Made in Korea: Chung Ju Yung and the Rise of Hyundai Book

Just a few decades ago, South Korea was an agrarian country, a backwater of international business. The average lifespan was 47 years, the average annual income less than a hundred dollars a year. By the end of the 20th century, Korea had risen to become the world's 11th-largest economy, the eighth largest trading partner of the U.S. and a global leader in construction, semiconductors, shipbuilding and steel production. Steers, a University of Oregon business professor who has written two previous books on Korean business issues, believes that a big part of that country's rise is good old fashioned entrepreneurship. What Americans admire so much about Bill Gates and Phil Knight--the vision, the tenacity, the refusal to back down--is actually found all over the world. In Korea, it's best personified by Chung Ju Yung, who created Hyundai Business Group. By the time Chung retired in 1991, Hyundai accounted for 16 percent of Korea's gross domestic product and 12 percent of its total exports. Chung founded Hyundai (it means "modern" in Korean) in 1946 as a car-repair company, then quickly moved into the construction business. He became the U.S. army's favourite contractor during the Korean War and after the war expanded Hyundai's ventures to include electronics, shipbuilding, oil refining, securities and investments and automobiles. Almost any businessman can draw lessons from Chung's success. Some of his management tactics would be considered extreme today--he once hiked through the woods in the middle of the night, waking up workers at a construction site to check on their progress--but his ability to seize business opportunities, forge alliances with the prevailing powers and deliver upon promises made is certainly inspirational. --Lou Schuler, Amazon.comRead More