An American couple who saved Korean tourists in blizzard visit Korea
The american couple with a warm heart
are now in Seoul for a 10-day tour of South Korea. They have also reunited with
their guests from that unforgettable Christmas.
“To see everyone in Korea again is such a blessing", 'Andrea' told in Seoul. She and her husband arrived here Saturday at the invitation of the 'Korea Tourism Organization'.
On Dec. 23 last year, a group of South
Korean tourists became stranded in Buffalo, New York, during a heavy blizzard
on their way to Niagara Falls. Their van got stuck in the snow, so two of them
knocked on the door of a nearby house to ask for shovels to dig the vehicle out
of a ditch.
That was the home of 'Alexander
Campagna' and his wife 'Andrea', who had planned for a quiet Christmas weekend
indoors. The couple invited the nine travelers and the driver in as house
guests, and they stayed for two nights and three days sharing stories, cooking
Korean food and watching American football.
Their story, told by the 'New York
Times' and other US media, went viral via social media.
'Alex' recalled how the Christmas with
the Korean guests began.
“We’ve had snowstorms. We knew we were
going to be stuck at home for many days. So when we heard the knock on our
door, we wondered who would be outside in this weather", he said.
At the door were 'Scott Park' and the
tour guide asking if they could borrow shovels.
Their clothes were already soaked with
snow, so the couple asked the travelers to come in, made tea and coffee and
gave them warm socks and blankets.
“I got the impression that for the
first couple hours, our guests thought they’ll have tea and leave. But it was
impossible to get anywhere in that weather and it was going to be time for
dinner soon”, he said.
He showed the guests Korean food
ingredients they had, as the couple loved Korean food and offered the guests to
feel free to have or cook anything they like.
“We were surprised to see all the
Korean condiments from soy sauce and chile powder to chile paste. There was
even a rice cooker and Korean cookbooks as if they had prepared all this for
us”, said 'Park' who joined the interview.
Park’s wife cooked Korean dishes and
they all shared together.
“They made us really feel at home.
After our memorable time together, I thought I should do good deeds for others
too”.
“We were shocked at how quickly and
how far the story spread”, 'Andrea' said.
'Alex' said they
received many well kind messages on social media, cards in the mail and
generous gifts of appreciation from Korean groups, like a coupon for a year of
free fried chicken at 'BBQ'.