Dongwon chairman's biography published

Dongwon Group chairman and founder Kim Jae-chul

By Yoon Ja-young

Dongwon Group chairman and founder Kim Jae-chul had his biography published, which details his life as well as entrepreneurial spirit and management philosophy. The book was written by Gong Byoung-ho, the country’s most renowned economics and management writer. He interviewed the chairman many times over one year.

Born in Gangjin, South Jeolla Province as the eldest of 11 children in a poor family, the boy chose to go to a fishery college in Busan instead of Seoul National University, in the belief that the ocean would provide big opportunities.

At the age of 23, he got on the Jinam, the first deep-sea fishing boat in the country, to head to the South Pacific. He had no fear as he had nothing to lose.

Two years later, he became the captain of the Jinam II, navigating through the South Pacific and the Indian Ocean, laying the foundation for Korea to become a fishery powerhouse.

Seamen were despised at that time, but Kim says he loved his job as well as the ocean, “which knows of no lie.” “Seamen are tough, but they know no tricks. The ocean tests every creature with rough waves, leaving only the strongest. Those who avoid risks to seek only a calm sea would never fill their ship with fish, but those who do their best in the sea never come back empty-handed.”

Kim founded Dongwon Industries in 1969, which grew into the country’s largest deep-sea fishing company. Now, the 81-year-old man from the sea leads Dongwon Group which had 4.7 trillion won in sales and the Korea Investment Group with 4.6 trillion won in sales last year.

Kim recollects that he learned much from the sea and this constitutes the management philosophy of the group which so far has had no tax evasion or other corruption scandal. He recollects that he climbed up the watch tower in the early morning to pray for the safety of his crewmen. “The vessel looks gigantic to human eyes but to the ocean it is as small as a leaf,” he notes, stressing humbleness.

Lee O-young, former culture minister, wrote in the recommendation for the book, “This biography is an homage not only for an individual but for Korea’s industrial history, which discovered the ocean and opened it up.”