It is a story of Hyundai & its founder.
When Chung escaped home in 1933, he never thought he would build a $35,000,000,000 business – a story of grit, discipline, and dire need.
But a stolen cow and a rice shop would lead him to Hyundai.
Chung ju-yung was born in a North Korean village in 1915.
His parents were poor farmers. While his dad cultivated rice while his mom managed the household and raised silkworms for extra money.
Chung Ju-yung grew up so poor he had to eat tree-bark to survive.
He grew up poor but managed to graduate from 5th grade. You may be thinking… yea that isn’t hard.
But this was an impressive accomplishment for a boy born in a small town and we are talking about 1920s!
And he was fond of reading books , he says in his autobiography that all the shortfall of his formal education was compensated by his voracious reading habits.
Aspirations & Choices !
All Chung wanted was to be a teacher.
But the problem was that his family could not afford to pay for more school.
So he had two choices:
Be a lifelong farmer Or Run away from home !
Dire Need and Actions !
So Chung tried leaving home 4 separate times.
At 16, he escaped for 2 months to do construction work… His father dragged him back.
At 18, he escaped to South Korea (part of Japan back then) but his dad found him hiding at grandpa’s house.
The 3rd time he stole and sold the family’s cow for the equivalent of $50 today. He was rich now! So he took a train, escaped and enrolled in accounting school.
Not so fast… His Dad found him and took him back home again.
The 4th time Chung runs away… he was gone for good.
In 1934, he escaped to South Korea and worked as a bike boy delivering rice.
The Grit , The Success and The Roller-Coaster Ride
He does so well at the rice shop that his boss gives him the store.At this point, he was just 24 years old.
He renamed his shop & determines to make it the ‘Best Rice Shop’ in the entire country.
This was the big break!
Not so fast.
The rice store prospered until 1939 when Japanese took over the country & shut down his shop as they wanted to ration all the rice-supplies.
Angry about the loss of the rice store Chung opened up an auto repair shop.
The best part !
He knew nothing about the cars. But in 3 years, Chung grew from 20 to 70 employees.
Somehow his shop caught fire and everything was destroyed.
But he does not give up. He goes to a money lender & borrows some funds to restart. Business becomes successful and he thinks he can now open a chain of shops.
Then in 1943, Chung is shut down again by the government.
Next 4 years, he did lot of labor jobs here and there.
Inspiration from Bedbugs!
No Looking Back
While doing small jobs, his mind was always thinking of starting something of his own .
4 years later, he finally did it. With 50 K savings , Hyundai Civil Industries is born.
And the story of Hyundai was just beginning.
Hyundai starts as a construction company. They earn big government contracts to build bridges and shipyards. But they eventually turn into a business conglomerate. Building damns, highways and even nuclear power plants.
8 years later Hyundai exports its first car to the world: the Hyundai Pony The Hyundai Pony becomes a point of national pride for South Korea. By 1985, Hyundai has manufactured their millionth car.
Chung ju-yung died in 2001 at the age of 84 but Hyundai lives on as a $35 billion automotive empire.
Summary : the story of Hyundai and Mr. Chung :
• Too poor to pursue his dream of teaching
• Tries and fails to escape home 4 times
• Government shuts down his rice shop
• Government shuts down auto repair shop
Sill he could make it big.
Let’s be like Chung: Unstoppable in pursuing the dream , you don’t need a vision , you just need discipline , grit , and determination and who knows that you might end-up making a great story.
Let’s close this article by one of my favorite quotes from Chung Juyung ,”The people who have strong need to succeed will have unlimited potential”.
You can read more about him by clicking on this link ” Chung Ju-yung” or you can read his autobigraphy “Born Of This Land” .
Or you can listen to this beautiful podcast on the same by David Senra .
Few more quotes from the book :
“Half-measures, compromises,cutting corners, short cuts or being realistic – these words don’t exist in my world”.
“Do it untill nothing more can be done.”
24 claps
You don’t need a vision , you just need discipline , grit , and determination.
Well said, Pran ji.
Nice write-up as usual.
An inspiring story of vision, resilience, and determination! Chung Ju-yung’s journey from humble beginnings to founding Hyundai is a testament to what unwavering perseverance can achieve. Thank you for sharing this motivating piece!