70 Years of the Korean Economy, They Were There - Part 3 “Heavy Chemical Industry, Initiating an Industrial Revolution” (Broadcast on April 25, 2015) What is the secret behind how Korea, which was nothing more than an underdeveloped agricultural country until the 1960s, grew into a heavy chemical industry powerhouse, ranking 5th in the world in crude steel production, 1st in the world in ship exports, and 5th in the world in automobile production? A major transformation of the industrial structure to emerge as an emerging economic powerhouse began with the heavy chemical industry in 1973. The reason why Korea, which was receiving worldwide attention for its rapid growth, was possible was because of the fathers who worked hard in the field. ■ A man who draws molten iron The era of full-scale heavy chemical industry began with the production of iron, which is called the rice of industry. June 9, 1973, the day when Korea’s first molten iron poured out. The place where history began was the first blast furnace of the Pohang Iron and Steel Company. Han Gyeong-sik (81), who worked as the blast furnace construction manager at the time, is now living a second life as a painter. The main subject of the painting is the molten iron that he has devoted his entire life to, and the scene. For him, the meaning of molten iron is the passion that he devoted his youth to. “My whole life is contained in molten iron, so I think of painting my past life.” ■ Fathers who worked day and night, launching the first ship. In 1974, the Korean shipbuilding industry set sail for the first time in the world with the Atlantic Barron, the first supertanker. At the time, Kim Hae-sik (68), who was working on the Atlantic Barron’s electrical wiring, still brings tears to his eyes even after 40 years. “Everyone cheered and cheered. I can’t forget the emotion of that day. Because it was a ship several times the size of Jamsil Stadium in Seoul, the whole world paid attention to us, and the entire nation applauded.” Kim Hae-sik, a father whose face he rarely saw with his family, worked day and night, ‘two days, three days’ at the scene. To him, ships are the pride of the Republic of Korea and the pride of his life. ■ Skilled workers, becoming the main players of the industrial revolution. In 1973, the government declared the scientificization of the nation along with the heavy chemical industrialization. To this end, it established industrial high schools across the country in order to train the necessary skilled workers on a large scale. Among them, Geumoh Technical High School, the representative one, produced skilled workers in various fields. Oh Wang-geun (58), a businessman, is the first graduate of Geumoh Technical High School. He is also a gold medalist at the International Skills Olympics and says that the students of Geumoh Technical High School caused the industrial revolution in our country. “I think that the reason why all technologies, such as the development of our country’s heavy chemical industry, the development of the automobile industry, and the development of the steel industry, were able to grow so quickly was because we recruited excellent resources from the technical high schools in the 1970s and provided them with excellent education.” ■ Lee’s Secret Note, Creating Korea’s First Automobile The heavy chemical industry policy also influenced the Korean automobile industry. In the early 1970s, Korea was only assembling foreign car parts, but in 1976, the first indigenous model, the Pony, was developed. The task that fell to Lee Chung-gu (70), who was then a Hyundai Motor Company representative, was to learn design and planning in Italy and implement it in a domestic factory. The training log, in which the size of the design drawings was meticulously recorded during the Italian training, was called “Representative Lee’s notebook” and became a guideline for Korean car development. From the faded notebook, the myth of annual car production of 4.52 million units began. “When we started the Pony, I wondered if that would be possible, but I think our country has joined the ranks of advanced countries by producing cars.” #KoreanEconomy #HeavyChemicalIndustry #EconomicDocumentary #Steel #Shipbuilding #Automobiles