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Members of a South Korean disabled community group were shocked to hear that a total stranger had paid for their barbecue lunch worth $420.
The story begins when the party of 27 community center staff and disabled residents from the city of Incheon, just west of the capital Seoul, stopped for lunch at a BBQ resident in Incheon’s Seohae district.
Organized by the staff and volunteers at the Jemulpo-gu Hanmaum Community Welfare Center, the morning had been spent seeing some of the sights in Incheon, such as Cheongna Lake Park, according to the country’s Yonhap News Agency.
It had been a joyous occasion to get out of the house, and the party were in high spirits when they stopped for lunch. A volunteer from the center, named Kim, told Yonhap that when it came time to pay the bill, which had crested 600,000 Korean won, or $420 dollars, they received some unexpected news.
An anonymous diner, who’d just finished and left, had added over $100 worth of premium beef to their order, taking the total from 410,000 to 600,000 won, before paying for it all and leaving without a word further.
“It was disappointing that we could not even learn the name of the person who did this,” Kim said. “All we heard was that the person had wanted to do something meaningful after seeing a group from a welfare facility come in to eat, and that they had been living in Hawaii in the United States.”
Whether this random act of kindness was executed by an American seems ever so slightly doubtful, as Yonhap News, following up on the story, heard from the BBQ restaurant owner that the generous stranger dined there every so often.
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Though Kim and the other volunteers couldn’t extend their thanks to the stranger, the owner said he understood what was happening just in time to offer him a bottle of wine as a present. The owner said he had already discounted the bill for the party of 27.
For Kim, who has volunteered for years, the day stood out as one she said she’d never forget.
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“I have served this community for a long time, but seeing someone do a good deed for people they had no connection to was a special experience,” Kim said. “I hope the gratitude of all 27 of us reaches that person.”
“What we received was not just a meal,” Kim said. “It was a valuable experience that reminded us there are still many warmhearted people around us.”
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