Hyundai Motor Company History || Chung Ju-Yung

How a Poor Korean Boy Built Hyundai?

This article is divided into two part. because we don't want to that you bored. we want you to read easily. if you read easily first part this. Then if you want to read more the link of second part is, in end of the article.

Part 1:-

Imagine a poor boy in a small village. who works in the field for 17 hours every day, just for one square meal a day. Now imagine that this boy became the owner of a car company worth lakh crore in the future. This is the story of the Founder of Hyundai, Chang Ju-Yung. Chung Ju-Yung was born in 1915 in a small village in Korea. His wanted to become a school teacher. But his family was so poor that he couldn't study much. As a child, he had to work in the field with his family. But after working so hard, sometimes, they couldn't even feed each other. forget about proper clothes and medical care. Chung had to go to a nearby city to sell wood. There he saw that people had enough food and clothes without toiling in the field whole day. Seeing all that made him really sad and frustrated. He wanted a better life for himself.

Chung Quietly Left City

One day, he read in the newspaper that a big construction site in a city nearby, needs laborers. This news motivated him to do something. In 1932, at the age of 16, Chung made a surprising decision. He was going to run away to the city. One night, Chung quietly left for the city with his friend. He reached Kowon city after walking about 160 km, and started working as a construction laborer. It was hard work for measly wages. But Chung was happy because he was able to earn independently for the first time in his life. Life kept continued like this for about two months, until he got caught. Chung's father found him and he had to come back to farming. His family was happy to have him back but Chung was not. These two months had ignited a passion for construction and civil engineering in Chung.

Also, he knew that he would never be able to beat poverty by working in the fields. And that's why he tried to run away two more times. But each time, his father found him. Finally, in 1934, at the age of 18, he attempted his fourth escape, and this time, no one stopped him. He reached Seoul which is the capital of South Korea today. He did whatever work he found there. First, a construction laborer, then a factory worker, and finally, he got a delivery boy's job in Bokhyang Rice Store. Customers and the shop owners were so Impressed with his work that in just six months, he became the store's manager. After this, Chung worked very hard to grow the shop. In 1937, store's owner fell seriously ill and took a surprising decision. Thanks to Chung's hard work, he handed the store over to him.

World War II Era

At the age of 22, Chung had become the Owner of a business from an employee. In the next two years, Chung worked even harder, built trust and reputation in the market, which helped him grow his business. Everything was going well, but then suddenly a tragedy occurred. It was World War II era, and Japan ruled Korea. Japan wanted sufficient rice supply for their army during the war, and it overtook all the rice shops in Korea, including Chung's rice shop. All of his hard work was destroyed at once. Chang was very sad, but he didn't give up.

"If I put my heart and soul sincerely into whatever work I am doing, I will surely succeed."

With this thought, he started looking for a business that the Japanese Government couldn't control. Soon, he started focusing on the car repair business. In 1940, he took a loan of 3,000 won and opened an Ado service garage. But this time, he was so unfortunate that the garage burnt down just after a month of opening and everything was burnt to ashes. Chung's situation was very difficult. He had to pay his loan and compensate his customers for the loss. A normal person could easily give-up in such a situation.

Repair Chung's Garage 

But like always, Chung faced a problem head first. He took another Loan of 3,500 won and built an even better garage. Chung realized that the biggest problem for the customers was the long time period it took to get their cars repaired. That's why, he made speed his main focus. Where his competitors took 20 days for a certain repairs, Chung's garage would do them in 5 days. His garage was so successful that in the next 3 years, i.e. till 1943, his workforce grew up to 80 employees. 

By this time, Chung had repaid all of loan and settled his family in Seoul. Business was growing rapidly but then another disaster struck. Japan needed to make war related equipment for World War II. 

So, Japan took his garage's ownership and merged it with a local steel plant. Once again, his business was taken away from him. Chang had come back to square one. He was forced to return to his village  with his family. But this time, he had 50,000 won saved. And he was confident that he would establish another business. With the end of World War II, Japan's rule in Korea also ended. 

Soviet Union's

Northern areas of Korea had Soviet Union's influence and America's in the southern area. Both of them fought the war against Japan in World War II. That's why Korea was divided between North and South Korea.

The rise of South Korea's mighty conglomerate

Chung came back to Seoul in 1946 and restarted his car repair business. Business was old but this time, the name was new. Hyundai Auto Service. Hyundai means modern. The car repair business was going on well, and that's when Chung notice that America was constructing buildings for its military forces. He spotted a big opportunity in the construction business. He didn't have much experience in construction. But he still had that passion for construction that he had since he worked as a laborer in the past. 

That's why, at the age of 31 in 1947, he created the Hyundai Civil Works Company and entered the construction business. He got many small projects in the beginning, but by the 1950s started, his company was getting major construction projects. And now this was his major business. Everything was going fine, but we saw another twist in the tale. In June 1950, North Korea attacked South Korea. North Korean troops were very close to Seoul. That's why Chung had to escape to Pusan with all of his savings. But even after such a big crisis, Chung didn't give up. 

At that time, US Army was fighting North Korean army along with South Korea. And they needed tents, warehouses, and army headquarters. Chung observed that Americans had no shortage of money. They just wanted reliable and timely delivery. And Chung gave it to them. He started with a small team and adopted the "Can Do" Moto. If the price is right, they would any construction project. A war was underway and he had to face many problems and many losses. But once he gave his word, he never left any project in the middle. Due to this reliability, he developed strong relationship with Americans. 

The war ended in 1952, but Chung continued getting contracts from America. Later, in order to rebuild the country, South Korean government began building bridges, dams, and roads rapidly. Hyundai played a major role in all this and had exponential growth in the business. 

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