Korean student from Cleveland attends D.C. HBCU. Then he reveals the little-known reason why he lowkey fits right in

Street interviewer Malik (@malikshotyou) mostly documents Black Chicago luminaries. But he was in a different city with a different face for one interview, which received more than 244,000 views on TikTok.

In Washington, D.C., he found Alexander “Amen” Hong, a 20-year-old finance major from Cleveland, who says he chose the country's flagship Historically Black College and University (HBCU), Howard, partly for a chapter of its history most students never hear about.

The story

Hong told Malik he committed early. “I knew I was going to come here since I was a sophomore,” he says. What sold him wasn't the marching band or the alumni network. “Howard's actually one of the first schools that ever allowed Korean immigrants,” he says. “And that was very important to me.”

A second-generation Korean-American, Hong runs that lineage through the rest of the interview. When asked if he fits in, he doesn't oversell it. “It's been difficult, but yes,” he says. “There's a community for everybody here. I'm still trying to grow and find mine.” Some classmates, per his account, assumed he came “here for the wrong reasons.” What those reasons were, he wouldn't guess: “I don't quite know.”

When Malik tells him he “sounds damn near like one of the brothers,” Hong points back home. “In Cleveland, Ohio, it's very diverse out there, and it's predominantly black,” he says. He calls his posts “just lifestyle, just me talking about life, my experiences,” and says he's “only been posting about a year now.” Howard's own news outlet, The Dig, reported in March 2026 that he arrived on campus with 80,000 Instagram followers—an influencer before he enrolled.

@malikshotyou I didn't know black schools had Asians?! He explained everything to me. #hbcu #howarduniversity #college #photography ♬ original sound – Firefighter Malik

The peanut gallery

In the comment section, viewers shared their own experiences going to HBCUs.

“I'm Filipino and attended Morgan State in Baltimore in the 90s. Great experience,” said one person. “Filipina who went to Coppin State University,” said another woman. “Best experience and highly recommend.”

Some people didn't know about the history. “Didn't know the fact about Koreans attending historically. Cool video,” said one commenter.

Others praised his openness and drive. “This young man will be part of a movement that pushes the world in the right direction,” one person said. “Stay true to yourself. Stay strong.”

Open doors

Hong's claim has a documented backbone. In 1896, seven Korean students reached Howard after studying in Japan and passing through Canada. Three of those students recorded traditional songs on wax cylinders that July, which the Library of Congress calls “the earliest known recordings of Korean music in the world.”

Why Howard? Here's how Benjamin Talton, Ph.D., who directs the university's Moorland-Spingarn Research Center, put it to The Dig: “Howard's legacy has always been one of open arms, welcoming people from every corner of the globe.” Many white colleges of the era turned Asian students away. Howard, founded in 1867 to teach scholars regardless of race, did not.

Buzz News reached out to Malik and Hong via TikTok messages and comments, and to Howard University via email.