By Last December we told you the story of a Buffalo family who helped out a group of Korean tourists caught in the epic Christmas blizzard of 2022.
Alexander Campagna and his wife, Andrea, lifelong residents of Buffalo, were ready to wait the blizzard out. They had stocked the fridge and planned for a quiet holiday weekend indoors at their home in suburban Williamsville, N.Y., as long as the power stayed on, wrote The New York Times.
“Then, on Friday at 2 p.m., with the storm already swirling and snow rapidly piling up, making roads impassable, there was a knock at the door. Two men, part of a group of nine tourists from South Korea that was traveling to Niagara Falls, asked for shovels to dig their passenger van out of a ditch.
The visitors — seven women and three men — filled the three-bedroom house, sleeping on couches, sleeping bags, an air mattress and in the home’s guest bedroom. The other travelers included parents with their daughter, an Indiana college student, and two college-age friends from Seoul.”
It’s been a few months, and spring has sprung, but the story has continued. This time Alex and Andrea traveled to South Korea and received a hero’s welcome.
Fast forward to May, the warm-hearted couple are now in Seoul for a 10-day tour of South Korea. They have also reunited with their guests from that unforgettable Christmas, The Korean Herald writes.
“To see everyone in Korea again is such a blessing,” Andrea told reporters in Seoul on Sunday. She and her husband arrived here Saturday at the invitation of the Korea Tourism Organization.
“We’ve always had an appreciation and interest in Korea. They ended up in the right place at the right time,” she said. “Now we have people we can call friends for a lifetime.”
Alex and Andrea could not believe how viral their act of goodness went.
Alex said they received many well wishes, 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 Genesis BBQ, The Korean Herald continued.
“There were many other people who helped others during the storm. We were happy to do our part,” he said.
They might live halfway around the world from each other, but it just shows how one act of kindness can create lifelong friendships.
