India is more than simply a location on a map to Yechan Lee, a Bihar native, and Luna Yogini, a Korean with roots in Kolkata; it is a deeply felt part of who they are. Despite having Korean ancestry, their hearts have an Indian beat.
Luna’s family’s ties to Indian spirituality were the source of her Bengali identity. Born and raised in Kolkata, Bengal’s vibrant culture, multicultural atmosphere, and varied customs gave Luna a strong sense of identity.
According to Luna, “She chose Kolkata because it was the birthplace of great people she greatly admired and respected, such as Paramhansa Yogananda, Ramakrishna Paramahansa, Swami Vivekananda, Shrii Shrii Anandamurti, and Rabindranath Tagore.”
Yechan emphasized that his 20 years of upbringing in Patna had left him with a strong affinity for Bihari culture and language. For him, like all other Indians who grew up in India, it was a natural experience rather than something that required interest in the culture. “Asking an Indian how they got interested in Indian culture would be funny,” he remarked.
Luna and Yechan found similarities between Koreans and Bengalis, particularly in their reverence for elders and similar sentence structures. Despite linguistic differences, they navigated smoothly, thanks to similarities between Korean and Hindi. Luna also noted that both cultures enjoy Bengali food, with Koreans enjoying it more than Bengalis.
Yechan experienced warm welcomes from friends’ homes in Bengal, where ‘Aunty Jee’s’ generously offered sweets and chai, a gesture of kindness and respect. He also observed the ‘adda’ culture, where people warmly invite fullness. Yechan noted a difference between Koreans and Biharis in their approach to trends, with Koreans being more trend-sensitive and Biharis less concerned.
Luna was deeply enamored with Bengali culture, enjoying philosophical discussions, hospitality, art, and music. Despite initial challenges, Luna’s fond memories of simple pleasures and overcoming language barriers emphasized her connection to the region. Yechan, from a Korean background, was fascinated by Bihari culture’s relaxed, laid-back nature, learning valuable lessons about not taking things too seriously and not comparing oneself to others.
Luna, a Bengali festival participant, uses her spiritual name Nirmala, and the Korean name Dasom, to symbolize pure love, embracing the Bengali tradition of ‘Daak naam’.