While visiting South Korea, Miss Ma, who was quite enamored with the technological wizardry of the cooker, was told by the Korean shop clerk that all she had to do was say “cook rice” and the machine would jump into action. Ma, who can’t speak a word of Korean, just assumed the cooker would understand Chinese. As a result, she says she has never used her expensive South Korean souvenir: “It was difficult for me to buy and bring back to China and I can’t even use it. What a hassle!” she said.

The bizarre situation seems readily resolvable, assuming Ma is willing to learn the words “cook” and “rice” in Korean. Baidu Translate gives the Chinese equivalent of “cook rice” in Korean as 밥을 짓다, and even offers audio that will speak the command.

Korean rice cookers are immensely popular in China. During this year’s Spring Festival, sales of rice cookers in South Korean duty-free Fuku shops increased by 110 percent compared to last year. The bulk of the cookers were purchased by visiting Chinese tourists.

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A passenger named Miss Hui was just passing through the waiting hall when she came across a person using an electric rice cooker to make dinner by plugging it into the wall. Calling it “funny” and “strange”, Hui said dinner was just about ready because she could see “steam rising out of it”. Hui said the man looked like a traveler from mainland China.

However, it appears that “making yourself at home” isn’t a sentiment that is welcomed at the airport. Half an hour later when Hui returned to the same spot, the man and his rice cooker were no where to be seen.

You can watch video on Apple Daily’s website here.

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