Korean Street Food Vendor Feeds Broke Student For Free, Here’s How He Repaid Her Generosity

A down-on-his-luck Korean student was given free fish cakes for weeks, so he repaid his debt in full six years later.

After dropping out of high school and preparing for his GED exam, the student didn’t have enough money for food and spent many nights starving.

One night after cram school, he noticed a street vendor and ordered one ₩400 won ($0.35 USD) fish cake while drinking 10 cups of free fish cake broth.

The street vendor ahjumma must have felt bad for the boy, so she gave him 10 fish cake sticks for free.

After all, they’re swollen (soaking in the broth too long), so no one will buy them anyway. Just eat them.

— Street vendor

He continued to stop by the food truck while attending cram school, and the generous street vendor ahjumma continued to give him free fish cakes to eat. Touched to the point of tears, he vowed to repay her one day.

The man eventually got a job in a large company’s human resources department and he decided to see if the warm-hearted woman from his memories was still there.

Even six years later, she was at the same place and now, her son who has severe cerebral palsy was working beside her.

It was clear that he couldn’t find a job because of his disability. Luckily, the man worked at a company that actively recruits those with disabilities.

He ran to tell his manager about the situation, and his manager readily agreed to hire the son.

The mother cried and asked, “How could I ever re-pay this blessing?” But the man refused any form of “repayment” because he was in debt in the first place.

I was in debt to you first. I am only paying that blessing back.

— Man

This touching story just goes to show that going a little long way can have an impact on someone’s life as a whole.