A four-year-old Indian- origin boy is taking Instagram by storm with his videos of him conversing in Korean and Malayalam fluenty. The toddler’s mother is from Kerala and his father is from South Korea where the boy lives with his parents.
Maxwell’s Instagram account, which goes by the handle “Koreankuttan”, shared a video earlier this month of him enthusiastically waiting for his father to serve him food seafood. He is seen patiently watching as his father prepares the meal and speaks fluent Korean.
He then switches from Korean to Malayalam when communicating with his mother. “Ammaam, nammal Octopusinde ellam thinno?” (“Amma do we consume every part of the Octopus?”)
He further asks as to why they can have the whole of the Octopus, reflecting the curious mindset of a toddler. His mother replies to him in Malayalam saying it can be eaten as it is cooked.
Watch the adorable viral video here:
Max was trained to read and talk a lot in Malayalam and by the age of two, he was fluent in speaking in his mother tongue. He picked up Korean after going to daycare.
{{/usCountry}}Max was trained to read and talk a lot in Malayalam and by the age of two, he was fluent in speaking in his mother tongue. He picked up Korean after going to daycare.
{{/usCountry}}Within the span of a few days, Max managed to grab the attention of Instagram users with over 2.2 million views, over 1.12 lakh ‘likes’, 600 comments and 44,1000 shares.
Instagram user Theresa Joseph was among those who dropped their reaction in the comments section. “I am impressed. Couldn't resist the follow button,” she said.
“He’s better than me and both my parents are Mallu (Malayalees)”, said Angel Jomon, another user.
Another user was amazed by Max’s talent. “This is amazing. How did you manage to teach him both languages? What was the approach?" the user asked.
Answering questions from users, his mother said that while Max watches Korean dramas (K-dramas) without sub-titles, she needs sub-titles.
Speaking of Max, have you come across a Korean man who speaks fluent Bihari? Last year, a video of a Korean man speaking in Bihari was viral on social media. An Instagram user asks the man what he thinks about Mumbai’s Marine Drive. To this, the Korean man replies in Bihari and says, "Bohot badal gaya hai. Ye jo dikh raha hai, ye bohot saaf hogaya hai. Ye bridge toh bhayankar bana hai (The city has changed a lot. Everything seems to have become cleaner. Even the bridge that has been constructed is awesome.) Further in the clip, they can be seen having a candid conversation.