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INTERVIEW Seasoned shipyard worker behind turtle ship gifted to Trump
A metallic miniature turtle ship that President Lee Jae Myung gave to U.S. President Donald Trump as a gift to commemorate their summit at the White House in Washington, Monday (local time) / Courtesy of presidential office
By Park Jae-hyuk
HD Hyundai assembler spent weeks to craft symbol of Korean shipbuilding
Oh Jeong-cheol, machine assembler at HD Hyundai Heavy Industries / Courtesy of HD Hyundai
A golden miniature turtle ship that President Lee Jae Myung offered to U.S. President Donald Trump to commemorate their first summit at the White House on Monday (local time) has drawn public attention since the presidential office released photos of gifts exchanged by the two leaders.
Modeled after the battleship designed by Adm. Yi Sun-sin of the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910) to repel Japanese naval invasions between 1592 and 1598, the miniature was engraved with Yi's famous quote: "Those who seek death shall live and those who seek life shall die."
The craftsman behind the symbolic gift is Oh Jeong-cheol, a 56-year-old assembler who has worked for HD Hyundai Heavy Industries in Ulsan since 1987.
He was recognized by the president in 2017 as a Master Hand in machine assembling, after earning a title of excellent skilled technician from the Ministry of Employment and Labor in 2014.
Oh said he spent two weeks in August making the miniature, after a request from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in late July. At that time, Seoul and Washington had signed a tariff deal and agreed to revive U.S. shipyards with Korean investments.
"I returned to my workshop in the middle of my vacation on Ulleung Island and managed to meet the deadline by working through my entire holiday," he said. "The plating was done in Seoul. After driving to Seoul at 4 a.m. on Aug. 20, I finished the final assembly and delivered it to the government."
The government asked Oh to include the Korea Master Hand Association's logo, his name and a phrase indicating that the turtle ship was a gift for Trump, while excluding the presidential office's logo.
"Since the turtle ship was a gift for President Trump, I did my best and paid extra attention to the details," Oh said. "I'm proud to contribute to Korea's national interest by making the miniature turtle ship, a symbol of Korean shipbuilding technology that saved Koreans during the Imjin War."
The presidential office said the gift was intended to highlight Korea's outstanding shipbuilding technologies, which the country has inherited from its ancestors.
When the late Hyundai Group founder Chung Ju-yung tried to borrow money to build a shipyard in the 1970s, he also convinced foreign investors by showing a picture of the turtle ship on a 500 won note.
Now working at the shipyard Chung built, Oh said he will continue to fulfill his duty as an on-site technician.