Lee Myung-Bak - The Uncharted Path: The Autobiography of Lee Myung-Bak

Copyright 2011 by Lee Myung-Bak

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Originally published in 1995 by Gimmyoungsa.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Yi, Myong-bak.

The uncharted path : the autobiography of Lee Myung-Bak / Lee Myung-Bak.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

(hard cover : alk. paper) 1. Yi, Myong-bak. 2. PresidentsKorea (South)Biography. 3. MayorsKorea (South)SeoulBiography. 4. ExecutivesKorea (South)Biography. 5. Korea (South)Politics and government2002- 6. Seoul (Korea)Politics and government. I. Title.

DS922.4642.Y47A3 2011

951.9505092dc23

[B]

2011031824

Printed and bound in the United States of America.
BG 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

To my mother, who taught me to persevere, to serve, to love, and to hope
To my wife, Yoon-ok, my dearest May Queen
and
To all the unforgettables

Contents

INTRODUCTION

All we had back then were a desperate yearning to live a better life and a fierce sense of urgency. And this is what allowed us to do what many considered impossible.

Today, the Republic of Korea (or South Korea) boasts the 13th-largest economy in the world. It produces cell phones and semiconductors and builds giant ships and luxury cars, along with the worlds tallest skyscrapers and longest bridges. Its athletes, artists, musicians, and scientists are renowned throughout the world. And these remarkable achievements happened during the last sixty years, all while South Korea was struggling with North Korea. People have tried to explain this phenomenon. How did this tiny nation, which has been brutally colonized by one of its neighbors for close to forty years and ravaged by a devastating war, manage to become what it is today? Ask any number of people and you will get as many different answers, none of them right or wrong. This book is an attempt to create a small part in this giant and colorful mosaic that the Korean people have been collectively making for the last sixty years. I was privileged to have the opportunity to take part in this epic journey.

I spent twenty-seven years of my life at Hyundai, helping to transform a small local construction firm into a global corporation employing 170,000 people worldwide, with an annual revenue of more than $40 billion. As a thirty-five-year-old CEO, I roamed the world, from the deserts of Saudi Arabia, to the jungles of Thailand, to the Siberian tundra, seeking new opportunities and opening up new frontiers. I met with visionaries and statesmen as well as strongmen and dictators. Back home, I had to deal with an authoritarian regime, which was not only challenging but, at times, dangerous. Once I was almost killed in a distant land by a mob trying to rob our office.

Koreas history has been never easy. Colonization was followed by war, then military dictatorships, internecine struggles, ideological battles, regional divisions, and social unrestthe challenges at times seemed overwhelming. Being a businessman during such times was not just about making money, it was about making our country strong. Thousands of men went overseas as miners and construction workers to give their children a better shot at life; the money they sent back saved Korea from bankruptcy following the first Arab oil embargo in 1973. Thousands of women went to Germany as nurses so that they could send back money to help their young siblings go to school. These children later became teachers, musicians, and scientists.

Sacrificethis is what makes our mosaic so beautiful and rich. I rarely had time to spend with my family. All we had back then were a desperate yearning to live a better life and a fierce sense of urgency. And this is what allowed us to do what many considered impossible.

This book was first published in Korean in 1995. In 2011 it was updated and expanded to include my life after leaving Hyundai. The purpose of this book is not to dwell on the past or tell others how to live their livesinstead, I hope it will help inspire people everywhere to realize their own dreams of becoming statesmen, entrepreneurs, and leaders of the future. I believe our world will become a better place as our young leaders explore the deepest oceans, find new cures for diseases, and develop new sources of clean energy. Challenges often kindle fear, but they also bring out the best in people. Our finest hour is still ahead of us. So, to all of our future leadersgood luck and enjoy the wonderful journey.

Lee Myung-bak

THE STRENGTH OF POVERTY

My very first memories are of my hometown and its marketplace, the pungent odor of fish entrails, the smell of the sea, and excruciating poverty. Poverty clung to my family like a leech, and it would be many years before we were able to free ourselves from its miserable grip.

Homecoming

In August 1945, with Japan defeated by the Allied forces, Korea finally gained independence after thirty-six years of colonial rule imposed by the Japanese. In November of that year, my familymy parents, four older siblings, myself, and my younger sisterpacked our belongings, ready to head back home from Osaka, Japan. We had some old clothes and a small amount of money that we had managed to savethis was all that we had to show for the years of humiliation, servitude, and hardship that we endured during our time in Japan.

We arrived at Shimonoseki, a port on the southwestern coast of Japan, and boarded a ferry headed toward Busan, Koreas largest port city, on the southeastern coast. We were all excited to leave behind a life of misery and dread. We were also worried, not knowing what to expect.

The ferry was teeming with people like us. The mood became more raucous and cheery as we got farther away from Japan and closer to home. Many of us suffered miserably from seasickness, but that didnt dampen our joy. We were just grateful to be going back home alive.

Unfortunately, our overloaded ferry was shipwrecked as it neared the island of Tsushima, 33 miles off the coast of Busan. Everyone had to jump overboard. Luckily, everyone was rescued, but all our belongings were lost. We were home, but with literally nothing except the clothes on our backs.

I was four years old at the time, so I have no recollection of my sea voyage or the shipwreck. Instead, my very first memories are of my hometown and its marketplace, the pungent odor of fish entrails, the smell of the sea, and excruciating poverty. Poverty clung to my family like a leech, and it would be many years before we were able to free ourselves from its miserable grip.

My father, Lee Choong-woo, was born a few miles from Pohang, where we eventually settled. He was the youngest of three sons. My grandfather was a farmer, but he didnt own much property. As was the custom back then, my grandfather gave the small plot of land he owned to his eldest son and the rest of his possessions to his second son. Penniless, my father left his hometown at an early age, wandering, looking for work, and scraping by on menial labor. He wasnt the only one. Under Japanese colonialism, many young men his age couldnt find proper jobs and had to make do with whatever they could find.