5+ things African women complain about in Korea

 I am writing this post so that you understand what we go through in Korea. Being away from home, the new environment and culture affects our well-being... The 5 things we African women complain about in Korea are:

1. Hair braiding is so expensive, it costs from 50,000 to up to 250,000 won (roughly 50 to 250 USD) for the cornrows, micro to box braids and fancy weave hair styles on a fix and supply basis. 

Box braids by one talented sister in Itaewon,
 please inbox me for contacts.

2. Hair products are out of reach in Korean shops and they're so expensive in International Marts. You may check the products for yourself on Coupang products or Gmarket the popular shopping sites in Korea. Other international marts also sell hair products at 5 to 10 times the prices we buy them in our home countries. However, some products tend to be cheaper on Coupang and other shopping sites.

Cantu hair product prizes on Coupang shopping site Coupang products

3. Honestly, most hair braiders are not talented, they just learnt how to braid as an opportunity to make money. So far, WE HAVE HEARD and seen THE WORST hair dresser reviews online.

4. Korean cuts are smaller for some of our curvy-licious sisters, we fail to get perfect fits to cover our arms, and legs. Shoe sizes too, we struggle to get bigger cuts so buying online is a no for non-international cuts (only an option for the FAMOUS Branded products like Nike, Puma, Adidas etc.).

Korean slim cuts

5. Kitchens or houses are tiny, I embraced the minimalistic spaces but it was so difficult at first:

       

                Tiny kitchen 

Tiny kitchen in Seoul

6. No cleavage out, the modest dressing in Korea is the one where you cover the cleavage! This was and is a culture shocker for us. Sigh! To avoid the judgmental stares one has to cover up the cleavage.

Round 'T-shirt cuts' are the best

The list is endless, but we try to fit in the Korean culture. Please check my video on YouTube for more details.

  

Wishing you a happy 2022. ciao ciao

What it is to be black in Korea Part 2 (Korean people's assumptions about hair braids)

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.

Thank you, bye bye!

What is it to be Black in South Korea? Part 1

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.

 

Culture shock in Korea - cross-culture awareness tag

Today I will share some culture shockers in South Korea. Disclaimer: these may not shock you or shock you depending on your background. This post is for culture awareness and nothing else. Let me just list them down without wasting time:

(1). Removing shoes when you enter the House, some traditional restaurants too and some facilities. You just have to remove your shoes at the door as you enter the house. Early days I used to forget to remove shoes but now I'm pro at removing shoes at the door. It actually keeps the floors cleaner.

Leave the shoes at the door!

(2). No hand shakes for greeting just bow and greet though some people believe in handshakes so you only give handshakes to the those interested in them.

(3). Sleeping on the floor, most people prefer sleeping on the floor and most families do not have beds, not that they do not afford them but because of the health benefits of sleeping on the floor. OK!

(4). Warm floors; At least the floors will be warm in winter.

(5). Make up on the bus or subway, of all the places Korean women/ladies/girls are comfortable to do their make up in public places. 

(6). Kindergarten for dogs just like the way we send our kids to kindergarten here in Korea there are pet kindergarten. Pet maintenance is top notch and very costly too.

Pic 2015 with Mong my friend's dog.

(7). If your dog p--ps in the pavements you clear the mess, I saw many dog-owners clearing the mess and sometimes I get surprised to see some not clearing it. Review on dogs going to school.

(8). Mandatory army trainings for a certain period 'for all men'

(9). You pay for throwing away furniture or electronic appliances such as fridge, tv. The trick is if you wanna throw away better sell or give away.

(10). In general Korean society is not very judgmental (compared to where I come from) so most women drink alcohol and they really don't understand if you say I just don't drink beer. 

There are many other culture shockers and I will try to share them in next blogs. Thank you for taking your time to read these culture shockers. 

Korean winter diary "my first snow"

I'm always feeling cold even from the lowest fan wind. I studied in Midlands/Zimbabwe for 2-years, where lowest temperatures are recorded. Believe me the Midlands winter compares to Korean fall or spring. Korea is extremely cold in winter.  I'm talking about negative temperatures! I first saw snow in Daegu, but it wasn't thick like what we saw on news in other places like Seoul. 

Later on, I realized I was in the hottest city of Korea 'the Beitbridge/Kariba weather city' in Daegu. People around me used to say Seoul area is even colder, but I said no, a cold is cold there is no colder place to me. Yeah, Daegu winter was freezing cold. The 3-winters I spent in Daegu were freezing cold, I used to layer up like a Christmas tree. One could just recognize my eyes of-course since they were the ones exposed. As you can see, in the camel jacket below.

Left: me in camel jacket and my friend Nini in white, on a snowish day at Keimyung University, Daegu, December 2011.

8-winters later, I'm used to cold now but I don't like winter!

Thank you for reading my winter diary. Now temperatures are dropping and I have started layering up! Please leave a comment if you can, do you like winter?