A Korean night where the 'highlight of the trip' arrived on the very first day.

Dongdaemun, Seoul, South Korea. I found a 'local street food stall' while shivering in the cold. On the first night of my trip to Korea, an unexpectedly heartwarming encounter was waiting for me.

A bright red local street food stall I found in Dongdaemun

The night air in Seoul in March was cold, and I was freezing, so I wanted to get inside somewhere quickly.
As I walked near my hotel, a bright red vinyl tent appeared before my eyes. Probably a street stall.
It was a large, suspicious-looking tent with a wooden door set into a bright red vinyl wall.I could hear voices coming from inside.
There was a small, transparent vinyl window above the red wall, so I peeked inside through it.Inside, there were several folding tables and chairs lined up. 'Looks interesting... shall I go in!' I said, and ducked through the low door to enter!

Full of local vibes! A deep-cut street stall. The menu is in Hangul

There were two groups of local customers.
The staff were two women with hairstyles that looked like they belonged on a mother character in a Korean drama.The local vibe is amazing!! It's so exciting!!
The menu hanging on the wall was entirely in Hangul.
Of course, I can't read it.

I tried reading the menu with my smartphone's translation function, but...
'Seafood', 'Offal', 'Noodles'...With a menu that has no pictures, I didn't know what to order. I kept glancing at what was on the table next to me. There was some delicious-looking food there.

The moment the man at the table next to us stood up, I pointed to the dish that had been on his table and said to the staff,
'Please give me this.'With that, the order was cleared.

Korean local street food and a mysterious system?

The food arrived!
'Wow! It's bright red!!' We ordered a spicy, delicious seafood stir-fry, a Korean-style egg roll with dashi, and bottled beer.

While eating, I often made eye contact with the man at the next table, who had glowing skin and a big smile.I smiled back at him, too.

A little while later, the 'spicy seafood stir-fry' we were still eating was taken away by the staff.
'Oh? Oh? What's going on? We still have some left!' We thought to ourselves as we watched the plate go.

A few minutes later, the spicy seafood stir-fry returned to our table. Accompanied by thin pasta.

'Huh? What kind of system is this?'
'What are these noodles? Pasta? Hiyamugi?'

I understood that it meant 'mix it well and eat it!'
I mixed it for now.

I made eye contact with the glowing-skinned man at the next table.Smile, smile...
Ah!! We realized that this glowing man must have treated us to these noodles. But since we didn't know Korean, we couldn't be sure. Another dish was brought to the man's table.

Then, the man offered us the dish that had just arrived,
'Try this too,' he said.

Ah, I was convinced that this man had treated us to those noodles.
We each took a bite of the dish he offered.

It was a stir-fried gizzard. This was a non-spicy stir-fry.
It tasted similar to japchae or bulgogi, which was to my liking.The men at the next table would stand up every now and then and go somewhere. Probably to the restroom or for a smoke.
Every time the man went outside, the poorly fitted door would swing half-open, letting in a cold draft.
Every time I tried to close it, it required a trick and I couldn't close it easily, so I had the staff close it and teach me the trick to closing it each time.
(And I never did get the hang of it until the end)

Sweet and juicy Korean strawberries

The shiny, smiling gentleman returned to his seat.
In his hands, he held a plate piled high with large strawberries.He offered them to us, saying, 'Try some.' When I had one, it was surprisingly delicious.
It was my first time eating Korean strawberries, and they were fragrant, sweet, and juicy. They were incredibly delicious.

'Have another one,' 'Have another one,' he kept saying,
the shiny gentleman kept encouraging us.In the end, the two of us ate seven of them.
'Hey, come to think of it, there was a fruit shop across from the restaurant, wasn't there...?'

We realized.
The gentleman had gone out of his way to buy them for us from the shop across the street.He wanted us to try Korean strawberries. What is this turn of events... it's moving. (Though I'm not actually crying)

Is the shiny gentleman a regular customer? I get that feeling.

We decided that when we left the restaurant, we would say 'Thank you for the meal' in Korean.
We looked it up on our phones.
'Jal-meogeot-seumnida... Jal-meogeot-seumnida...'We practiced in whispers.
And then,

'Jal-meogeot-seumnida! Kamsahamnida!!'

When we said it energetically, the gentleman was so happy. I'm so glad!!

And finally, the nerve-wracking bill.
We ordered two dishes and two beers.Plus, the soup and raw vegetables that came out automatically.
'At what price should we assume it's a rip-off?''Hmm, maybe over 50,000 won?'
We talked about things like that. So rude of us.
After all, we didn't even know which menu items we had ordered. My heart was pounding... so, how much?
'34,000 won (about 3,500 yen)'
(I think it was around that much)
A reasonable price!!!Omma! ...No, Unnie (big sister)!!!
Sorry for doubting you!!!
That was our dinner on the first night in Seoul.At a deep, local-feeling street stall, we were able to experience the kindness of others.
Traveling is, of course, fun for visiting tourist spots, shopping, and eating delicious food.
But the warm, once-in-a-lifetime encounter with a person became the best memory, staying in my heart more than any other travel memory.Thanks to the gentleman, even though it's only the first day...The highlight of the trip has already arrived.

[Click here for the Korea travel vlog]