Thursday, August 13, 2009

A day in Itaewon

Itaewon is the only place in all of Korea where you will meet other black people. It is where the US Army base is. After living for a year in a small village in the south called Jinju, where I was the only black person I was overjoyed to finally make it to Itaewon in Seoul! As the bus turned toward downtown Seoul I saw black people walking on the streets. I was sooooo happy. If I were a dog I would have been wagging my tail and yapping happily. "Look Vicky! black people!" I said to my friend from Louisiana. It is as though you have become the people in the village we just left, she laughed. Seriously. I was so deprived of seeing my people for so long that it was almost like I was in awe. So we disembarked and right away, put our luggage in a storage locker at the large bus station and spent the afternoon walking around soaking in the varieties of people--light, dark, African, Indian. . .moreso than the shopping opportunities that we didn't have in Jinju. That was a great first day.

1 comment:

  1. Interesting! Black female in Korea.

    I'm visiting Seoul in April for about 2 weeks. It is interesting to see your perspectives while traveling there. I know black men who have traveled there, but not any females.

    I'm half korean and half white, and I have a friend who is half korean and half black.

    Hope you are having fun there and not getting too much of a culture shock.

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