Sam Okyere

Samuel Nana Kwesi Okyere Jan Tuiniboa Coduia Dalco (born 21 April 1991) is a Ghanaian television personality active in South Korea and Ghana.

Sam Okyere
Okyere in 2015
Born (1990-04-21) 21 April 1990
Accra, Ghana
OccupationTelevision personality
WebsiteSam Okyere on Instagram

Early life

He was accepted into the Korean Government Scholarship Program in 2009 and moved to Korea to study computer science and engineering at Sogang University, in Seoul. Okyere is fluent in the Ashanti Twi dialect of the Ghanaian Akan language; Korean, English, French and Swahili.[1]

Career

He was a cast member in the JTBC talk show Non-Summit.[2] He was listed in Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia in 2017.[3]

Controversy

Sam Okyere took to his Instagram in early August 2020 to condemn the use of Blackface in a graduation photo by a student from a high school in South Korea.[4] His post was quickly met with criticism and caused controversy[5][6] for his reproaching the use of the derogatory theatrical make-up formally used to caricature and play on the racial stereotypes of black people.[7]

Controversy was raised for his highlighting the issue where he was accused of openly criticising the incident in an ill-natured way, as well as failing to ask for permission to re-post the image on his Instagram.[8][5] He has since deleted the post and apologised for the post.

Okyere has since spoken after this issue in a BBC News podcast,[9][10] wishing to highlight and create conversation to better gather understanding in regards to racial social issues. He has previously spoken on the issue of blackface used in the entertainment industry.[11]

New backlash has arisen following a comment made on a photo of himself and actress Park Eun-hye in March 2019 by replying to a comment that was deemed suggestive.[12]

Okyere has deleted his Instagram account due to additional backlash for the comment.[13]

Filmography

Variety shows
YearTitleNetworkRoleNotes
2013Island Village TeachertvNCast
2014 Running ManSBSGuestEp. 202-203 (with Fabien)
Golden TowertvNCast
True JusticeMBCCast
2014–2016,
2017		Non-SummitJTBCCast
2015Real Men Season 2MBCMember
Law of the Jungle in PalauSBSCastEp. 146–150
Our Neighborhood Arts and Physical EducationKBS2GuestEp. 91, 102
Infinite ChallengeMBCGuestEp. 453
2016Ep. 465 (with Jack Black & Sam Hammington)
Ep. 484–486
Battle TripKBS2ContestantEp. 22 (with Sam Hammington)
2017I Can See Your Voice 4MnetCastEp. 8
My Little TelevisionMBCGuestEp. 84-85 (with Tyler Rasch)
2018Please Take Care of My RefrigeratorJTBCGuestEp. 168–169 (with Alberto Mondi)
Knowing BrosGuestEp. 129 (with So Yoo-jin)
Dunia: Into a New WorldMBCCast[14]
2019Friendly Variety ShowMBNCast
2020Love 7.7 billionJTBCGuestEp. 7

TV series
YearNetworkTitleRoleNotes
2015MBCWarm and CozySamcameo, Ep. 5–7
2016KBS2Moorim School: Saga of the BraveSam

Film
YearTitleRoleNotes
2015Intimate EnemiesYakubu

Awards and nominations
Year Award Category Nominated work Result
2015 8th Korea Drama Awards Global Star Award Warm and Cozy Won
2019 14th Asia Model Awards Fashionista Award[15] — Won

References
  1. "Ghana's Sam Okyere Is A Korean TV Star". July 3, 2014. Retrieved November 5, 2015.
  2. Kim, Slater (August 27, 2014). "이런 비정상 G11 때문에 월요일이 기다려지다니, 이런 나 비정상인가요?" (in Korean). Naeil Shot Magazine. Retrieved September 1, 2014.
  3. "30 Under 30 Asia 2017: The Expats". Forbes. Retrieved 2020-06-02.
  4. "Sam Okyere Expresses Major Disappointment In Black Face Parody By Korean High School Students". Koreaboo. 2020-08-06. Retrieved 2020-08-27.
  5. "Ghanaian TV personality speaks up against racism in Korea, sparks controversy". The Jakarta Post. Retrieved 2020-08-27.
  6. "Does Sam Okyere face risk of deportation for calling out South Korean students' 'racist' Blackface parody?". meaww.com. Retrieved 2020-08-27.
  7. "Blackface", Wikipedia, 2020-08-15, retrieved 2020-08-27
  8. Herald, The Korea (2020-08-10). "As Korean content goes global, cultural sensitivity becomes key issue". www.koreaherald.com. Retrieved 2020-08-27.
  9. "BBC World Service - Focus on Africa, Sam Okyere: The black man fighting racism in South Korea". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2020-08-27.
  10. "Sam Okyere opens up about Korean high school students' recent 'blackface' costumes in interview with 'BBC News'". allkpop. Retrieved 2020-08-27.
  11. "TV Personality Sam Okyere Responds To Blackface Controversy". Soompi. 2017-04-24. Retrieved 2020-08-27.
  12. "Sam Okyere Under Fire Yet Again For Making A "Sexual Joke" About Black People". Koreaboo. 2020-08-25. Retrieved 2020-08-27.
  13. "Okyere deletes Instagram account after two controversies". koreajoongangdaily.joins.com. Retrieved 2020-08-27.
  14. "List of cast members of Dunia: Into a New World on MBC official website". MBC (in Korean). Retrieved June 6, 2018.
  15. "2019 Asia Model Awards Fashionista Award - Sam Okyere, Oh Na-ra". 2019 Asia Model Awards Official NAVER TV Account. 22 June 2019.
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