Family comes in many forms. There is the family you are born into, and there is the family you choose. And then, there is the rare and wondrous kind: the family that, in its own subtle way, chooses you, finding you when you least expect it and staying as if you had always belonged.

For Fitto Mustika Deny, a KOICA MDP 2025 Scholar from Indonesia, leaving her family back home paradoxically felt like a homecoming. Far from the comfort of the familiar, she found herself among people who, in time, felt less like strangers and more like the family she had somehow been destined to meet.

In a country she once just admired in K-dramas, living and studying in one of the top global learning institutions in South Korea is a dream come true. Cultural curiosity turned into a journey of belonging when she met Jahyeon, Gayeong, Subin, and Dawoon during the fall semester of 2025, when they all became classmates. The awkward first hellos turned into bursts of laughter during Fitto’s initial attempts to write their names in Hangeul, a funny fail that often marks the beginning of lifelong and life-changing bonds.

Their friendship blossomed like a silent cultural barter, a generous exchange where nothing was taken and everything was given freely. Fitto offered the gentle ease of Indonesian friendliness and warmth, while her newfound Korean friends opened the doors to the heart of Korean culture and tradition.

They introduced her to staple Korean dishes, celebrated significant Korean holidays with her, such as Seolnal, Chuseok, Christmas, and Daeboreum, hosted her during the school’s Home Visiting Program, let her try going to the sauna to eat boiled eggs and drink sikhye, and even shared Fitto’s first snowfall with her. They shared heartwarming conversations over countless meals and late-night snack runs whenever Fitto craved her favorite Ssang-Ssang ice cream bar.

It was a fair trade, and everyone walked away richer, not in possessions, but in understanding, belonging, and the rare beauty of “persahabatan yang langgeng,” or long-lasting friendships, as Fitto would describe their bond in her native language.

This friendship is something Fitto never expected to have. At first, she assumed her Korean friends might be cold and reserved, but she was pleasantly surprised to find herself wrong. After spending their first semester together, they had already created many meaningful and lasting memories.

“The most memorable moment for me was when they picked me up at the Sejong Bus Terminal after I returned from Indonesia during winter break,” Fitto recalled fondly. “They brought a pamphlet that said ‘Aku kangen kamu,’ which means ‘I miss you’ in Indonesian. It really made me cry. Even though it was hard to leave my family in Indonesia, I’m grateful that I have found a home here.”

In embracing her as their adopted Indonesian sister, they also gave her a Korean name, “희도” (Heedo), a name imbued with meanings of joy, delight, brightness, and a radiant spirit. It reflects not only how they see her, but also what they hope for her life: one filled with happiness, warmth, and light. Through this simple yet profoundly meaningful gesture, their bond transcends borders and language, becoming a living testament to how family can be chosen, shaped, and nurtured.

Perhaps this is the quiet rhythm of life. As we let go of pieces of the familiar, we make space for new ones, allowing others to find their way to us, and letting these new connections blossom slowly until they begin to feel like home. At some point after moving abroad, Fitto came to understand that home is no longer defined by a single place, and becomes the people who shape her days, the meals that bring comfort, the celebrations that mark time, and the memories she carries with her wherever she goes.

Fitto’s beautiful story of unexpected friendship reminds us that, even in the most uncertain moments, we are guided toward the right people, at the right time, for the right reasons. 

In the spaces between goodbyes and hellos, we often discover the connections that make distance feel smaller. Since that fateful day in the fall semester, Fitto has found and nurtured a beautiful bond with her Korean crew, one that will stay with them forever, no matter how far apart they may be.