GETTING 'FREE' THINGS IN KOREA

Koreans are known for their kindness and mannerism. l was shock when I got something for free when I didn't order it. It happened a few times and made me curious what made them give things for free. After asking my Korean teacher about it, I decided to write my story and share it with you all!

There are some restaurants that we go most of the the time that were run by elderly. Two was in Apgujeong where I lived and one was in Dongdaemun. The two in Apgujeong was the most frequent one, about twice a week. 

One of the restaurant called Basak & Seoul (Apgujeong station, exit 2. Make a 180 degrees turn towards the bank and walk all the way straight until you see a Olleh phone shop, then turn to your right and walk all the way straight. Restaurant should be on your left.), the waitress is a very friendly ajumma who always welcome us warmly because she met our mum when they went there for lunch on the day of my placement test and knew that we were both alone in Korea. She always talks to me when I'm there and remembered what we wanted to eat. '낙지 뽁음' nakji bbokeum was our favourite and we have it all the time when we were there. If we couldn't think of where to eat, Basak & Seoul is always the place. She always told the chef to make a little more extra for us for free after the first time seeing us eat because our appetite can be compared to Daehan, Minguk, Manse and Sarang! She said that most people couldn't finish the portion but we left nothing behind hahaha. I always remember her saying 아이고 예쁘다 진짜 잘 먹네. Aigoo, so beautiful. They eat so well. (informal) She was like our guardian during our stay. She would asked us to walk carefully when it was snowing and sent us out after our meal. She even told me the right answer when I did wrong in my exams. I really enjoy the company of that ajumma and I hope to visit her and the restaurant some time later!

 nakji bbokeum

Another one in Apgujeong is near Basak & Seoul. It was in the small alley and probably the only restaurant you can find in Apgujeong for ₩6,000/meal! I wrote about this restaurant before on my 'first week' post. This restaurant is run by two ajummas. We're probably the only female customers there as everytime we go there for lunch, the customers were all male. We would always order kimchi jiggae and dwenjang jiggae there and everytime my sister will order an extra bowl of rice because her appetite is bigger than mine. So I think the ajummas started getting familiar with our faces since it was obvious that we weren't Korean and my sister kept ordering extra rice, they came and talked to us about typical questions and then knew our age and that we were alone, they started giving us more side dishes and free extra bowl of rice. Thanks to them and the delicious food they made, we were healthy and strong all the time in Seoul! And then with the 아이고 예뻐라~ Aigoo so beautiful (informal) again. :)

The third one is in Dongdaemun. There's this grilled fish restaurant I went and kept saying how delicious the food was to the shop owner upon paying for our meals on our first visit. The second time we went was with my dad and he probably recognized us and served us free fish! Yay for an extra fish because fish is my favourite! And that fish was ₩6,000! 

This one is not really 'free' but it's just something to do with the 아이고 예쁘다saying that I noticed ajummas used all the time when someone eats well. It happened in Shinsaege Food Market when my mom ordered us to make a trip there to buy some food and experience the difference between Korea's food market and Malaysia's. My sister found a booth serving free bacon while I was busy getting lost trying to find onions and went there to eat not one but five bacons strips. The ajumma said she ate so well and made extra few more for her lmao. She told us to continue our shopping first while she make some more then come back in 10 minutes. We went back in 10 minutes, my sister ate up all the bacon she made and bought 4 packs of bacon strips lol. The bacon was super delicious!

I came back to Malaysia and asked my Korean teacher about why we were getting so many free food, as they call it the 서비스 service and she told me it's either because they appreciate you (knowing their language, being kind, eating well) or simply just because they treat you like their daughter/son. Most older Koreans would do that, including my teacher herself, she said. 

I'm really grateful that I was fed well and that I was appreciated by them.