Born of This Land

Preface for the English Edition • viii
Editorial Note • xiv
Prologue • 02

| Chapter 1 |
My Hometown, My Parents • 05
My hometown, Tongcheon • 06
My childhood and leaving my hometown • 13

| Chapter 2 |
The Birth of Hyundai • 19
From dock worker to rice shop owner • 20
An auto-repair shop, a fire, and Ado Service again • 25
Blessing in disguise at the Holdong Mine • 31
Postliberation in Donam-dong • 32
Hyundai Auto Service Center, Hyundai Construction, and the Korean War • 36
The ordeal of Goryeong Bridge • 49
Goryeong Bridge, a blessing in disguise • 54
Success is all about timing and decision-making • 59
Shin-yung, my brother • 65

| Chapter 3 |
My Construction Business • 71
Construction, the key to modernization • 72
Going overseas • 75
Building the Soyang River Dam • 81
The Gyeongbu Expressway: Korea’s main artery • 90
I am a builder • 101

| Chapter 4 |
The Hyundai Motor Company and Hyundai Shipbuilding • 105
The Hyundai Motor Company gets its start • 106
Our first car • 112
Dreaming of a shipyard • 128
In search of credit • 132
Someone crazier than me • 141
Leaving a mark in shipbuilding • 144
To laugh or cry? • 148
The oil shock of 1973 • 152

| Chapter 5 |
Drama in the Middle East and the Milestone Year, 1980 • 157
My near-death experience • 158
To the Middle East we go • 163
High drama in Jubail • 165
Hurdle, after hurdle, after hurdle • 171
Mock us if you will • 177
The “thinking bulldozer” • 183
Giving back to society through the Asan Foundation • 185
Korea’s business leader • 190
A difficult late 1970s • 197
Hyundai Heavy Industries under siege • 200
A dark period • 206

| Chapter 6 |
The 1988 Olympics and Korea’s Fifth Republic • 209
President Park Chung-hee and Korea’s bid for the 1988 Olympics • 210
Going all out in Baden-Baden • 214
Two years and two months: serving on the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee • 225
Reclaiming land for a small nation • 231
The bombing in Rangoon • 240
Growing pains • 244

| Chapter 7 |
Mt. Geumgang and Siberia • 251
The evolution of the Mt. Geumgang project • 252
Meeting Gorbachev • 261
Claiming a stake in Siberia • 264

| Chapter 8 |
Loving My Country, Loving the People • 271
Human capital above all else • 272
Hyundai is wealthy, not I • 274
Businesses contribute to their nation • 278
The bigger the better • 283
When will the private sector lead the economy? • 288
Fundamentals over frippery • 292

| Chapter 9 |
My Philosophy, the Spirit of Hyundai • 295
The Hyundai spirit • 296
No more corruption, please • 298
Money and wealth are not the same • 301
Frugality and honesty lead to wealth • 303
Positive thinking is the road to happiness • 308
The conditions for happiness • 313
An ordinary wife • 316
For the nation • 321

Epilogue • 326
Appendix A: Photos of Chung Ju-yung with Family • 329
Appendix B: Chronology • 337
Notes • 353

My father’s autobiography was originally published in 1997. The book has been the standard reference for his life story ever since. It seemed only natural that an English edition would follow. Initially, however, I was hesitant about having the book translated because I was not sure a translation could do justice to the author’s inimitable style of writing which so accurately conveyed the way he thought and acted. It has been many years in the making, but there is now a translation that I dare say does at least partial justice to the original and that I am happy and honored to preface.
My father was a nation-builder, figuratively and literally. He built so much of the infrastructure and landmarks in Korea that we still use and see around us today. He was a businessman who built one of the most successful companies in the world. He established schools, hospitals and the largest philanthropic organization in Korea. He brought the 1988 Seoul Olympics to Korea. He was a leader of inter-Korean reconciliation, undertaking daring initiatives that thawed the once frozen relationship.
[…]
The Korea where he grew up was still a colony of Imperial Japan. He was 30 years old when the country became independent. Even after independence, South Korea was a small war-torn country on the frontline of the Cold War gone hot. Its geopolitics was matched by economic as well as political underdevelopment. The country seemed to hold little promise. However, my father had trust in himself and in the Korean people who he said are “sincere, virtuous, and kind in the pursuit of excellence.” This book chronicles my father’s struggles as he faced the challenges of being on the frontlines of South Korea’s budding, fragile economy.
Today, South Korea is the seventh country in the world with a population of more than 50 million to reach USD 30,000 per capita income level. Its per capita income in purchasing power parity (PPP) terms is similar to Japan’s. That my father and others of his generation were somehow able to hew to the principles of liberal democracy and free market economy and lead us to where we are today is a true testament to their character and the enormity of their achievements.
[…]
My father lived a full life. As he looked back on his life in his later years, he said, “As a businessman and a hard working laborer born of this land, I feel an infinite sense of pride that I have contributed my share to this country’s breakthrough…. I believe that 90 percent of my life has been full of joy and meaning. I have truly lived well.”
I miss his wisdom, his exuberant optimism, and his ability to rise to any occasion. Most of all, I miss him as only an adoring son can.
Preface by Chung Mong Joon