Buffalo Couple Takes in 10 Tourists from South Korea Stranded During Deadly Snowstorm

Alexander Campagna, a dentist, and his wife, Andrea, a nurse practitioner, hosted 10 stranded South Korean visitors who were in a tour group headed to Niagara Falls

South Korean Tourists Trapped In Buffalo Blizzard Find Safety In Stranger’s Home

Buffalo residents help tourists from the deadly snowstorm

A South Korean tour group, which was headed for Niagara Falls, found their van stuck in the snow outside Buffalo, New York. Two members of the group knocked on the door of a nearby house and asked for shovels.

When homeowners Alexander Campagna heard a knock on his door while the storm was raging outside, he thought it might be a neighbor or his father-in-law who lives close to his home. But instead, he found the tourists standing on his steps.

“I thought ‘Oh, no. This could be very serious and deadly,'” Campagna said. So, he and his wife Andrea invited the 10-person group to wait out the storm in their home, communicating with three members of the group who spoke English, he said.

Alexander and his wife, Andrea, invited the nine travelers and their tour van driver into their home; the group stayed there over the weekend, departing Sunday.

“It was kind of like fate,” said Pyeongtaek resident Yoseb Choi, who was with his wife, Claire, on the tour, and describing the Campagna’s as “the kindest people I have ever met”.

“I think early on, when our guests entered our house, there was the belief that maybe this storm was about to blow over and they would just jump back in their vehicle and get on their way towards Niagara Falls — which is, in the best weather, about a 30-minute drive from our home,” he said. “With the blizzard, it may as well have been in another galaxy.”

Once the reality of their situation began to set in, Campagna went digging in the freezer for anything that might be able to keep the small crowd fed. Soon, the couple’s stock of frozen chicken and pork shoulder was used.

Buffalo Couple Takes In Stranded Tourists Amid Monstrous Winter Storm

“We had a couple of natural-born cooks in the group who were happy to prepare some exquisite Korean entrees,” he said.

Andrea said that they “absolutely” plan to stay in touch with their guests.

“Several of the guests said that we’re more than welcome to come to visit them. And we may take them up on that offer. We really connected with them. They became like family to us,” she said.

While the couple was grateful for the company of their guests, Andrea added that they are also appreciative of the volunteers and emergency and rescue personnel “that spent day and night taking care of people trapped in their vehicles in the freezing cold.”

“Those are the real heroes in this blizzard of Buffalo, demonstrating why Buffalo is called the city of good neighbors,” she said.