Ben turns a Tumen River escape into a 3 billion won abalone business

Volunteered for the military to leave parents, followed by a mass defection across the Tumen River

Lee Eun-young grew up under strict control under her father, who was an official at a company in Hwanghae Province. To leave her parents' side, she volunteered for a military unit in Hamgyong Province immediately after graduating high school. However, her military service was extremely harsh as it coincided with the 'Arduous March,' a period of severe food shortages in North Korea. Ultimately, she chose a life-threatening mass defection across the Tumen River along with 10 fellow soldiers.

Escaping human trafficking with help from the Defense Security Support Command and settling in South Korea

The escape process through China was not smooth. She faced the crisis of human trafficking, including being confined and subjected to forced labor by traffickers who approached her with the lure of employment. Amidst the threat of being sent back to North Korea, she was able to dramatically set foot on South Korean soil with the help of officials from the Defense Security Support Command (formerly the Defense Security Command), who provided support for issuing fake identification and visas.

Building a 3 billion won annual revenue abalone business by working as a tour bus driver

After settling in South Korea, Lee Eun-young started an abalone farming business in Gangjin, Jeolla Province, focusing on hands-on sales. By actively engaging in business—visiting tour bus drivers to hand out business cards and even singing for them—she grew into an abalone CEO currently recording 3 billion won in annual sales through direct transactions with group tourists.

On Channel A's 'Now On My Way to Meet You,' which airs this Sunday, the 26th, at 8:50 PM, Lee Eun-young will appear alongside Park Jin Hee, who ran a cosmetics business with her, and Jeon Cheol-woo, a first-generation naengmyeon CEO.