A Friendly Couple in a Small Eatery in Jeju island

Though some may consider Koreans are aggressive and rude, I for one have no such prejudice or bad experience with them. I have only good impression of the Koreans I personally had contact with. The Project Manager of the South Korean Contractor whom I dealt with in the the Sandakan Airport Extension Project in the early 1980's was a nice chap - friendly, patient and mild manner.

In our recent trip to South Korea, we have met numerous Koreans who came to our aid when we were in situations trying to figure out which direction to go. At time, there were individuals who after seeing us "lost", came over and rendered help without us asking. 

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On our first day in Jeju after landed at Jeju Airport from Seoul on 30 April, we were supposed to have lunch at a seafood restaurant. By the time we arrived at the restaurant, the restaurant had stopped taking in customers because it was minutes away to the closing time at 3pm. We had no choice but looked around for another eatery for our late lunch. We spotted a small outlet and went in. 

Once inside the restaurant, we saw the male proprietor having lunch at one of the tables and he was about to consume the last piece of the baked sweet potato on his plate.

Looking at the baked sweet potato, our saliva drooled and we began talking about looking out for baked sweet potato later on. Seeing our enthusiasm, he immediately offered the last piece to us - a kind gesture that inked into our hearts. That restaurant is operated by the couple. The man takes order while his wife cooks at the kitchen.

Later on, the couple after seeing us unsure of what to order from the Korean menu told us to just sit back and to wait for what they would decide to cook for us. It was Korean seafood pancake that they cooked for us.

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After our trekking of Yongmeori coast in Sagye-ri on 2 May, we decided to make a second attempt to have dinner at the seafood restaurant where failed to eat due to closing time three days earlier. This time, for unknown reason, the restaurant was again closed.

Again, we decided to dine at the nearby small outlet run by the couple. The couple recognized us and were very happy to see us again. We ordered seafood steam boat and smoked duck. He personally served us. Midway of the meal, he pulled out his handphone and showed us a video of him catching cutlass fish in a fishing boat.

Numerous fishing paraphernalia hung on the wall.

The Korean couple whom we will remember for a long time!