Chung Ju Yung: From the boy who stole cows to the mighty Hyundai empire

From a peasant boy with nothing and no knowledge of business, Chung Ju Yung built the mighty Hyundai (meaning "Modern") kingdom, becoming one of the most respected entrepreneurs in corporate history. Asia...

In 30 years, he turned Hyundai into a giant corporation engaged in almost every major industry, from construction, shipbuilding, electronics to cars; providing jobs for more than 170,000 Koreans.

Stealing a cow from his father and selling it as a toll to escape from North Korea

Chung Ju Yung was born in 1915 in Asan, Tongchon (North Korea), he was the eldest of eight poor farmers. Chung Ju Yung's education only ended in elementary school, when his father dropped Chung Ju Yung from school to help support the family. After working in the fields, Ju-Yung worked as a railway worker. Finally, Chung Ju Yung ran away from home to the South. Being caught by his father twice, Chung Ju Yung succeeded the third time, at the age of 16. Ju Yung covers his trip to the South by stealing a cow from his father and selling it as a toll. In Seoul, Ju Yung applied to a rice shop with errands and delivered goods to customers. In the end, Ju-Yung saved enough money to open her own rice shop. During the Japanese occupation of Korea, it was illegal for a local to own a food business. In order to avoid the eyes of the Japanese soldiers, Ju Yung drove the delivery van himself, as if working for someone else...

In 1940, Chung Ju Yung borrowed money from a friend to open a garage to repair cars, even though he didn't know anything about mechanics or cars. Ju Yung's familiar vehicle is a bicycle. The business collapsed. In 1946 (after the two Koreas officially separated), Ju Yung reopened the car repair business, naming the store Hyundai. In 1947, Chung Ju Yung founded Hyundai Civil Industries with 11 employees (including an "engineer" who was a teacher of mechanical engineering). Thanks to his younger brother Chung Ju Yung (who is fluent in English), Ju Yung won many construction contracts for the US military in Korea. By the end of the war (1953), Hyundai Construction had become one of the largest construction companies in Korea. Ju Yung started thinking about larger projects (including the work to repair the Indo-gyo bridge in Seoul). With a growing reputation, Hyundai was noticed and invited to bid for many government projects, especially during the Park Chung Hee era. Even though he was a famous businessman in Seoul at that time, Ju Yung still worked until dark and always walked 5 km from the office to his home, resting place and spare parts warehouse.

Use a 500 won bill to borrow 50 million USD

In 1976, Hyundai launched its first car model, the Pony brand (Hyundai first exported cars to the US in 1986). In the early 1970s, Hyundai expanded strongly. With his wife (Byun Jung-Suk), Ju-Yung brought 8 sons and a daughter into the group. When embarking on the construction of the shipbuilding industry, Ju-Yung went from bank to bank to foreign bank to get a loan, but was rejected.

Undeterred, Ju-Yung went to England. Entering Barclays Bank in London, he pulled out a 500 won bill with a picture of a ship the Koreans had built in the 16th century, 300 years before the British built their first iron train. Chung Ju Yung emphasized that the Korean shipbuilding industry would have gone far a long time ago had it not been hindered by the Chosun dynasty. With the 500 won note, Chung Ju Yung was loaned 50 million USD from Barclays!

Tremendous success

The 1973 oil boom was one of the launch pads that put Hyundai on the list of world giants. Chung Ju Yung quickly recognized the opportunity in the Gulf. Before the 1970s, Korea did not have a ship larger than 10,000 tons, but the advertisement of Hyundai by President Park Chung Hee helped bring about the first contract for two 240,000-ton tankers ordered from Greece. Followed by orders from Hong Kong and Japan. In 1975, the Korean government ordered that all oil imported from the Middle East be carried by Korean tankers. As a result, by the end of the 1980s, Hyundai had become the largest shipbuilder in the world.

By the 1980s, Hyundai was the largest family business in Korea. From Hyundai Engineering (construction), Hyundai Motors (car), Hyundai Merchant Marine (shipbuilding), Chung Ju Yung founded Hyundai Electronics - which less than 10 years later became the world's second largest computer chip manufacturer. In 1985, he ordered his younger brother, Chung Se-Yung, to be responsible for setting up a car factory in the US. In 1986, the first Hyundai Excels, with Italian design and Mitsubishi engines, started rolling on American highways.

Before the 1997 Asian financial crisis, Hyundai's annual sales exceeded $90 billion, and Chung Ju Yung - with a fortune of $6 billion - became the richest man in Korea. Before transferring the chairmanship of the corporation to his children in 1987, businessman-poet-and "karaoke singer" Chung Ju Yung had successfully built the largest shipbuilding company and a luxury car company. Korean head. Ju Yung's secret? "With my initiative, diligence and ability, I have led the company to develop" - Chung Ju Yung told Time magazine in 1992.

Ambitious

With convincing achievements, Chung Ju Yung was awarded a medal from Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain; and in 1982, he became the first non-American businessman to receive an honorary doctorate in business from George Washington University. Domestically, Chung Ju Yung consecutively held the chair of the Federation of Korean Industries for nearly a decade and was one of the participants in negotiations to help Seoul win the right to host the 1988 Olympics. Like most self-made billionaires After founding, Chung Ju Yung began to dream of a politician. In 1992, with a personal fortune of $4 billion (the richest man in Korea at that time), he announced his candidacy for president. His United People's Party won 16% of the vote and Ju-Yung's political career would have gone far had it not been impeded by the Kim Young-sam government's accusations that Ju-Yung used corporate funds for war. campaign translation.

The dream is incomplete

Throughout his life, the dream of returning to his homeland always haunted Chung Ju Yung. In 1998, he was the first South Korean citizen to cross the North Korean border unaccompanied by an army. He stole a cow from his father to make a toll road to the South, starting a career from scratch; and then, Chung Ju Yung - Korea's most successful businessman - led a cow across Panmunjom back to the North to "repay" the old tearful debt.

It is one of 1,001 cows (with a document stating 500) given to farmers by Chung Ju Yung in Asan village, where his umbilical cord is buried. One of Ju-Yung's main projects during the trip was to negotiate with the Government of Pyongyang on the construction of a tourist resort at Mount Keumgang in the North Korean territory. However, in 2001, Chung Ju Yung passed away. The next morning, the Korean press simultaneously wrote about Chung Ju Yung, about his arduous career path and perseverance, about his unique concept of management and about a father who successfully guided his 8 sons. I entered the market. Comparable to Konosuke Matsushita (founder of National/Panasonic corporation), Chung Ju Yung is truly a great man.

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