Hyundai’s founder went from the son of a poor farmer to the one of the world’s richest men.

On our of company visits for the day were Jinsan Marine Management Co., Ltd. and Hyundai Heavy Industries. We were up and at it at 6am. We said our goodbye to Gyeongju, and headed towards our companies and Ulsan.

Jinsan Marine Management was very kinda and well prepared for our visit. They had several things already laid out for us, like snacks, a program guide of the slides they were to present on, and an agenda for the day. We had the president himself come to present to us, and although at times it was a bit difficult to understand him, it was a good overview of the company’s profile. We were able to see that Jinsan Marine Management has four sales divisions focusing on Europe, North Asia, Asia, and Japan.

We were given a tour around the warehouse of the firm to see the cargo and how things were being packaged for shipping.

Next was Hyundai Heavy Industries. We were given a quick tour around a memorial hall that featured the history of Hyundai and its expansion.

Our bus rode around the Hyundai shipbuilding area, and we were able to see the massive boats being as they were being constructed.

The Hyundai site was a whirlwind of information, and I would’ve like to stayed longer because I saw some quotes about the beliefs of the founder of Hyundai that I found interesting. I may be mistaken, but one thing I thought was intriguing was the founder’s belief in working hard, and then letting supernatural forces – like religion – take its course above all that.

I will be sure to look more into the history of Hyundai, and more specifically the founder of Hyundai: Chung Ju-yung.

I did a quick search about him, and this statement of his is one to reflect on.

“Conviction creates indomitable efforts. This is the key to (true) miracles…Man’s potential is limitless.”