[Market Economy Guide] Entrepreneurship

Jubail Port Construction, Which Everyone Said “Couldn’t Be Done,” Succeeded Through the Unique Challenge of “Have You Even Tried?”

“Have you even tried?” These were the words of the late Chung Ju-yung, chairman of the Hyundai Group, when he scolded and encouraged company executives who hesitated to take on difficult tasks. In this short but powerful phrase was fully embodied Chairman Chung’s indomitable spirit of challenge.

“Impossible” vs. “Have You Tried?”

The same was true in 1971, when Chairman Chung announced that he would build the world’s largest shipyard in Mipo Bay, Ulsan. Shipbuilding is a technology-intensive industry that requires cutting-edge expertise. So when Chairman Chung said he would build ships in South Korea—a country that was neither an economic powerhouse like Japan nor anything more than a fledgling industrial nation, and that lacked money, technology, experience, and reputation—it was only natural that many took his words as mere bluster.

But to those who declared it impossible without even trying, Chairman Chung fired back with a single line: “Have you even tried?” And he truly succeeded in building the world’s largest shipyard, just as he had said. In the process, the famous story of how he secured financing from a British bank using a 500-won note bearing the image of the turtle ship became a model example of bold entrepreneurial spirit. If Chairman Chung had not possessed the indomitable entrepreneurship to challenge the unknown without fear and turn vision into reality through firm resolve and passion, South Korea’s shipbuilding industry—today one of the strongest in the world—would never have existed.

Chairman Chung never regarded as impossible what everyone else said could not be done. With fresh and creative thinking, he consistently broke through crises and seized success.

The “Myth” of the Jubail Project

One example is the steel structure installation work for the Jubail port project. In 1975, the so-called “Jubail port construction project,” described as the largest construction project of the 20th century, was underway in Jubail, Saudi Arabia. The contract value alone came to a staggering $930 million. That was an enormous sum, equivalent to about 31% of South Korea’s foreign exchange reserves in the 1970s. The company that won this massive project was Hyundai Engineering & Construction, led by Chairman Chung.

At the time, the greatest challenge in the Jubail port project was the installation of steel structures. Because the task involved installing nearly 100,000 tons of steel structures in the sea, it required expensive equipment, including submersibles, as well as advanced technical expertise. Even with the equipment and technology, it was no easy job. Yet Chairman Chung made a decision that shattered conventional wisdom. Instead of going underwater and building the structures piece by piece at sea, as was customary, he planned to erect in the sea structures that had been completed on land.

Chairman Chung’s idea was radical in the extreme. Everyone shook their heads and dismissed it as absurd. But Chairman Chung pushed ahead, showing such confidence that he declared he would not accept payment if the effort failed.

Nothing Is Impossible

In fact, Hyundai Engineering & Construction had once built a 375-meter steel structure in Ulsan, transported it across the Pacific to the waters off Santa Barbara, California, and succeeded in installing it at the exact designated location. It was a historic moment when a radical break from conventional wisdom instantly became a new construction method.

By successfully carrying out the Jubail port project under Chairman Chung’s direct leadership, Hyundai was able to grow into one of today’s leading conglomerates. Chairman Chung was known for breaking free from fixed ideas, for his challenging spirit that believed nothing was impossible, and for his conviction that creditworthiness was as precious as life itself. This was the first-generation entrepreneurial spirit that Chairman Chung displayed as an industrial hero. He once said:

“No matter the task, the person who believes it can be done is the one who accomplishes it. If you doubt, you will achieve only as much as your doubt allows. If you think it cannot be done, then it cannot be done.”

In those earlier years, behind South Korea’s ability to cast off the humiliation of being one of the poorest countries in the world and achieve dazzling economic growth was the indomitable entrepreneurial spirit that first-generation entrepreneurs like Chairman Chung unleashed without hesitation.

Sung-no Choi, President, Center for Free Enterprise (CFE)

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Original title: [시장경제 길라잡이] 기업가정신

Author: Sung-no Choi

Date: 2018-10-29

Source: https://www.cfe.org/bbs/bbsDetail.php?cid=column&pn=16&idx=11197