When I traveled to South Korea last month, I made sure that I only knew the basic facts that every tourist should know whenever they travel to a different country. Other than that I had no other expectations; which I found out in the long run was good because the culture shock that I experienced would have been followed by petrified judgment. It wasn't that I was expecting anything crazy, I had an idea of what Korea would be like, I watched a few YouTube videos, read articles and had some previous knowledge of K-POP; it would be like visiting a European country but instead of Europeans it would be Koreans and different customs. Plus, people didn't exactly help when they heard that I was visiting South Korea asking me, "What's in South Korea? Why do you want to go there? Are you going to go to North Korea?" Nonetheless, I was going to an Asian country and nothing was going to scare me.

It didn't dawn on me how different this experience would be until I was at the Chicago airport. As I'm walking through the Chicago airport with my group and we're looking for our gate, I’m seeing people from all walks of life (something I’m totally used to). And as I approach the gate I notice that the majority of the chairs are taken and everyone is Asian, (Korean to be specific). Not only are the majority of the seats taken and I'm carrying two weeks of luggage, I'm struggling to find a seat and everyone is staring. We are the only foreigners in the entire gate. Then it hits me. I’m traveling to an entirely different continent; not only that, but I am traveling to a country where it’s rare to see a black person. I begin to get a little nervous and think, "What are they going to think of us? How are they going to treat us?" Thankfully, these questions had answers.

Throughout the duration of my trip, I was taking intercultural classes through the CIEE (Council on International Educational Exchange) Program and was learning about the history of South Korea, as well as comparing American culture to their culture, trying to find differences and similarities and learning to have intercultural competence. With the classes, excursions and free time, it was pretty easy to explore as much of Seoul as I could. I was able to learn with my group and on my own. Here is everything that I learned while being in South Korea:

History and Culture

South Korea has an extensive 5,000 years of documented history. For the majority of its history, it has been homogeneous. Sightseeing through the modern city, there are still remnants of ancient Korea that surround the city and pose as tourist attractions and places to learn Korean history. I attended a Spirit and Cultural Workshop, through my program, and was introduced to the extensive history and culture of South Korea. The most moving aspect of its history was when they experienced an economic crisis in 1997-1998, the entire country came together and gave up all their gold to help stimulate the economy. Their hard work and dedication is still seen today as all throughout the city you can see businessmen and businesswomen walking around in their suits and best dressed all day until late at night. It was something that I had never seen to that extent before. Their culture was definitely something I had to grapple with. For instance, while in certain parts of the city may not be as congested with people, the subway is definitely not one of them. Personal space in the subway is nonexistent. When people bump into one another they rarely ever say anything, and being a first hand witness to this I was in shock. I was already aware of the differences between American and Korean culture, especially when it came to table etiquette, but it was still a shock when actually experiencing these things.

Food

The food in Korean is absolutely amazing! It's really easy to find a well priced restaurant with traditional Korean food and enjoy it. If you're not the adventurous one with food, McDonald's was well-priced, fresh and fast too. Many restaurants had menus and prices posted at the front, so it's easy to see where you can eat and where you should save up for. There are also Chines restaurants, some Turkish places, and many Western restaurants too, but these tend to be more on the expensive side. And the rumors are true, Korean BBQ is the best. The street food really just depends on where you are, but what I had was delicious, just watch out how they prepare the food i.e. if they wear gloves or not and use a microwave to heat up the food.

Transportation

Transportation is extremely convenient in South Korea. You have the choice of a taxi, bus or the subway. Taxis can be hard to get, especially at night and prices vary. The buses and subway use a T-Money card, in which you insert the card into a machine, put cash into a slot and your card earns credit. In my opinion, it was cheaper to use the subway, especially for long distance traveling when walking wasn't an option. However, in Seoul, walking was always an option; you just have to be aware that it is a city and can be crowded in some areas, but in others completely empty.

Language

While it wasn't expected to become fluent in Korean, it was crucial to know the basics of getting directions, ordering food, or even asking for the bathroom. I noticed that when you tried to speak in Korean people tried their best to communicate to you in English. While sometimes it didn't help that they would laugh at you, it shouldn't deter you from learning some basics. I learned later that the laughter is due to nervousness, they weren't making fun of me and understood that we were both limited by communication.

Myself

Being in a new environment, you learn about yourself and how you adapt to new things. Sometimes you may struggle between your host country's culture and your own culture, other times you may struggle with the actual people. My struggle was with my identity.

I was waiting in the subway for the next stop to Gangnam, hair silk pressed and pulled back, wearing sunglasses and a red lip (which I later found out was a popular Korean fashion trend). An elderly Korean man walked up to me and asked me for some directions in Korean (I found out afterwards), forgetting how to say “Excuse me” in Korean, I take my sunglasses off and say “Sorry?” He says “Oh!” and quickly walks away to the next person. It was laughable at first,to be mistaken for a South Korean really threw me off guard. As a black woman I expected staring, curiosity and prepared for some probable resistance or discrimination, but to be mistaken for a South Korean was something that went right over my head. Hearing some of the other stories of my Spelman sisters getting yelled at or turned away from service made me upset and realize that there is still some antipathy towards black people. But the majority of this was from older people and less from the younger generation, which leads me to hope that eventually, we can learn from one another.

Stereotypes

While I know that classifying Asians into one category is highly ignorant and stereotypical, I really got to see how harmful stereotyping all Asians into one category is. One, Koreans are very hardworking because just like everyone else they want their younger generation to be successful. Two, saying that all Asians are short is ignorant and many people were surprised when they saw that this stereotype was in fact, incorrect. And finally, while the driving in South Korea is fast and not exactly the safest for drivers or pedestrians, it is not right to hold all Asians accountable for one exception. While there are probably more outrageous stereotypes held against the entire Asian population, these are the ones that were brought up to me.

All in all, this was one of the most exciting trips that I have taken so far. I really enjoyed South Korea and really want to go back. Anyone who is looking to go, I definitely advise that you go with an open mind and be adventurous. Try all the food that you can, meet new people, visit all the tourist attractions and more, and maybe you'll see that we're not so different after all.