#20kChallenge — Seoul’s got Soul
#20kToTheGood — 20,000 miles learning, hacking, and spreading love.
Having my roots in one of the most diverse cites in the world, I have an easy time embracing new and different cultures. Given my background and upbringing — African American Male born of half Nigerian, half Texan descent, raised in the hoods of Houston— it is often the case that many of my peers growing up would shun away from cultures unfamiliar to their own.
On the 14+ hour flight to Seoul, I met this lovely mum who needed a bit of assistance with the in-flight entertainment. She was very friendly and made the long flight pleasant.
Even to this day many of my relatives and friends have never even experienced the wonderful Asian communities less than 20 minutes away from their own. Turns out that this is not unique to just my family. It seems we all tend to “go with what we know”, and understandably so. Going into foreign environments is scary; different languages and customs. It is apart of our pre-built survival mechanisms.
On the other hand there exists a subset of the populous who are curious about any and everything. Science. History. Culture. People. I have been lucky enough to find friends who share this itch, and it helped having parents who pushed me to explore the world beyond my own. So it should come as no surprise that I eagerly planned and sought to meet with businesses and future friends in a land thousands of miles away.
#SICampSeoul
During my trip to Seoul, I attended the inaugural Social Innovation Camp in Seoul. Social Innovation Camps are all about bringing software developers, designers, and planners together to help build solution for social challenges.
My team and I worked on an application for folks who are suffering from depression. Similar to here in the US, many suffer from the stress and strain from a growing number of depressed people. Every team was well organized, and the preparation leading to the final “hackathon”, made this a tremendously efficient event. All of the teams presented workable prototypes of their good work. I am looking forward to returning to Seoul to continue to learn and help them solve their challenges.
Software as a -Service-
Solving todays challenges are becoming easier with advances in technology. Using this combined knowledge, developers are able construct solutions to problems, including the challenges faced by communities and cities. Even with my limited ability to speak Hangul, my teammates and I were all able to communicate through a common language. Code.
#SuperMetropolis
Seoul is one of those cities that has a comfortable and constant energy. It reminds me of New York with its sleeplessness and Philadelphia with its brotherly feel. Add in technology from 2020, and you’ve got Seoul.
Describe Seoul in one word?
Intelligent. And its not a nerdy Intelligent either. Its got swag.
The technology is what initiated the planning for this trip. I hoped to learn more about the culture driving the next generation of mobile devices and TVs. I did that and more on this first leg of the #20kToTheGood journey.
Seoul is calling my name again. I am excited to continue working and learning from my friends in Korea, and meeting so many more!
My next stop was Hong Kong. One word to describe Hong Kong?
