This week's video — an 11pm walk through our neighborhood.Every time I talk to friends or family back in Korea, one question comes up without fail: "Isn't Harlem dangerous at night?"
I've answered it in words a hundred times. This week, I decided to just answer it with a camera instead. So Jinguk and I walked out our front door at 11pm and filmed the whole thing.
The new video is up: "Our NYC Neighborhood at 11pm — Harlem Night Walk" (10:45 min).
What's actually eight minutes from our door
The video opens with a fact that still makes me a little smug: Manhattan's biggest H Mart is an eight-minute walk from our apartment. Living in Harlem means I never have to think twice about finding Korean groceries.
From there we pass the Hungarian Pastry Shop, then stop at Mama's Too — a pizza spot that recently moved locations and was still pulling thick, square pepperoni slices out of the oven close to midnight. We end at SMOKE, a jazz club with live music running late into the night.
The question, asked directly
Toward the end of the walk, I turned to Jinguk and asked him on camera: "So, were we scared?"
His answer: "Not even a little."
Jinguk has lived in this neighborhood long enough to have a real opinion, and his answer is the same every time someone asks. At 11pm, the sidewalks aren't empty. Shops are open. People are out. It's not the image a lot of people picture when they hear "Harlem" — it's just a neighborhood, living its ordinary night life.
A word that came up while we were filming, if you want to sound like a local: a dive bar is a no-frills, unpretentious neighborhood bar — and calling somewhere "our dive bar" isn't an insult here. It's practically an endearment.
And then, the actual news
We saved the biggest thing for the end of the video: Jinguk's childhood friend, the singer Yoon Jongshin (윤종신), is coming to New York to stay with us. This kicks off a five-part series we've been planning, timed right before his July 10th appearance on 해피투게더 back in Korea. If you've watched our past mansion-walk episodes with him, you know this is going to be a good one.
Watch the full video here: https://youtu.be/mFlcDQBgTmw
While we wait for Yoon Jongshin to land, we're keeping busy upstate — the 깻잎 in the garden finally caught up and is ready to pick, so a jar of 깻잎 kimchi is happening this week. I've also been sneaking back into the studio between filming days, trying to get a few canvases finished before the summer gets any busier.
If you're new here: subscribe to the channel so you don't miss the next one, and if you've got questions about life in Harlem — or anywhere in New York — leave them in the comments.
Tags: YouTube Spotlight, Harlem, NYC neighborhood, dive bar, Korean husband American wife, Yoon Jongshin, cross-cultural life, miguktv
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