A Korean couple from Hamilton have amassed thousands of followers on social media by singing songs in Te Reo Māori.
It was their love for music that drew the couple together but singing in te reo is a relatively new challenge for Daniel and Ashley Chung.
They began singing in te reo three years ago as a way to learn about New Zealand culture.
"I’m from Australia so I didn’t really know much about New Zealand and Daniel was like we have Māori culture here as well as New Zealand Pākehā culture, so he said 'why not start with a song in Māori' and that’s how we started," Ashley told TVNZ1's Te Karere.
"It’s really positive. People are really encouraging and that’s what really makes us continue doing this," says Daniel.
Although the duo do not speak Te Reo Māori, they recite recordings until they have memorised a song. They say there are many similarities between te reo and Korean which makes pronunciation of te reo words easier.
They have more than 10,000 followers on social media and in recent days they have been invited to sing at a number of Matariki celebrations.
"Sometimes we wonder why we are liked so much by these people and we’re very grateful and feel very blessed to be able to sing waiata," says Ashley.
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