Through The Wave : Life and Business Stories of Captain Kim Jae-chul

Upon the Release of the Abridged Version _ 6
Prologue : Captain Kim, a Life of Navigating Tall Waves _ 8

Part I The Vestiges of Life
1. A Fateful Encounter _ 17
2. Chasing an Ambitious Dream at Sea _ 35
3. A Gift from the Sea _ 67

Part II The Path to Entrepreneurship
1. An Opportunity Earned through Reputation _ 93
2. First Steps toward Founding a Company _ 105
3. Establishing the Business Foundations _ 113

Part III Business Expansion and Crises
1. Expanding the Business and Seizing Opportunities _ 155
2. A Business Crisis and Learning from Failure _ 179

Part IV Kim Jae-chul’s Management Philosophy and Methods
1. Management Principles and Attitude _ 201
2. Management Methods and Tools _ 207

Part V Public Interest over Private Benet
1. A Dream of Investing in Talent _ 221
2. How to Invest in Staff _ 227
3. The Path to Industry Development _ 231
4. The Path towards the Nation and Public Benefit _ 235

Part VI The Signicance of Kim Jae-chul in Economic and Business History
1. Economic Significance _ 247
2. Business Significance _ 251

Epilogue : Life is about Finding a Way to
Win Even When Times are Tough _ 253

“If there is gap in your knowledge, ll it through learning. If something must be done, give it your best shot. Whatever the task, work hard and seek to go above and beyond.”
These are the deeply rooted beliefs that Kim Jae-chul held dear ever since a young age, and also a promise that he made with himself. When he began fishing in the Indian Ocean, Kim’s results were not spectacular, even accounting for the superior experience and knowledge of the Japanese vessels. However, he continued to put in effort to learn the fishing methods of the Japanese ships and improve his equipment.
“He studied every aspect of the Japanese ships. The Japanese vessels used lines that were close to 80 km in length. In a location where the other ships couldn’t see, he would briey pull up their lines to measure the size of their hooks and compare them to ours. We also had a stronger will than the Japanese fishermen. If they cast 2,000 baited hooks then we would cast 2,500, so of course we were able to land a greater haul. He would always have a sonar detector turned on to track the movements of sh, and measured the water temperature and plankton to come up with the best solution. Kim was also determined to train his crew to use the shing equipment and methods he was familiar with, to a degree that bordered on obsession.”
The sea was not the only thing that Kim learned about. Kim Jae-chul once told the following story.
“Once I became the head of the Fishing Division, the female staff would often bring me red or blue sales statements, but I knew nothing about numbers because I had been trained as a captain. So I started attending a
bookkeeping academy in the evenings to learn accounting.”
If there was something that Kim didn’t know, he would solve the problem with education, which led to his obsession with gures as a business leader later in life.