Didier Balistaire and his wife Park Se-mi

Waffles originate from Western Europe. Belgian waffles in particular have become renowned since they were first showcased in the world food exposition held in New York in 1964. Their soaring popularity in Korea in recent years has seen a Belgian-run place frequented by many waffle lovers. "Didi's Gaufres" near Hongik University is run by Belgian Didier Balistaire and his Korean wife Park Se-mi.

The name of the shop means Didi's waffles, as 'gaufres' means waffles in French. There are two kinds of Belgian waffle -- Liege waffles of sweet taste and chewy texture, and Brussels waffles of a lighter and crisp texture, explained Balistaire.

Balistaire and Park met in January 2006. Balistaire was teaching English at the time and Park was running a jewelry shop. "Didier was so funny," said Park, confessing that it was she who fell in love first, "I tend to take everything seriously, but my husband is a very optimistic and fun-loving person." Balistaire said he was attracted to Park because she was "beautiful, kind and classic." The two got married in December of that year, with ceremonies in both Korea and in Belgium.

Balistaire's dream since childhood was to open a waffle shop. To him, there is nothing better than seeing happy people sharing waffles. "Waffles are not waffles if you eat them because of the taste of the toppings," he said. "I developed an ambition to present waffles that I used to eat in Belgium, the ones you can enjoy as they are without adding anything to them." In Belgium he learned how to make waffles in famous shops, and brought in a waffle-maker as well as ingredients from Belgium. "We are very picky about everything that goes into the making of our product, because we want to make waffles that taste truly Belgian," said the couple. The texture of the dough, and the baking time and temperature vary according to weather.

"Korea is a special country to me. It is where I met my loving wife, and realized my childhood dream," said Balistaire.