"Try This, Isn't It Unusual?"... The Heartwarming Story Behind the Grandpa's 'Black Bag' Handed to a Country Bus Driver

Hand-Picked Pears and Eggplants Given to Bus Driver
One-Minute Video Surpasses 2.47 Million Views

A quiet country road bathed in green. A man, who appears to be a local resident, raises his hand high to stop an approaching bus, then hands over a black bag.

This is to give the bus driver fruits and vegetables he grew himself. Recently, on social networking services (SNS), the sight of elderly residents waiting by the roadside to meet the bus at its scheduled time has been made public, drawing attention.

An elderly man hands a bus driver a bushel of homegrown eggplants. Instagram capture @jhkger

On the 17th, a bus driver from Yeongdeok, North Gyeongsang Province, posted a roughly one-minute video he filmed himself on his Instagram account.

The video shows a bus traveling down a narrow country road stopping when an elderly man waving at the roadside catches its attention. As the elderly man gets on the bus, he is holding a black bag filled with pears he personally harvested.

Handing the bag to the driver, he says, "Try this, isn't it unusual?" He adds, "You won't find something like this. The pear skin is thick, but it tastes really good." After giving the driver a bagful of pears, the elderly man gets off the bus and heads back to his field.

Not long after, another elderly man waves at the bus from the roadside. When the bus stops, he gets on and takes out some eggplants he grew himself.

He says, "Here, take some eggplants. You can make banchan (side dishes) with them," and hands the eggplants to the driver. The surprised driver, receiving the unexpected gift, responds gratefully, "You’re giving me so much, thank you."

An elderly man handing over pears he personally harvested. Instagram capture @jhkger

The bus driver who filmed the footage commented, "Today is really unusual. They're not stopping the bus to take a ride," and added, "A drive-thru just before the holiday? I'll enjoy the food and be back," sharing how things unfolded at the time.

The video spread rapidly online. It surpassed 2.47 million views, earned over 120,000 likes, and received more than 1,200 comments.

Many online users particularly noted that the elderly didn’t wait at the roadside to take the bus, but rather to hand the driver produce they had grown themselves when the bus arrived.

Some reacted by saying, "He’s not just a driver, he’s family," "Waiting for the right time to present homegrown produce, made with sweat and hard work, is an act of love," and "It reminds me of grandparents waiting by the door when their grandchildren visit the countryside."

Another commenter wrote, "In rural areas, the bus is almost the only way for the elderly to get around. You can sense how well the driver has cared for them," reflecting on the longstanding bond between the bus driver and the local residents.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.