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Hotteok vendor drives 3 hours to serve wildfire evacuees in Andong

Published: 31 Mar. 2025, 19:47

Street vendor Kim Min-jeong hands out hotteok, or Korean sweet pancakes, at Andong Gymnasium on March 31 to volunteers and evacuees affected by the wildfire that blazed through Andong, North Gyeongsang. [YONHAP]

A street vendor from Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, drove three hours to the wildfire-stricken city of Andong in North Gyeongsang on Monday to provide hot food to evacuees staying at a shelter.

Kim Min-jeong, a woman in her 60s who sells hotteok — a sweet pancake filled with cinnamon sugar — made the trip in her food truck, Yonhap first reported. She brought enough ingredients to make 2,000 pancakes including dough, sugar and oil.

“It was my day off. I felt that if I didn’t come today, I wouldn’t have another chance,” Kim said.

Upon arriving in Andong, she visited a local community service center to ask where the largest group of evacuees was staying. Officials directed her to Andong Gymnasium.

Evacuees gathered around Kim’s truck as the smell of hot pancakes began to spread outside the shelter. Many expressed their gratitude as they received the warm snacks served in paper cups.

“I’m making them larger than usual so people can feel full even with just one,” Kim said.

“It makes me happy to hear people say ‘thank you’ or tell me they’re delicious.”

Kim added that she has volunteered at disaster sites before, and planned to stop by a local fire station to serve firefighters as well.

Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.

BY JEONG HYE-JEONG [[email protected]]