Burned out at Samsung, they quit together

Kay worked as a software developer at Samsung while his childhood friend Lily was a flight attendant. Both quit their jobs on the same day in 2017, coincidentally, to travel the world.

“I'm quitting my job to travel the world!”

Two years traveling Russia to the Americas

They funded their travels with savings and spent two years from 2018 to 2020 crossing Russia, Europe, North America, and South America. They loved Calgary so much they spent an extra year there.

Farming has pride in Canada, shame in Korea

In Calgary, they noticed local farmers took pride in their work. Back in South Korea, farming often carries a sense of shame. Lily's father was a farmer, so she always valued her roots differently.

“During that year in Calgary, we noticed how proud the local farmers were of their work.”

Deodeok was impossible to find abroad

Lily noticed that deodeok, the bonnet bellflower root her family grew, wasn't exported widely and was rarely cooked the same way outside Korea. This gap became an opportunity.

“Traveling abroad, Lily noticed that deodeok was impossible to find abroad.”

They returned to run the family farm

In 2020, they moved back to Yesan to take over Lily's family's deodeok farm, which had been running for 45 years. They rebranded it as Deodeokmong, or Dream of Deodeok, in late 2022.

Half their produce was too ugly to sell

During their first two years, they threw out almost 50% of their harvest because it wasn't attractive enough for market. They pivoted to making butter cookies, lattes, and scones with the rejected produce.

“we threw out almost 50% of our produce because it wasn't attractive enough for the market.”

Government grant and Seoul pop-ups changed everything

A local government small-business grant of about 70,000 dollars funded new equipment and a rebrand. Soon Hyundai Department Store invited them to host pop-up markets in Seoul, and resorts featured their products.