No matter where you are or what skin color you have, follow excellence and success will pursue you. Like Sam Okyere, the Ghanaian television personality who is currently changing the face of the South Korean entertainment industry and speculation about black people with not just his color but his talent, intelligence and ability to express his perspectives. Here’s everything you need to know about him.
Who is Sam Okyere?
Sam Okyere is the African man who is currently making waves in Asia. The Ghanaian television personality and model transited to Seoul, South Korea after being accepted into the Korean government scholarship program in 2009 to study computer engineering at Sogang University. Over the next few years, he built a reputation as South Korea’s most famous black man. He graduated in 2014 but continues to dominate the entertainment market.
Sam seeks to bridge the gap between Korea and Africa and change local misconceptions about Africans, in general, having had a taste after arriving on Korean soil.
Okyere was born in his native Ghana on April 21, 1991, and named Samuel. His quest for deeper knowledge led him to Korea, but he also explained that, as a young man, he could use the opportunity he had to be in the country to accumulate as much experience as possible. Sam is fluent in the Ashanti Twi dialect of the Ghanaian Akan language, as well as four other languages including Korean, English, French and Swahili.
Career
Although Okyere did not consider a career in television, necessity called for participation in it. He had to deal with the unpleasant realities of racism in his new country due to the frustrations he faced when he lost his family. While he was considering dropping out of school and returning home, a Korean friend managed to convince him to stay, which also helped to give him a new insight into the apparent problem he was facing. So, he decided to do something to effect the change he wants to see by devoting himself entirely to studying the Korean people and learning about their culture.
Then came another massive idea to help him on his journey to bridge the gap between Africa and Korea: the media. Interestingly, he discovered that Korean television had opened its doors to foreigners in order to involve them in Korean culture. So once the opportunity presented itself, he seized it voraciously and ended up winning gigs and becoming an established on-screen presence.
Fluent in the Korean language, he made his television debut in 2013 in the tvN series. Island village teacher in which foreign celebrities teach local students on an island. Being able to communicate with Koreans in their native language made him realize how powerful language is and for the first time he was confronted with the fact that language can actually break down barriers.
After several other small on-screen works, Okyere’s big break finally came when he made an appearance on the KBS talk show. Hello counselor to talk about the difficulties he faced with racism in Korea. Following this, he landed a regular role on JTBC’s talk show Non-Summit and also made appearances on the game show Runner and talk show Happy Together as well as an appearance on the 2015 MBC series Warm. and Cozy. For his appearance in Hot and Cozy, he won the Global Star Award at the 8th Korea Drama Awards.
Since then, he has become more fascinated with Korean culture and received the warmth, acceptance, and recognition he craved. Eventually people are starting to realize that Africans live their lives like them and that they are no different regardless of their skin color. He is also starting to rank among K Pop’s most famous stars with a fairly extensive resume of works to his credit, including The Law of the Jungle in Palau , Master Chef Korea Season 3, Moorim School: Saga of the Brave, Enemies intimates, Dunia: in a new world
However, beyond a television career, Sam Okyere hopes to continue using his platform as a black representative to bring his home country of Ghana to South Korea. He has also devoted much time to humanitarian and cultural diplomacy and helped open a school in Ghana. He also co-founded a campaign to connect cultures through food and fashion with t-shirts designed from illustrations combining Korean and African dishes..
Net value
Okyere has indeed marked the Korean entertainment scene. Although he did not initially consider acting as a way to make money, the money came nonetheless. He earns a modest amount from his gigs on television, although his net worth has not been disclosed.
Does he have a wife or a girlfriend?
Sam is a handsome guy and certainly has marriage in his line of thought. He even talked about the prospect with his mother. However, he has yet to walk down the aisle with his loved one, whose identity he has yet to reveal.
It has no problem crossing continents. Although his mother, like a typical mother, may have a little problem accepting a Korean lady as a daughter-in-law but still accepts her son’s choice for the sake of his happiness, his father , on the other hand, he rather marries one.
Besides that, he thinks it will be ideal to bring his parents to Korea for his future marriage. So be careful of a Korean wedding with Sam Okyere.
Height and other facts
The Ghanaian-born Korean TV personality is a height favored male. To be compared to a Hollywood-A-Lister, it’s certainly not about looks alone, but about height as well. It rises 1.84 m above the ground.
Some people mistake him for American actor Will Smith due to their striking resemblance.
Sam was among the winners of Forbes magazine’s 2016 30 under 30 Asia list.
He was also one of only two applicants to be accepted by his home country into the Korean scholarship program in 2009.
Sam Okyere was appointed as an ambassador to promote the seaweed he loves and ate a lot on the show, Island Village Teachers from the small fishing town of Wando in South Korea.