When Curry Met Kimchi A Love Story

Interracial and Intercultural Love: Indian Woman And Korean Man

About

Meet Shivangi and Jimin. Shivangi is Indian, and she was born in India. Jimin is Korean, and he was born in Korea. They both had never visited a foreign country before turning 20.

Their Nicknames For Each Other

Shivangi calls Jimin, Oppa, a Korean term used by girls to refer to a guy older than her. And he calls her Jhagi, which is a Korean term for darling, honey.

How They Met

They met at work. They were working on a project for Samsung in Noida, India. Their building housed multiple companies, and they both had offices on the same floor. Shivangi was working as an interpreter for a Korean company. And Jimin was a safety manager for another company. Jimin would come to Shivangi’s office with her company’s safety manager.

How Long Have They Been Together

They met in January 2018 and started dating on February 6, 2018. They have been together for over 2 years.

Have They Met Each Other’s Parents

Jimin has met Shivangi’s entire family. He even met her dad before his passing. Yet she did not introduce him as her boyfriend but instead as a work colleague who was curious about Indian culture. Nonetheless, her mom told her that her dad believed they were dating because she was only hanging out with him. After her father’s death, her family became open to their relationship.

On the other hand, Shivangi has only met Jimin’s dad. His mom isn’t ready to meet her yet. She has talked to his brother via texts and hopes to meet him someday soon.

How Was Meeting Jimin’s Dad For The First time

Shivangi was extremely nervous. She traveled to Jimin’s parent’s home without a formal invitation, and so things were weird. His brother was sleeping, his mom was working, and only his dad was awake. Shivangi decided to politely ask Jimin’s dad if she could see their home because she was too curious. And so Jimin told his dad that she wanted to see the house, so his dad invited her in. Shivangi assumed that Jimin’s dad would go to another room, but he waited at the front door. She greeted him in Korean, and he made her sit on the sofa and gave her and Jimin coffee. Because Shivangi is a foreigner and Jimin’s dad doesn’t speak English, and he wasn’t sure about Shivangi’s ability to speak Korean, he started asking Jimin questions, and Shivangi was replying. Overall the entire encounter was not ideal, but she was happy to meet her boyfriend’s dad finally.

How Was Meeting Shivangi’s Parents For The First Time

Jimin didn’t do much talking because of the language barrier. He isn’t very fluent in English, and Shivangi’s whole family was acting shy in front of him because he is a foreigner. Shivangi had not introduced him as her boyfriend but as her friend. As a result, her dad spoke a bit, but then it was completely awkward.

What Obstacles Have They Encountered For Being In An Interracial And Intercultural Relationship And How Are They Overcoming Them

1) Language barriers. Neither of them were fluent in each other’s native languages.

Thereby, they both sought out to learn each other’s languages together. Currently, they do not have any language barriers.

2) Stereotyping and irritating comments from other people. Many of Jimin’s colleagues used to ask him if he is sure of the relationship because, in the future, it might not turn out well. In particular, if they have babies, their babies might get bullied in school for being mixed. Additionally, people would continuously tell Shivangi to be careful because Jimin must just want to sleep with her and nothing else. Although they didn’t care about other people’s opinions, it wasn’t good for their mental health.

As a result, they have this rule of “crystal clear relationship.” They do not keep anything to themselves if someone says something or something bothers them.

3) Accepting their cultural differences. Shivangi is Indian and Hindu. She does not eat a lot of meat except for Chicken. Beef is something she can’t eat because of her religion. And she refrains from eating meat on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, or any other religious day. Conversely, Jimin does eat almost all kinds of meat. Therefore, initially, it was tough when they went on dates or traveled, and so Jimin decided to refrain from eating meat when Shivangi didn’t.

However, today they let each other eat whatever they want. Shivangi is trying to adapt to eating more Korean food while Jimin loves Indian food.

Their Top Tips To An Interracial And Intercultural Relationship

Respect and accept each other’s cultural differences. Do not try to change them. Those are some deep-rooted beliefs that can’t be changed overnight; it will just make the relationship worse.
Always be open to each other. Share the things that bother you. Because if you don’t and you keep it inside, it can create resentment and anger.
Try to overcome the language barriers and talk as much as you can. And if you don’t understand, just ask your partner to explain it again. Don’t ever say yes to things you don’t understand.
Don’t force your partner to follow a religion or set of beliefs that are not a part of their culture.

What They Love About Being In An Interracial And Intercultural Relationship

Shivangi and Jimin love that their relationship is fun. They came up with their own language code. Also, there is always something new to learn.

What They Are Still Learning From Being In An Interracial And Intercultural Relationship

They are both still learning about each other’s culture, language, and history.

Thank you, Shivangi and Jimin for sharing your genuine, touching, and love does not stop fighting love story with us. What did you think of their love story?

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