Being famous on social media beforehand, the couple’s proposal received a lot of attention from netizens as well.
Everyone knows that first love is delicate, so whenever a couple who married their first love is seen, internet users can’t help but be amazed. If the main characters are somewhat famous on social media, their love story becomes even more attention-grabbing.
This time, the main characters are Hoon and Kem – a couple who have a combined total of 5 million followers on TikTok. Not long ago, they had an incredibly cute proposal, which has garnered over 8 million views within 2 weeks of being posted.
The initial impressions they had of each other were quite different
Kem’s real name is Nguyễn Thị Phương Thảo, born in 1995, from Hải Phòng, Vietnam. She is currently living and working in South Korea in the clothing business. Besides, Kem creates content on social media with 4 million followers and was previously famous for her series of reviews of convenience stores in South Korea.
Hoon, on the other hand, is Kim Do Hoon (usually called Hoon), born in 1993. He works at an IT company and has a YouTube channel with over 1 million subscribers.
As for how they met, the couple started dating a little over 2 years ago. Both of them had common friends, so the group of friends went out for coffee together. However, their first impressions of each other were completely opposite.
“At that time, I thought Hoon was very childish because he and a friend were standing under the rain fighting. Totally not my type!” – Kem revealed.
In contrast, Hoon liked her from the first sight. Before that, his friends had shown him a picture of Kem and he assumed she was a plump girl. However, when he met her, she was thin and cute, so he was immediately smitten. But when he got home, he added her on Facebook to get to know her, and she didn’t accept the friend request for a whole month. Hoon was a bit disappointed, but later he found out that she had too many friend requests and missed his. When she finally accepted his friend request, the South Korean guy quickly got to work, actively flirting and pursuing her.
Interestingly, Hoon is Kem’s first love. Sharing her feelings about being in love and preparing to marry her first love, Kem said: “I experienced dating for the first time, everything was new and strange. Before that, I was used to an independent life, so having someone care for me and worry about me was sometimes hard to adapt to. But when I accepted that, I felt very lucky.
Being in my first relationship and loving a foreigner, I encountered many difficulties. For example, language barriers sometimes made it hard for us to understand each other, leading to misunderstandings. In those moments, Hoon always suggested that we sit down and have a clear conversation, explaining each point and resolving the misunderstandings. Overall, these were just minor issues and never reached the point of wanting to give up.”
As for Hoon, he had several relationships before falling in love with Kem. However, even before officially becoming a couple, Hoon was open about all of this, and he wasn’t afraid of Kem being jealous. He always made an effort not to make his girlfriend feel jealous of other girls.
Of course, because they are known on social media, they had to deal with mixed opinions once their relationship became public. However, both of them saw it as a challenge to learn how to understand, trust, and appreciate each other more.
Agreeing on spending before marriage
Regarding their viral proposal on social media, the South Korean boyfriend honestly shared: “Honestly, before we met, both of us didn’t prioritize marriage because we leaned towards a life of freedom and independence. But after dating for a while, Kem graduated from university in South Korea, and I became very worried if she had to return to Vietnam. This made me even more determined to keep her here.
In July of this year, Kem went back to Vietnam for a long time, and that was when I came up with the idea of proposing. Keeping it a secret was the most challenging part because she is very sensitive to the emotions and actions of people around her, and she can detect even the slightest hint. So, I was very careful and did everything by myself. On the special day, I asked her sister and Kem’s friends to go watch a movie together as a normal outing. That’s why I couldn’t make her dress up more so that she could experience the greatest joy. But it’s okay; the most important thing is that Kem agreed.”
Marrying someone from another country can come with geographical and cultural challenges. However, the couple sees this issue very comfortably because before meeting each other in South Korea, Hoon spent some time studying in Vietnam. Thanks to that, both of them were able to somewhat understand, get acquainted with, and adapt to the cultures of both countries.
For Kem, since she met Hoon, she feels like she has gained another family in South Korea, which is Hoon’s parents and relatives. “Hoon’s family shares many similarities with mine, such as being very close-knit and open with each other. On weekends, everyone gathers at his grandmother’s house to eat together. The thing that makes me happiest is that every time I visit his hometown, his grandmother and aunts are always caring and cook delicious meals. Hoon’s father calls me his daughter, and his mother even grows the types of Vietnamese fruits that I like. So, compared to meeting and dating him, having a family like that is my greatest happiness,” she shared.
Kem’s family also strongly supports the couple’s relationship, respecting their children’s thoughts and choices. Even when Hoon and Kem decided to live together before marriage, both families didn’t interfere but rather urged them to get married sooner.
When living together, spending issues were also discussed and clearly agreed upon by the couple. “Before, we didn’t care much about each other’s finances, but after living together, both of us have a joint account for common expenses or savings, while the rest is managed separately. In the future, when we are married or have children, if there is a need for changes, we will sit down and discuss it,” they explained.
Regarding their future plans, Hoon and Kem will continue to reside in South Korea because both of their main jobs are there, and they have already bought a house there. “In the future, maybe we will strive to buy another house in Vietnam for the convenience of traveling back and forth. That’s just a plan, but working together to achieve it is certain,” the couple added.
