Taegyeong and her two siblings were known as a family of geniuses in North Korea. Thanks to their mom’s hard work, all three of them made it into top universities. But because of their background, they had a tough time with marriage and jobs, and Taegyeong’s dreams and efforts were crushed. No matter how hard she tried, the reality that he couldn’t live freely was a huge disappointment.

"When I turned 31, I felt like there was no hope left, so I decided to risk everything and escape. I had so many dreams and things I wanted to do, so I came to South Korea to start a fresh new life."

Starting fresh in South Korea, Taegyeong had to relearn everything from scratch. She went back to university to continue her studies and worked tirelessly at various jobs to make ends meet. But raising a child on her own was a huge responsibility, and suddenly her health started to decline, making it hard to earn money.

"Still, I never let go of the hope I was holding on to. I wanted to show my fellow defectors that they could succeed by living hard and doing their best. More than anything, I still had dreams I wanted to achieve."

After recovering her health, Taegyeong decided to move to Wando, South Jeolla, at her husband's suggestion to start a farming life in her husband’s hometown. While thinking about what to do in Wando, she started picking mugwort with her husband's relatives. Since her relatives were getting older and couldn’t continue working, they entrusted the mugwort business to Taegyeong.

"In Wando, there are many elderly people like my relatives who can’t do heavy work anymore, but they still need something to keep them busy. So, I thought it would be great if we could all work together whenever we had the chance. But since the supply of mugwort was limited, we couldn’t keep working on it for long. That’s when I decided to start 'Breathing Enzyme Village,' an agricultural company, where we grow Wando’s specialties like mugwort, oysters, and semi-dried fish, so I could work with the local seniors year-round."

Breathing Enzyme Village, the agricultural company in Wando, South Jeolla, processes and sells mugwort, oysters, and semi-dried fish. After picking the mugwort, it's boiled, frozen, and mainly supplied to rice cake shops. The local seniors carefully trim the wild mugwort, known for its strong scent and great taste. They also gather fresh oysters and shuck them, and during the right season, they process live fish into semi-dried fish. Throughout all these steps, the community’s seniors work together and earn an income.

Thanks to this, 20 local seniors have gained work, and two Vietnamese women, who live in the neighborhood, also join in to pick mugwort. From picking and trimming the mugwort and oysters to packaging, the entire village works together to get everything done. Now, it’s become so much of a team effort that the whole process of handling mugwort, oysters, and fish would be impossible without the help of the local seniors and residents. Everyone works happily together.

"I feel so proud when I see the village residents happily joining in and working together. As a North Korean defector, being able to stand tall and help so many people makes me even happier. And continuing to create healthier and tastier products with my neighbors has always been a dream I’ve held onto for a long time."

Taegyeong plans to keep working with the village seniors and locals to spread the word about Wando's specialties. Let's cheer her on as she strives for the independence of Breathing Enzyme Village, so she can keep working with the seniors for many more years to come!