Tanzania life: Africans watch Korean Dramas!

My very first night in Tanzania, I heard some Korean in the living room. I thought, wha.....? It was the entire family watching JuMong, a Korean drama. I felt a little more at home.

My first two days in Tanzania. I share with you a sneak peak into my living space, the bathroom, and the hallway. Not shabby at all. My host family has a Sony flat screen with surround sound and of course, satellite subscription. My voice was very hoarse and soft in the video because I was very tired-- I arrived the house late at night around 11:30 PM after a very long flight, yet the very next morning the family was banging pots, and playing hip hop music-- at 6:00 AM... On a Saturday! This video hints at the eclectic TV viewing tastes of the locals-- from Korean to Singaporean, German to Nigerian-- Tanzanian families seem to enjoy any show with a good story. Of course, I can't generalize, the habits of all Africans, but I've met a good number of locals calling me out and asking me about Ban Ki Moon, and Park Ji Sung. It seemed to me that the average Tanzanian is much more well-informed about global society and culture than the American (If you don't recognize the two aforementioned names: My point exactly). Although Western cultural influence was present, Eastern culture and influence seemed to be more prominent-- everything from cars, televisions, computers, toilets, cell phones, clothes, and TV shows. As for music, however, American Hip-Hop had the greatest influence. Also, a lot of teenagers knew famous NBA stars, like Kobe Bryant and LeBron James. I was taught a bunch of African Faux pas and stereotypes from my institution before I left America, but I quickly learned that a lot of them were not true: "Africans are lazy"-- FALSE. My host family went to bed after midnight and woke up 6 AM, every day, even when they were not working so that household chores and errands to the market could be done in a timely and efficient fashion. "Africans will be ignorant of my Korean ethnicity as they have only been exposed to the Chinese"-- FALSE, i will not mention names, but the American staff member that told me this should be.... educated. I felt that the Tanzanians had a better idea about the different Asian nationalities than did Americans. With so many products, volunteers, and media coming from the Far East, Tanzanians are rather well informed. Many more, I can't think of right now... I have an agenda to disprove all these unfair stereotypes about the continent of Africa and her people.

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[kwells1111]

@Mr2pac76 Exactly!!! EVERY RACE WATCHES KPOP DRAMAS!!!!!

[Mr2pac76]

uummmmhhh am tanzanian and crazy bout kdramas/kpop, i live in london and whenever i mention to any korean that am learning the language they act so surprised and am like whaatttt??? seriously whats the biggie? its just another language innit?

so yeah AFRIKANS DO WATCH KDRAMAS...and so much more...aish jeongmal...

[zksskdhxh]

@monica24b great!

[monica24b]

we africans watch everything lol even bollywood dramas.