Chung Ju-yung

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Chung Ju-yung bigraphy, stories - Founders

Chung Ju-yung : biography

November 25, 1915 – March 21, 2001

Chung Ju-yung (Hangul:정주영; Hanja:鄭周永; November 25, 1915 – March 21, 2001) was a South Korean entrepreneur, businessman and the founder of all Hyundai Groups of South Korea.

Life

Early life

Chung Ju-yung was born in Kangwŏn province (now located in North Korea), during a time when Korea was under Japanese rule. Born to a large impoverished family of peasants, he was the eldest out of six children. As a young boy, Chung dreamed of becoming a school teacher but his hopes were cut short because the restrictive environment at the time kept the family stuck in poverty, effectively keeping Chung away from the opportunities of higher education. Despite the setbacks, Chung continued to go to a local Confucian school run by his grandfather whenever his time was not taken up by tasks on the family farm.

Chung’s talent for business became apparent during his trips into town where he would sell wood. The fast paced atmosphere of the town along with the articles in newspapers he read sparked his imagination and he soon grew tired of the poverty that he and his family had to endure. At the age of sixteen, Chung and a friend decided to travel to the city of Chongjin for work in hopes of escaping the harsh realities of farm life. After a 15-mile trek through the most dangerous parts of the Paechun valley, the pair reached the town of Kowon where they took up jobs as construction workers. They worked long hours for low pay but Chung enjoyed the fact that he could independently earn money. Chung & his friend continued the work for two months until Chung’s father found their whereabouts.

Second attempt

The journey that Chung and his friend had embarked on made him realize his passion for civil engineering and gave him a sense of accomplishment that he had been looking for. Once he returned to Asan, he devised another escape plan; this time towards Seoul. With two companions, Chung left for Seoul in April 1933. The journey seemed to be destined for failure, especially since one of the boys had already got caught by a sibling early on. More misfortune came upon them when Chung was conned by a stranger who promised him and his friend jobs but instead took all of the money they had with them. The journey came to an end when Chung’s father found the two staying at Chung’s grandfather’s house nearby.

Third attempt

Chung once again found himself in Asan, where he remained for a year helping his father work on the family farm. Once his duties to the family were complete, Chung decided that it was time to make another attempt at getting out of poverty. He managed to get a train ticket for 70 won by selling one of his father’s cows Once he arrived in Seoul, Chung enrolled himself in a local bookkeeping school hoping to start a career as an accountant. Things went smoothly for Chung for two months, when his father managed to find him and after a mild argument, took him back to Asan.

Rice merchant

In 1933, at the age of 18, Chung decided to make a fourth attempt to escape. He left during the night with a friend who had been trying to escape a forced marriage. Once Chung had reached Seoul, he jumped at any job he could find. He first worked as a laborer at Incheon Harbor, later as a construction worker at Boseong Professional School and then as a handyman for a starch syrup factory.

After working for the syrup factory for nearly a year, Chung managed to land a job as a deliveryman at the Bokheung Rice Store in Seoul. Chung’s new job offered him room for advancement and as Chung became more successful at it, he decided to stay on full-time. Chung eventually won the praise of the rice store’s core customers which impressed the owner so much that he allowed Chung to manage the store’s accounting only after six months on the job. His experiences as the store accountant helped Chung thoroughly gain his business sense.

In 1937, the owner of the rice store became ill and decided that it would be in his best interest to give the store to Chung. At 22 years of age, Chung became the store owner and changed the name of the store to Kyungil Rice Store. The store grew and made good profits until early 1939 when Japan, in its war efforts to secure rice supply to Japan and its military, imposed an oppressive rice-rationing system which forced Korean businesses out of trading rice.