They had traveled from South Korea. They were stranded near Buffalo.

Alexander Campagna and Andrea Campagna, both Buffalo residents, had prepared to wait for the blizzard to pass. They had prepared the fridge and planned to spend a quiet weekend at home in suburban Williamsville as long as the power was on.

At 2 p.m. on Friday, the snow had piled up and was making it difficult to travel. Two South Korean tourists were traveling to Niagara Falls with a group that included nine men. They asked for shovels to help dig out their van.

The Campagnas welcomed the guests, their driver and their luggage, to their home as houseguests. They became “accidental innkeepers,” said Alexander Campagna, a 40-year-old dentist.

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Yoseb Choi, 27, a Pyeongtaek native, stated that the tour participants, many of whom were from Seoul, didn’t know about the worrying forecast before they left Washington, D.C. on Friday morning. The tour was booked for Claire and Yoseb Choi.

After receiving messages from his friends warning him about the approaching storm, he was now more concerned. He said that Friday’s van ride was windy and slippery, and that the passengers were anxious.

Then, after hours of watching the weather deteriorate outside the van’s windows, they ended up stranded near the Campagna house, Choi said.

The Campagnas, well aware of the dangers the storm presented, immediately invited the travelers in, “knowing, as a Buffalonian, this is on another level, the Darth Vader of storms,” Campagna said.

The visitors — seven women and three men — filled the three-bedroom house, sleeping on couches, sleeping bags, an air mattress and in the home’s guest bedroom. Other travelers were parents and their daughter, an Indiana college student, as well as two college-aged friends from Seoul. Three of them spoke English fluently.

They spent the weekend sharing stories, watching Buffalo Bills defeat Chicago Bears Christmas Eve, and eating delicious Korean home-cooked food prepared by their guests. Campagna and Campagna, both Korean food lovers, were delighted to find all the condiments available: mirin (soy sauce), Korean red pepper paste and sesame oil, chili flakes, and sesame seed oil. A rice cooker and kimchi were also available.

“It was kind of like fate,” Choi said, remarking on the luck of arriving at the Campagnas’ doorstep with their fully stocked kitchen and unhesitating hospitality. He said the hosts were “the kindest people I have ever met.”

He said that one of the guests, the mother, of the Indiana college student was a great cook.

“We destroyed so much food,” he added.

Campagna stated that it was a joy to have unexpected guests.

“We have enjoyed this so much,” he said, calling it a “unique blessing,” and adding that the experience has inspired the couple to plan a visit to South Korea. “We will never forget this.”

Choi explained that he had spent some time in high school learning English in Michigan, Kansas and other states. But his wife, Choi, had never been to America so the tour gave her the opportunity to visit several places she had always wanted to see. It was planned to visit New York City and Washington as well as Niagara Falls and Montreal.

After landing in New York City on Dec. 21 for the tour, which was operated by a South Korean company called Yellow Balloon, they visited the Empire State Building and the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum, took the ferry to the Statue of Liberty, browsed the Museum of Modern Art and checked out the Oculus at the World Trade Center, all in one day. They also visited Washington’s White House and the Lincoln Memorial.

“We were tired, but it was exciting,” Choi said. Even the unexpected snow disaster contributed to the experience, he said, allowing the couple to experience a “warm welcome from real Americans.”

“We are happy and luckily and gracefully having a great Christmas with Andrea and Alex,” Choi said.

On Sunday, snow was falling and the road was being plowed. However, the van remained stuck. Tourists were being picked up by drivers in New York City. Most of them will be flying back to South Korea at the end of the week. Choi said he and his wife will stay a bit longer to celebrate New Year’s Day in Times Square.

Had they been stranded for another night, they had been thinking bulgogi — Korean grilled beef — for Christmas dinner.

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