You cannot say you have eaten Korean food without having soybean paste, soy sauce, or pepper paste. 

 A retired army colonel and his wife are now at the center of attention in Soi-myeon, Eumseong-gun, Chungcheongbuk-do with their fermented goods.

 According to the announcement made by Eumseong-gun Office on the 17th, their non-chemical, environment-friendly shiitake fermented goods are selling like hot cakes, with 428 kg in soybean paste flying off the shelves around the Lunar New Year.

 Su-beom Lee (58) and his wife Chun-hee Kim boast of shiitake mushroom's efficacies in lowering cholesterol accumulation in the bloodstream and how it goes so well with Korean fermented goods.

 Adding the shiitake to the soybean paste was Mrs. Kim's idea. Her fermented goods go 30 years back, all the way to 1982.

 While Mr. Lee served as an army officer at Cheorwon, Gangwon-do after his graduation from Korea Military Academy, 33rd Class, his wife started making the fermented pastes on her own from her mother's recipes.

 Once Mrs. Kim got the hang of it, Mr. Lee's fellow officers and brothers-in-arms would come to the couple for dinners after the words of her fermented goods spread. As many also asked to pack some for themselves, Mrs. Kim had to work double-time in the kitchen.

 As a part of her effort to improve the fermented pastes, she started making them with shiitake mushrooms in 2007. Many people suggested turning it into a business.

 Some even offered to provide the couple with real estate for their business, but they were uninterested and only considered going back home after retirement. After his 37 years of service, he came back to his hometown at Eumseong last April.

 Mr. Lee and his wife built Hangeuru Farm at Humi-ri, Soi-myeon and searched all over Korea for the best ingredients for their traditional fermented goods. The couple's motto first and foremost is “three good meals a day for their guests”.