated 34,000 won monthly installment.
I didn't want to live in regret, worse I couldn't make international calls on that bill. I sent a message to my Korean Buddy, asking her to help me cancel the contract because I couldn't afford the phone anymore. I think that was after only 3-months of using the phone. The Salesman understood my problem, and he said I had to pay off the phone bill in installments of 16,000 won to the agreed 24 months. They cut off the data and the cellphone number. That day I returned to the dormitory with a sim less phone. Luckily, I used the phone over WIFI as dictionary and Facebooking.
On several occasions I tried to look for a prepaid sim card but couldn't get one. A few months later I then registered my smart phone with the same service provider for prepaid phones. If you want to know more of this story please watch this video: full video here
Ten years later, I haven't bought any contract phone. I don't want any regrets! Korean internet is fast but very expensive to use on contract phones. I resolved to prepaid phones which require a monthly top up of 10,000 won. The good thing is there are many WIFI hotspots in Korea so YAY to free WIFI.
Ten years later, with my prepaid Samsung phone.
Thank you for reading my story, please feel free to leave some comment! Bye.
