Even Lung Cancer High Cost Couldnt Break Will to Invent

The dedication and passion of inventors participating in the 2024 Women Inventors Expo in Korea are so impressive that they promise a bright future for female innovation in our country.

Lee Kyung-ja CEO of Hongju Fermented Foods successfully challenged the impossible task of making fermented soybean blocks using red beans. Five years ago she underwent major surgery for lung cancer leaving significant surgical scars on her back. After surgery during cancer treatment she struggled with mental exhaustion and physical weakness.

She embarked on finding a detoxification method herself. After researching the Dongui Bogam (a Korean medical book) she found that red beans seemed to have excellent detoxification properties. Immersed in her research to the point of forgetting her pain she eventually discovered that peeling the skin off red beans and roasting the white core produced a remarkably effective detoxification effect when consumed.

Lee Kyung-ja ultimately developed Patjang a paste made from red beans.

Since then she has expanded her research to create pastes from various ingredients that can be used as raw materials for fermented foods. The variety of options such as mung beans Korean bellflowers and acorns has increased enriching the flavors.

Meanwhile her cancer has completely healed. Doctors officially declared her cured.

Originally a counselor Lee Kyung-ja couldnt bear to see patients suffering from poor appetite during hospice counseling. When she asked them What do you feel like eating? some longed for the soybean paste stew their mothers used to make.

Cooking it with care made it delicious. As more and more patients applied for her dishes she inadvertently became involved in business. Eventually there were tens of thousands of places making and selling soybean paste.

In the course of differentiating her research she reached the point of making fermented soybean blocks using red beans. Consumer responses have been overwhelmingly positive so far generating high expectations for the future.

Kim Su-jeong a researcher from CocoPa who came from Yeongju Gyeongsangbuk-do spent four years and her own money developing a tool to easily sew hanbok patterns by hand.

Whether making a hanbok or a Western suit the first step is to create a pattern. Traditionally this required extensive experience and refined skills to become a master pattern maker but nowadays fewer people are willing to invest that much time in such expertise.

Having studied and taught patterns for 32 years Kim Su-jeong created a device to teach patterns effectively in an age where peoples patience is dwindling. It consists of two thin wooden boards layered together allowing the boards to move horizontally and vertically to fit a persons body shape.

No one had thought of or planned to create such a pattern device so its reception in the market is eagerly awaited.

To prevent the screws from slipping she had to shape the screw heads into squares to fit into the slots. Intricate lines and numbers were engraved using laser cutting for this pattern. In order to create this pattern Kim had to purchase a laser cutting machine and master the technology herself.

Thus Kim the researcher has painstakingly crafted this pattern device by hand at home and the cost incurred so far has exceeded tens of millions of won.

She not only sews human clothing patterns but has also devised patterns for pet clothing.

No matter how much science and technology advance and artificial intelligence surpasses human knowledge people will always need to wear clothes. Devices that simplify pattern making will continue to be essential.

Over 20 countries participated in this years Women Inventors Expo. The Peruvian team invented winter clothes like alpaca to keep warm in cold weather and showcased them at the Women Inventors Expo.