How I Met My Husband—and the Funny Story of Who Raised Him.

How I Met My Husband—and the Funny Story of Who Raised Him

I met my husband by chance during our university years. He was gentle, soft-spoken, and always considerate of those around him.

What first drew me in wasn’t just his kind heart—it was also his quiet confidence, his good looks, and the way he naturally offered to pay for meals during group outings. He never did it to impress anyone. That was just who he was.

Later, I learned that he was the youngest of six siblings—the baby of the family. But as I got to know him better, I discovered a story that still makes me smile.

Incredibly, both my husband’s mother and his eldest sister gave birth in the same year: 1966.

At the time, my mother-in-law was in her early 40s and didn’t know she was pregnant. Feeling weak and ill for weeks, she assumed the worst—that she was gravely sick. She stayed in bed, bracing for bad news. But instead, she gave birth to a healthy baby boy.

Because she was too weak to care for the newborn and couldn’t produce enough milk, she entrusted him to her eldest daughter—who had just had a baby girl of her own.

So my husband and his niece grew up together under the same roof in Seoul, more like siblings than uncle and niece.

His older sister, barely done becoming a mother herself, stepped naturally into a motherly role for him as well. She’d take her daughter to the neighborhood bathhouse one day, and my husband the next.

One day, a local woman recognized her at the bathhouse and said,
“Oh! I heard you had a baby girl—but it looks like you had a boy!”

Too shy to explain that the baby boy was actually her little brother, my sister-in-law simply smiled awkwardly and made a quick exit.

We still laugh about that story to this day.

I’m deeply grateful to both my mother-in-law and sister-in-law for the love and care they poured into raising him. Thanks to them, I met a man who is not only kind and handsome—but who grew up surrounded by quiet, enduring love.

In Korean families—especially big ones—love doesn’t always follow neat lines. It flows in every direction.
Sometimes, the people who raise us aren’t just our parents, but our sisters, aunties, and anyone who shares the roof—and the warmth.

My husband’s eldest sister is on the left, and my dear mother-in-law is on the right.

KoreanFamily #Motherhood #KoreanCulture #1960sKorea #FamilyStories #WarmMemoirs