EXPERIENCING SOUTH KOREA AS A BLACK WOMAN.

Seoul, South Korea!! As a Kpop and K drama fan I have always wanted to visit South Korea, but the COVID happened. In March 2023 and 16 hours later, my friend and I landed in Seoul, South Korea on March 18th 2023 at 3:45pm. We took Korean Air and the flight and experience was one of the best I have been on.

We successfully went through immigration, picked up our luggage and then went to get a Korean phone number and internet services. We paid thirty dollars for 10 days of data and we also got a free T – Money card from the agent. We then went to the 7 eleven nearby and topped our cards with 10 thousand won each.

We located the metro, took the train to Seoul station and then got on a taxi to our hotel. The check in process went smoothly and we were in our hotel room in no time. We were both very excited and hungry, so we walked to the GS25 store downstairs, bought some snacks and came back to the hotel. Ate the food we got and called in the night. We woke the next day feeling refreshed and ready to have the best trip ever.

I won’t really go into much detail about my encounter with some locals but overall I can say that I had a difficult time dealing with the locals sometimes. It could be the language barrier so I definitely understand but in some cases the locals were just rude. I observed that they were not only acting this way to us but to each other. It was a cultural shock to me but again this is one of the reasons why I travel. I am always learning and open minded so I didn’t let anything get to me. I had a good time and certainly I had a great time with my friend.

There are so many different activities, so many cute cafes, lots of shopping options and don’t even get me started on the street food. We had street food every night (totally worth it) and we went to several different cafes and had the best time. In fact I can say I was just living my best life.

On day 4, we took the train to Suwon to visit the Hwaseong Fortress and this was a whole new experience for my friend and I. Suwon has more elderly people so it was very challenging to communicate and we got many more stares in the streets. We had a few folks, smiling at us, giving us thumbs up and attempting to start a conversation. This lady tapped me on the shoulder and asked where we were from, I said United States and she said “oh ok” then walked away. We had a very interesting encounter with this older gentleman who could actually communicate in English. Of course he asked where we were from, then asked if we were having a great time and how we came about visiting South Korea. Then he thanked us for coming and that he appreciates the visit, he said he loves us so much. He showered us with so many complements and then wished us the best, and this experience really warmed my heart.

Two folks asked for pictures. I agreed to take a selfie with the guy as he was nice and he had  a very cute puppy that my friend also took a picture with but I rejected the request from this other older lady as she was more demanding.

Overall, wonderful experience in South Korea. I am very easy going so I don’t expect any experience to mess up my trip. I spent so much money and took a 16 hour flight to get to Seoul so nothing, and no one can mess up my trip.

As mentioned in my previous blog https://beingbruni.com/2023/04/07/experiencing-japan-as-a-black-woman/ when traveling to other countries, it is important to note that this is their home so be polite, be pleasant, and also respect their culture. I have always done the above, and never had any issues while traveling. Being nice goes a long way so have an open mind, be respectful and enjoy your time.

Will I be back? Yes but I will have to visit some other cities like Busan and Jeju Island.

Have you been to South Korea? What was the best part about your trip?

I will be sharing more blogs on what I did in South Korea and Japan, things to do and cafes to visit so be on the lookout as new blog drops every Friday.