Dojung was born in Gyeongseong, a coastal city on the East Sea. She was physically gifted and played girls' soccer in middle and high school. She would wake up at 4 a.m. every day to practice and stay after school to sweat it out on the field. However, Dojung had to give up the sport when it came time to join the professional soccer team.

"I was shocked to realize that pro senior athletes were being sent to labor camps after playing overseas. So, I quit soccer and tried to become a military officer. However, my father suddenly collapsed. I had three younger brothers and a sick mother, so I had no choice but to cross the Tumen River to China to earn money."

Although she chose to go to China for the sake of her family, Ten years in China was a struggle for Dojung. She had to evade Chinese security forces and live with the fear of forced repatriation. Her son was born with a congenital heart disease, so Dojung took up street vending to pay for her son's medical treatment.

One day, Dojung had a chance to go to South Korea. Her nephew, who had defected to South Korea, contacted her. She decided to come to South Korea and arrived in 2007. She had a lot of things that she wanted to do in South Korea, but it wasn't easy to settle in.

"I was worried and nostalgic for my family and children back home, but I also had to overcome cultural differences and prejudices from South Koreans. For example, I was starving for three days because I had no money at the beginning of my settlement. Also, I was fired from my part-time job after ten days because I refused the restaurant owner's unreasonable demands. I can talk about it now, but every day was hell and full of sighing back then."

During that difficult time, she met her current husband. With the support of her husband and in-laws, Dojung brought her son from China and built a happy family with two daughters. Everything seemed to be going well. But the family was strapped for cash and unemployed when her husband lost his job. Dojung had to find a way to make money while raising her children, and that's when one thing came to mind: dried pollock.

"I grew up eating fish near the East Sea coast. I used to dry some pollock to eat because I missed the food from my hometown. Sometimes, I shared my dried pollock with people around me, and as it went viral, more and more people came to me for my dried pollock. They said it was delicious, so I took my fortune and started a pollock business."

There is a difference between North Korean and South Korean dried pollock. In North Korea, pollock is caught fresh from the sea, washed in seawater, and dried to make pollock, which is why North Korean pollock is delicious and has a nutty flavor. On the other hand, South Korean pollock is washed and dried with Russian frozen pollock, which destroys the saltwater flavor and texture of the meat when thawed, resulting in mushy meat.

Dojung faced many trials and tribulations to bring out the natural taste of North Korean dried pollock because she could not find fresh pollock in South Korea. For instance, a sudden winter rain caused maggots to infest the well-dried pollock. Another year, the pollock stored in the underground parking lot of the apartment building because there was no storage space became moldy during the summer rainy season. Repeated failures led to mounting debts, disappointments, and bad luck. Dojung lost hope and fell into despair, but her mother-in-law's sharp words brought her back to her senses.

"Did you come to Korea empty-handed and try to make money for free without paying so much in tuition? And the children you gave birth to are your responsibility, so if you want to die, die with them. Mother-in-law was right. I wanted to make 10 billion, but I was too pathetic and unjust to risk my life and my children's future over a debt of 180 million won, so I got up and started again."

Dojung eventually created a brand of dried pollock called Haehsum Clean Pollock and established the Clean Harmony Cooperative to work with residents and people from his hometown. Besides the farming season, local people earn income by producing dried pollock at Clean Harmony. She also hires North Korean defectors to work with him.

"Although it's a small business now, I still have hopes and dreams. I want to become an entrepreneur who can help and love more neighbors in the future and promote my hometown's pollock specialty until the day when Koreans enjoy eating pollock. Please support my challenge with an effective donation!"