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Africa Yoon née Engo was about to turn 30. She was a celebrated activist working in Manhattan and around the world when she finds she has gained 120 pounds and is now obese. She realizes she needs a life beyond her work and begins to dream about having a husband and children. To get her dream, she has to work on herself to get to her goal. The activist starts on the road toward the greatest cause of her career—to save herself—and decides she will do a spiritual and physical makeover to find self-love, in hopes it may lead to true love. One afternoon at the Asian grocery store Hmart, a Korean grandmother calls her fat! After the initial embarrassment of the public moment, the two begin an unusual friendship that leads her to eat kimchi—and that moment changes everything.
In the self-discovery and romance vein of “Sex and the City,” this memoir is full of culture, food, inspiration, and travel in this ugly duckling-turned swan transformation story.
Africa Byongchan Yoon
Africa Yoon is an author, television host, and celebrated activist known for working with young people on issues from education, poverty eradication, racism, at-risk youth, obesity, bullying, sexual health, and sport. She was awarded the Golden Graal humanitarian prize in Rome for using film and television to educate about HIV/AIDS and named one of the Top 40 Youth Activists in the world by MTV and the Kaiser Family Foundation in her late teens. She has spoken around the world including the United Nations and is recognized for ending her speeches in song and dance. A graduate of New York University / Tisch School of the Arts, Mrs. Yoon bridges culture, activism, and entertainment in all her projects.
Born into a family of diplomats including an Olympian turned United Nations ambassador father, and activist mother, she is currently the CEO of Blackyoonicorn, a mommy, and me a cultural company that sells language and cultural toys for children, and affordable luxury global home goods for their mothers. With a passion for Korean food and health, she runs the popular “Korean Cooking Friends” Facebook Group and cooking app by the same name. Mrs. Yoon lives in Oahu, Hawaii with her husband and children and splits her time in Busan, South Korea.
