Hi, my name is Sam Okyere and I'm the most famous
black guy in Korea. Thanks for your time, Sam. I looked forward to the day I'll be on Asian Boss. Today is the day and I'm very honored.
Thank you very much. You're very well known in Korea, obviously! Fans here can be quite fanatical. How do you feel when you get mobbed? I appreciate that. and I feel like... to an extent there is always this
amount of responsibility that you have to uphold. Why do they like you so much? What do you think is your appeal? As a Ghanian, If a Korean came to Ghana, went to school in Ghana studied our local language and spoke to me, I'll be blown away. But we have a lot of foreigners
who do that here in Korea. -Right.
-Why you? That's good question. When I first came to Korea, The first thing I heard was
you look like Will Smith. Every time Koreans see me,
the first thing that comes into their mind This guy reminds me of a Hollywood actor. Will Smith.. yeah, yeah, yeah. That was an incident where I was in a shop and this Chinese lady... she came up to me and she was like.. "Hey Will, can I get a photo?" -A Chinese lady in Korea?
-Yes, Chinese lady in Korea. She came and she was like,
"Hey Will Smith, can I get a photo?" I was shocked. I was dumbfounded. I was like... wow... But I felt like...because of... the like they have for Will Smith, and thinking that I look like him, I felt like that automatically
translates to me as well. And of course, I'm doing entertainment. They like the fact that I'm
easy going and I'm funny. That positive energy that I have I feel like all Koreans like a lot. Because if you look at the society, there is always a lot of pressure,
a lot of stress so as to be able to turn on your TV set, and see somebody who is like
very high energy.... who is very positive... You can actually feed off that energy and I felt like that is something that they
really really like about me. -You are from... originally from Ghana?
-Yes. How the hell do you just go from Ghana to... being in Korea...
arriving in Korea, living in Korea, and just become the super celebrity that you are? You know, it's funny because
these are things you never imagine. I've never imagined myself to be in Korea. When I was in high school,
I was at a point where the only focus was to go to
University of Ghana. That was my goal. So I'll be done with university,
I'll get a good job. You know.. if I have a good girl I will get married to her,
I will raise my own family. Just that normal Ghanian life. When I heard about this Korean
government scholarship thingy, At first, I was like
'Nah... I don't believe that.' Like million people are gonna apply for it The chances that I would be successful
are very very slim. My dad was like, "you know, opportunities -
they are like once in a lifetime.' So when it comes,
you have to take advantage of it and you never know
where this is gonna end. So at least give it a try. So, I applied for it. and it took a year for them
to call me back. and I got a call from the embassy. They said "Hey, are you Samuel?" I said, "Yes, who are you?" "We're from Korean Embassy. You applied for the scholarship a year ago? I said, "Yeah" "Yeah, you got the scholarship" I thought that was when I really
started to think about my life. I'm like, you know, this is real. I'm about to leave my family and gonna start a whole new
life by myself in Asia... in a country where I barely know any...
even a single letter of the language. But we understood that it was an opportunity, that came once in a lifetime
and we had to take it. So, I took it and it landed me in Korea. What do you think people's perception
of you were back then and did you have any particular struggles or any hardships that you had to go through? I think the most... interesting thing was when
I took the subway and I realized that some of the seats were empty. But, where we were sitting,
nobody would sit next to us. So I asked my friend I'm like... "Aren't they super tired of standing?" and he was like... "Well... you know, we're Africans
and they're not really gonna sit next to us and I was like....wow! I think that was my first real experience with Almost like a subtle form of racism. Yeah, like it was very subtle
discrimination. There was one time I sat in the subway
and this girl sat next to me and we were talking and she asked me
where I was from and I said "Africa, Ghana." and she's like
"You look too good to be an African" What the hell does that mean? Yeah I know, what the hell does that mean? -What are Africans supposed to look like?
-Right. But we talked and some of them
expect you to be smelly in some type of way look a certain type of way talk a certain type of way. And I remember there was a time
I wanted to get a cab. Cab driver won't.. you know...
he wouldn't pick me up. I was like...what's up with that? I am paying you,
why wouldn't you pick me up? It was very very shocking. Would you say that type of practice... is it still going on? It still goes on. I feel like with the taxi drivers... They play an important role but
they don't realize it because sometimes... when people come here, and they don't
really know the subway system or the bus, They tend to take taxies. And their first sort of communication and
interaction is with the taxi drivers. So, when you have a very bad experience,
that experience lingers on So, they play a very important role. In some of the moments, I was like "Wow, what am I really doing here?" Is this how are people
gonna treat me? I miss my family, I miss being in Ghana where everybody
is treated equally... like what's up with this, you know? How do you work through something like that? Like mentally? How do you kind of... you know... just keep moving forward. Look, It is not always gonna be roses. They're gonna be times people will
discriminate against you and all that. But if you wanna get over it, It's important that you quickly
assimilate yourself with the culture, and learn the language. Once that language barrier is broken, you know, things are gonna be much smoother. That was what I focused my
mind on that I was gonna do. Any other hardships maybe financially? I was in a relationship with a certain person and she had to leave Korea. So we became a long distance. I get my bill one time, and I looked at it and it was almost $4,000. And I'm like... I am here...I'm a student I barely save enough to get me around. My first trip to Ghana I had to
borrow money from somebody. So I already owed somebody. And here is this $4,000 bill in my face. What do I do? So, I made it a point to pay all the money. And it was not easy at all because I had to use my monthly stipend
to pay for that. So there were times I couldn't
even pay for my rent, there were times I didn't have, even... just to put a dollar together was
difficult to get on the subway. To make it to school. And you make it to school and you have
to worry about what you're gonna eat because you have no money. Fortunate for me, I had a Korean friend. You know and... I was like "Hey today I don't really have a lot of money." He was said: "Okay, I got you" He would go and buy the food for me. And then I jokingly say: "I made it to school,
I don't know how I'm gonna make it back." And he said: "Hey come on,
Sam, I got you." Gave me a little money and he said "Hey, if you don't have money tomorrow,
you can have like this money, and spread it over the week." So sometimes I had to spread
10,000 won (US$10) over the whole week. That'd cover my transportation and food. And in Seoul, you spend 10,000 won
with just one meal, or one cup of coffee. And I had to spend that in a week. So there was a month where
it was really really difficult. Like I basically had... I barely had two cents to rub together. And I made a promise to myself that I'm never gonna come back to this
condition of this situation ever again. Whatever it is, I'm just gonna push harder, I'm gonna work hard, make sure that I have enough for myself
and for my family. So these tough times...they are
there to build you up. You didn't plan to be
in the entertainment industry? I studied computer science, undergraduate level and... that was one of my...
very important lessons I learned. Do not let anybody dictate your life for you. Because prior to Korea, I had an Uncle who convinced me. He said: "Look, Korea is an IT stronghold." "Learn computers, learn IT!" So I was like: "Okay, fine." When I go to college, and I was like "Man, I don't really wanna just sit
behind computers all day and do this." It's not my thing. I rather wanna go out into the society and try to solve problems and do all of that. But unfortunately, the system in Korea is such that you can't change your major. You know, so... I had to go through like 4 years of struggling
to keep up with something I really didn't enjoy. I wasn't...I wasn't really good at it. And I was struggling with it. There was a point I really wanted to
just quit the whole thing. One time I called my Dad and I'm like: "I'm tired, I don't wanna do this anymore,
this is not for me." My dad encouraged to push so... I realized that I needed to look for
something else that was in me that I really, really wanted to germinate and I realized that it was entertainment. So when I was in school, I joined a rap group. It was like a R&B and hip hop group. And I realized that entertaining people was something that really gave me so much pleasure. So I got an opportunity, to do the show called
"Foreign Island Teachers" That changed my life completely. Because it was the first of it's kind, where they bring people from different places; foreigners and go to remote islands in Korea, and spend about a week on an island,
and teach English to the kids, and bond with people. And I realized that at that moment that language is really, really important
in breaking barriers. And just by being here, learning the culture, learning the language, I have been able to bond with these people on a level that I would never have imagined. So at that instance, I knew it was something I wanted to do. Because I enjoyed it, and I realized that I was able to
make an impact. So I said to myself, "If I really work hard at this and I get to a certain level where
people are gonna listen to what I say, I, as a representative of people of color in Korea, I can stretch the boundaries." Just feeling that sense of responsibility, and that urge to really work, and to enjoy what I do, I decided I would do it. So that show was the first one. But, "Hello Counselor", I would say really, really... You know, brought us in the limelight in the sense that it was an episode of racism. Where are you from? I'm from Ghana, Africa. Ghana. I've been in Korea for 4.5 years. I got on the subway with my friend. There were three empty seats, I went to sit down and a lady put her legs up on the seat so I couldn't sit down. She told me off for being there. She asked why you were in Korea? Yes, yes. She told me to go back to my country. What the? I don't just like Korea, I love it. That show just led to a different
show to a different show, and then eventually I got a call. They said: "You have been casted for Abnormal Summit." And that was it. At the time when it came out, it
was one of the most popular shows in Korea. Within that year, It was voted the
third most popular Korean TV show. Everybody knew about it, that was pretty much what shot us into the limelight. So everywhere you go, you associated with that. How long has it been
since you've actually come outside in public like this? Well... It might sound crazy but I always
have to come out with a mask. -Hello.
-Wow! -I've never met a star before. OMG
Thank you so much! We are actually in the middle
of interviewing Sam but.. Where did you see Sam? From Abnormal Summit. -How do you know Sam?
-From Abnormal Summit. Why do you like him? Because he speaks Korean well
and loves Korean culture. -I see, so you're a fan?
-Yes Thank you! -Have a great day!
-You, too. It's good to get out once in a while
and interact with the fans. I understand that the reason why I'm on TV is
because the fan want me there. If they don't want me, I'm not gonna get any TV gigs. So, I really, really appreciate that a lot. And I also let them understand that, look, yes I'm the guy you see on TV, but I'm
the same guy you can see at the shop. I'm the same guy, you go to the mart, you see me...
I'll say hi to you and we can talk. So for me, It's more of
building that relationship with. So, they don't feel like, "Oh, he is a star, he's a celebrity.
He's there and I'm here." No, I don't like that. Any fun or memorable experiences you've had filming for a KoreanTV show? "Real Men." What is it like a military training type TV show? Yes, military training type variety show. And it's...it's pretty much...
it's very real. Literally people come up to me and say: "Hey is Real Men for real?" "Is Real Men real?" I'm like:
"It's as real as it gets." So it was a show where a lot of people were getting hurt so much. Like, you go to the show for a week
and somebody's limping. Somebody comes with a broken hand. There was one time I had to jump from I think...
20 feet into the water. And you're actually supposed to land in the water
with your body straight. So this is how you have t o fall into the water. But when I jumped, midway in the air, my body slanted a bit. So I literally just fell really hard on my balls. -You landed on your balls.
-Yeah. I have never felt that kind of pain in
my loins as much as I did that day. I thought I was dead for a second. But I could hear the officer telling me: "Swim!" "Swim, come!" And I remember being so angry and
cussing under my breath.. Like this... I'm literally dying here and
you're asking me to swim? It was one of the near death experiences that I had. I think you deserve every kind of fame... having gone through experiences like that. I take my hat off to a lot of entertainers
in Korea, who do what they do. It's not an easy task at all. People think it's always easy to go on TV
and be like No, it takes more than that. You're almost instrumental in a certain way of
kinda transforming or reversing some of the negative stereotypes
people have about black people? I knew that Koreans were, in terms of black people, they were always scared. They viewed us as dangerous. That Hollywood stereotype of black people:
gangsters, probably got a gun, you know all those things. But I decided to go opposite of that, which is, you know, very light character, very funny, easy to approach, positive, and they really liked that a lot. Does it sometimes concern you
that all this could just one day go away? I felt like, as a foreigner, your
entertainment career in Korea is short-lived unfortunately. Unless, of course, you're able to
rebrand yourself in very amazing ways. It's my goal to be one of the top actors in Korea. But, of course, you're hindered by the fact that you always have to play a certain role. Your role is the foreigner. And trying to break out of that is really, really difficult. Because when they write roles,
they just consider you as a foreigner. They're not looking at you as an actor who can do any kind of role that they give you. I also believe that we're at an age or time where you also have to be able to create your own... you have to create your own lane. I feel like there's still a lot of opportunities for me to be able to showcase my talents to Koreans. -You're running a juice bar right now...
-Yeah. -which is a very nice shop.
-Thank you. It's just interesting that
you're actually a foreigner and you're running a business in Korea. Why a juice bar? Because I feel like Koreans are
trying to be more healthy. And we wanna play a part in that. And I come here often,
you know, I come here to interact with people because I'm not just here to take their money. I understand that I'm providing them with a service. So when I'm here, I try to interact with them as much as I can. If they want photos I take with them, I sign a lot of autographs. I try to let them understand that I'm here. I'm not just the owner, but I want to bond with the people. It's about creating this special bond that we have. So I can give you healthy juice, I can entertain you as well. So you can keep coming back here. -Can I try some of the juice?
-Of course, come on, man. You know, having spent a long time in Korea now, what do you see as the biggest
social issue right here in Korea? I think one of the most prominent is, the fact that the young people have lost hope
in the system. Because what's the point of going to school, paying all that money, coming out and not being able to get
a job to be able to sustain yourself. A lot of young people basically complain that
there aren't enough opportunities... -Yet, here you are, a black man from Ghana...
-Yes. came to Korea with nothing, with zero connections, no money and yet, still, you made something out of yourself so... what can you tell to those that say
Korea has no opportunities? I believe that if there is no opportunity, you have to create your own opportunities. I created my own opportunities by making myself better, and developing myself as a person. I learned the Korean language and I read the culture. I believe, in Korea, there is this trend where people have different talents, and different things they wanna do, but because of the system
they have to do what everybody else is doing. If you conform to what it's happening, you're only gonna become a victim of that environment. And you don't wanna do that. The most important thing is
people should not be afraid to fail. Korea has this... thing where people always want to be perfect. Everything has to be perfect. But in the normal world, everything is not perfect. And that is the reality that people need to understand. That it's okay to fail at what you're doing. It's okay to not succeed all the time. The times that you're not successful, how you're able to pick yourself up and say you know what: "I'm still going to fight to the end." That fighting spirit is really, really important. Well, all I can say is that after having had this chat.. I can see why people love you. And I'm personally very inspired. I feel like an African Boss now.. Thank you! You are an African Boss. Thank you man, you are Asian Boss. Thanks a lot. Appreciate what you're doing man.
It's great, keep it up.
Actually great video, thanks 4 sharing. Since I've been living in Korea (1.5 years) only 2 Koreans have asked to take a picture with me. It's always kinda fun.
Im a Black guy
FTFY
Something like this gets posted every 5 days.