Almost 10 years ago Kristie and Terry Park were brought together by destiny on the bustling streets of Hongdae. It was 2015 and Kristie said she was rather "pathetically," (her words not mine!) attempting to busk on the streets when Terry and his band mates wandered towards her and asked if they could jam together.
"We actually has zero interest in each other at first and only met up in groups for a year or so," Kristie said. Despite the initial "zero interest," a year later at the Yeouido Fireworks Festival sparks flew! (Pun intended!)
"Terry messaged me about going to the festival," Kristie said. "And it ended up being just the two of us."
The rest as they say is history....and it was a tiny, sweet gesture that happened at the festival where friendship blossomed into love.
"We ended up having to hold hands to get through the crowd and I realised it didn't feel like just friendship," Kristie said. "We started dating from then on!"
The couple started living together on 2020 and as they grew more and more serious Kristie sought advice from her mother.
"I asked her if there was a specific moment she knew my dad was the one," Kristie said. "She told me it wasn't a moment but a question about who I see in my future. She asked me to imagine the future and when I do I automatically assume Terry is there."
Terry proposed in the spring of 2022 when the couple went on a trip to Yeosu.
"He brought an extra suitcase and it turns out it was full of balloons and mini candles and lights," Kristie said. "He decorated the terrace of our Airbnb and surprised me with a song he had written fir me and the ring was hidden among flowers. It was really cute and we both cried."
Being an international couple comes with its fair share of challenges and for Kristie and Terry Park it was mainly communication.
"In the beginning my husband sometimes felt he couldn't open up about hard issues because he is a guy and he felt it wasn't really okay for guys in Korea to open up about difficult things because of societal pressure," Kristie said. "We speak primarily in Korean and sometimes there have been issues with wording being different as well."
Kristie's advice to other international couples would be to not assume the worst of each other even if there's a misunderstanding.
"A lot of the time this could be caused simply by the way you've been taught to communicate," she said. "Approach the issue calmly and try and see it from your partner's perspective. Also, make sure to approach problems head on rather than let the issue simmer; even if it's awkward this will help you understand each other in the long run."
Kristie Park is also a Korean tutor. If you are interested in learning Korean DM Kristie on Facebook!
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