At first,
it was called Manghyang Store.
Back in the days, everyone farmed to make a living. Soldiers often came to our town for military training after a guerrilla unit moved next to the house. That’s when I started the business. I crossed two large streams carrying cinnamon rice cake, mochi, steamed buns, and boiled eggs over my head. Soldiers stood around me to buy food. I only wished I could carry more stuff to sell.
Next,
I set up a pillar made of a board.
After a reconnaissance party moved in, I began to sell instant noodles. Soldiers came to eat noodles while coming and going. They spread the word, and civilians also came. That summer, customers asked me to sell plain noodles. So I did, and people really liked my noodles.
I sold noodles at half the price to soldiers.
An entire company of the army would order noodles, as in 20 or 30 servings at a time. I gave them 10 more servings. Soldiers back then didn’t have a lot of money. That’s why I gave them more for half the price. If the price was 3,000 won, I only asked for 1,500 won.
Manghyang means longing for hometown.
Our grandpa (husband) built this place. This place was his hometown. This town used to belong to North Korea. Manghyang means that we all long for our hometown. Manghyang sounds nice, too. You can make pun and say, customers continue (Manyang) to flow in.