The story went viral in Vietnam first, then bounced back to Korean social media โ Koreans love seeing their cultural customs recognized and appreciated abroad, and this hit that sweet spot perfectly. It also sparked nostalgic conversations about sebaedon and the Korean instinct to give kids money.
A small act of kindness from a Korean tourist in Hanoi, Vietnam is going viral across both countries โ and it's the kind of story the internet genuinely needed.
Dang Van Dan, a 33-year-old taxi driver in Hanoi, had no one to watch his young daughter one day, so he did what any exhausted parent might do: he quietly buckled her into the back seat and hoped for the best. He told her to stay still and not bother the passengers. For over an hour, a Korean passenger rode in the cab without even noticing the little girl tucked in the back.
Then, as they neared the destination, the passenger finally spotted her. According to Dan, the man didn't look annoyed or surprised โ he just smiled and gently started chatting with the child. When he asked why she was there and Dan explained he had no one to look after her, the passenger simply reached into his wallet and handed the girl some cash as a gift before getting out.
Vietnamese outlet DTiNews covered the story, describing the gesture as "lucky money" โ and noting that in Korean culture, giving children small cash gifts is a completely normal and warm-hearted tradition. In Korea, this is deeply tied to the custom of *sebaedon* (์ธ๋ฑ๋), the New Year's pocket money that adults give to children as a blessing. But beyond holidays, many Koreans will spontaneously slip a kid some cash just to make them smile โ it's considered a natural expression of goodwill toward children.
The story spread rapidly on Vietnamese social media, with locals calling the passenger a "warm-hearted Korean." Back in Korea, the reaction was equally wholesome โ with many commenters saying this is just... what you do when you see a kid. The post has sparked a broader conversation about how Koreans relate to children in public, and why that instinct to give feels so automatic.
๐ฐ๐ท KOREAN REACTIONS 10
That's K-Dragon money right there... beautiful ๐ (a playful riff on 'K-' branding everything Korean)
sobbing this reminded me of sebaedon (New Year's pocket money). I'm in my 40s and still waiting for my mom to give me mine... mom... hello...??
The funny thing is literally ANY Korean guy would've done the same thing in that situation. There's just this baseline instinct to want things to be a little better for the kid, even if it's just a small gesture.
Wait do other countries not have a culture of giving kids candy or snacks when you see them?? In Korea it's just normal to hand a kid some money like 'go buy yourself something tasty'
Kids just disarm you completely. Doesn't matter how tough you are โ see a cute kid and suddenly you're handing out cash and being generous lmaooo
Giving money to kids is just the obvious thing to do tbh
Not sure if it's uniquely Korean but we definitely have a thing where kids make us lower our guard and become way more generous
When I was stationed in Vietnam for work, my team leader and I naturally gave pocket money to our local interpreter's son too. The kid's dad was working so hard under a really difficult boss โ we just wanted to do something nice.
The passenger's intentions were 100% pure kindness. BUT โ I've seen this go sideways. When I visited Cambodia like 10 years ago, women and kids had already learned that Korean tourists = free money, so they'd specifically rush toward Koreans with hands out. Hope this doesn't turn into that.
Giving pocket money is personal tbh โ I'm just not someone who does that... (lone voice of dissent in a sea of wholesomeness)