*The following piece is a contribution from Febryanty Putry, a regular Korea.net reader. She wrote this story based on her personal experiences here in Korea. She is currently studying at Sogang University in Seoul.

I never imagined that I would have a really good friend in Korea. What I got was greater than I could've expected. Maybe if you read this story you will ask me, "Is this real?" Sometimes I feel as if my story is more like a novel or a soap opera, but it’s the truth and I'm really grateful for it.

I met this guy in May 2014 on Facebook. I joined the "Seoulmate" group and, at that time, he was also one of the members. He posted a comment answering someone's question about Korea. I saw his tiny profile picture and this guy got my attention. Then I checked out his Facebook profile. When I saw his profile, I was shocked. He studied at SKKU, the university where I wanted to study. Then I greeted him through the comments, added him as "friend" and sent him a message. Our conversation and friendship started at that time.

That guy is Hyeon Joon Ho. His English name is Andrew. I call him Oppa, Andrew or Joon Ho. He allows me to call him Oppa. Sometimes when I call him Oppa, I feel so strange. It sounds too cute. Ha-ha-ha. So I call him whatever I want: Joon Ho, Andrew or Oppa. Ha-ha-ha.

Back in 2014, I really wanted to study in Korea. I told him so and asked him everything about Korea, Hangeul, university, et cetera. He always replied to my questions and sometimes we joked with each other. What a good friend from Facebook. When I had difficulties in applying to Chung Ang University, because everything was in Korean and I had to put a Korean number on the form and I just left it blank, Joon Ho translated all those things for me, step by step, and offered to use his phone number on the form. I was so happy that the problem was solved. What a great guy. I also applied to Sogang University and I often asked Joon Ho to call the admission office to confirm my application. Finally, I was accepted at both universities and I choose Sogang as my school.

Now, I just knew him from Facebook. I never imagined he would be so nice and really helpful. He even gave me his phone number to use on the form and he got calls from the university, disturbing him a lot, I think. When I was accepted to study at the GSIS at Sogang University, I was super happy, grateful that all my hard work paid off.

Our First Meet Up

August! My journey started that month. I arrived in Korea around August 22, 2014. Joon Ho allowed me to put my luggage at his house first, because I couldn't move into the dorm room until August 29. From August 22 to 29 I lived in a nice Korean lady’s house. Joon Ho picked me up near his house in Suyu.

A problem occurred when I got off the bus with too much luggage. My phone battery was dead. I couldn’t contact him. Fortunately, I wrote down his phone number on a piece of paper. I asked two high school girls to call him for me. The girls finally also helped me bring my luggage to where Joon Ho was.

He was so shocked. We met on the street and his facial expression was so funny. He greeted the kids who helped me and said thank you to them. Thanks to those kids who helped me call him and helped carry my luggage to our meeting point.

Because I brought three suitcases, one backpack and one hand bag, Joon Ho asked me, “Wow. How can you carry all these things? By yourself ?” My answer was, “Hmm. I don't know. As you can see, however, I did it. Haha-ha.”

That was the first time we met, even though we hadn't properly greeted each other. Ha-ha-ha. After we put all my stuff in his car, we headed straight for his home to put some of my luggage in his house for about two weeks. On our way, we realized we hadn't greeted each other. Ha-ha-ha. It was only the first time we met, but it looked like we were already close friends. Then we greeted each other. It was only a bit awkward.

Arriving at Joon Ho’s home, I met Joon ho’s grandfather, who was really a warm person. I got a warm welcome from him and it meant a lot to me. Joon Ho was so tired and he took a rest for a while. While he was resting, I prayed in his house. I only brought one small case to my other Korean family home, which is where I stayed. After 20 minutes, we headed to Myeongdong because Joon Ho had to meet his girlfriend. We separated in Myeongdong, with Joon Ho going to his girlfriend's workplace and I just hung around there until nighttime.

The next day, I met Joon Ho again. I had left some things in my other suitcases, so we went to his house to pick up my things. After that, we planned to have dinner. On our way there, Joon Ho’s mom called and told us to just go to their café. Joon Ho’s family runs a café. So we first went to his family's café and helped his mom for 30 minutes or so. I was able to meet his mom. His mom looks so beautiful and was really nice. I also meet some of the co-workers there. All of them were so nice to me. I felt comfortable around them.

After finishing, we went for dinner. At this time, I was really moved because Joon Ho knew that I don't eat anything related to pork and that I eat halal food. Joon Ho tried so hard to find a restaurant that provided non-pork menu items. When I saw him trying to find a restaurant for me, and when I saw the panic on his face because he couldn’t find a halal restaurant for me, I froze and really thanked God for sending me a good friend like him. Finally, he found a seafood restaurant.

“Puput," he asked, "can you eat seafood?”
“Of course,” I replied.
“OK. Let's eat here.”
We happily ate our meal and at the end, Joon Ho treated me to dinner, as it was my welcome dinner. Thank you. Oppa. Welcome to Korea!


We held a Chuseok party at Joon Ho’s family's café. Joon Ho invited his friends. I invited my classmates to the party because we didn't have any other activities during the Chuseok holiday. All of us brought our own food to the café. I made Indonesian food in Joon Ho's café. This party was like a cross-cultural dinner. We chit-chatted, played games and sang songs. It was fun. Once again, Joon ho’s family made me want to cry. Joon Ho’s mom cooked non-pork Korean pancakes for me, even though usually they put pork in it. So there were two versions of the food: one for me and one for the other friends. Thank you, Joon Ho’s Mom.

My friends even asked me I met Joon Ho, because he was really nice and quite handsome. Ha-ha-ha. When I told them I met him through Facebook before coming to Korea, my friends were shocked. They didn't believe me. They confirmed it with Joon Ho himself, who said, “Yeah... We met each other through Facebook.” It sounds weird, as if it could only happen in a soap opera or a novel, but it’s a fact! I never thought that Joon Ho would be so kind to me; indeed, he is such a decent person.

I’m glad to know Joon Ho and his family. I'm really grateful to him as my friend and my older brother. Because of him and his family, I have a Korean family and will never feel lonely. I hope Joon Ho will be successful in the near future, always be happy and have a bright future with his destiny of making a family. To his mom and grandfather, I hope they stay healthy so that I can visit them frequently.

Thank You Joon Ho, Oppa.