1953 Bare-handed Tycoon - Chapter 360



Only Noblemtl

360 – Ulsan Industrial Center

On the morning of Saturday, February 3, 1962, Kijo boarded a special train departing from Seoul Station.

It was to attend the Ulsan Industrial Center groundbreaking ceremony.

On board the special train were Chairman Park and other key members of the Supreme Council, all cabinet members including Chief of Staff Song Yo-chan, high-ranking military generals, and ambassadors from major countries including the United States and West Germany.

However, President Yun Bo-seon, the symbolic head of state, decided not to attend the groundbreaking ceremony.

It seemed to be a protest against Chairman Park’s statement at a recent press conference that “old-fashioned politicians should not run in the upcoming general election in order to follow the will of the people.”

As the keynote speaker entered the train car reserved for business leaders, members of the economic association were seated around Chairman Lee Byung-chul.

He bowed to them and passed by, then sat down separately with the members of Cheonwoohoe.

On the way to Ulsan, people talked a lot about the Ulsan Industrial Complex.

The Ulsan Industrial Complex still had only symbolic significance.

There was still no clear entity or plan for where and what to build, and the site was only vaguely decided, such as, ‘An oil refinery over here, a fertilizer plant over there.’

However, the groundbreaking ceremony for the Ulsan Industrial Complex demonstrated the firm will to industrialize South Korea.

On the way to Ulsan, Namgungryun, who was close to Gijo, approached Cheonwoohoe.

Namgung Ryun was the former president of Korea Shipping Corporation and the current president of Far East Shipping.

“Can I have a seat too?”

Everyone laughed at Namgung Ryun’s question and gave him his seat.

At the Economic Association, the only people who could talk with a smile and a keynote speech were Lee Byung-chul and Namgung Ryun.

At the same time, Lee Byung-chul and Namgung Ryun were the ones who met with government officials and worked hard to persuade them that Ulsan should be turned into an industrial complex.

Thanks to this, there was no need to persuade Chairman Park that Ulsan should be developed into an industrial complex.

Kim Jong-hee of Hanwha asked him.

“I heard that the price of land in Ulsan was 50 hwan per pyeong. Isn’t that too cheap?”

“As you can see when you go there, there is nothing in Ulsan. There are a few salt farms and pear orchards. There must have been about ten people scraping salt from the salt farms and three or four people growing pears.”

“Is it okay to build an industrial complex in a place like that? If it were a good industrial site, wouldn’t the Japanese have settled there long ago during the Japanese colonial period?”

Namgung Ryun answered Kim Jong-hee’s question with a laugh.

“Chairman Park had said something like that, too. That’s why I gave him the secret Japanese information I had obtained.”

“Confidential information?”

“Yes, it’s a plan that the Japanese made in the 1940s to make Ulsan an industrial city with a population of 500,000. The Joseon Port Company, which the Japanese had contracted to develop, had the documents. I brought them to you. During the war, the United States bombed the Japanese mainland repeatedly, so they tried to move the factories on the mainland to Ulsan.”

“If you investigated it during the war, wasn’t it done in a rushed manner?”

“That’s not true. The Japanese had investigated it so thoroughly that they had the depth of the Taehwa River, the amount of water available for use by season, the surrounding soil, and even the depth of the sea in front of the Ulsan defense line. Chairman Park was also amazed when he saw that.”

When he heard that there was a report containing all the information about Ulsan, Chung Ju-young’s eyes sparkled.

“If you have that report, I would be happy to send you a copy.”

The keynote speech made me smile as I recalled Chung Ju-yung, who built a shipyard in Ulsan in the history of Won.

If Chung Ju-young were to build a shipyard again this time, he would have received help from the data obtained by Namgung Ryun.

“I’ll send a copy to President Jeong. It’s a valuable report, so please use it well. If it weren’t for that report, we would have had to build an industrial complex in Gimhae. Haha.”

“No, why Gimhae?”

“It’s because iron ore comes from Gimhae.”

“Four seasons?”

“Yes, in the sandy area along the Nakdong River in Gimhae. If you tie a string to a stray iron and pull it through the sand, a lot of iron powder will stick to it. Chairman Park, that gentleman heard about that story and said that if we build an industrial complex in Gimhae, we can make iron from the iron produced there.”

“Isn’t it impossible for a sandstorm to come out of the sand?”

“That’s ridiculous. But Chairman Park is a soldier and doesn’t know much about the economy, so he said something naive. Hahaha. But I acknowledge his enthusiasm for economic development. When he realized the value of Ulsan, he pushed ahead without looking back. If only USOM hadn’t opposed it, things would have been done faster.”

“No, why did Yusom bother with the Ulsan Industrial Complex?”

Chung Ju-young asked.

“Well, Koreans, don’t bother trying to industrialize for no reason. Whatever you do, Japan next door will do it better. Do you think you’ll be able to do it? That’s right.”

“Wow, those Americans… They were also a British colony and fought a war with Japan, so it’s funny that they’re siding with Japan.”

Jo Joong-hoon clicked his tongue.

The keynote was that it was funny how Koreans used the word ‘bastard’ to refer to powerful countries.

Even though the United States is a powerful country that Korea cannot dare to approach, and Japan is the wealthiest country in Asia, there was an impudence that secretly looked down on the two countries.

Along with that kind of spirit, Koreans also had a strange sense of equality, thinking, “If you can do it, can’t we do it too?”

“But, during the Japanese colonial period, the Japanese moved part of the oil refinery in Wonsan to Ulsan and called it ‘Joseon Sagi Company.’ Isn’t that a really strange name?”

When Namgung Ryun said that, everyone laughed.

Kijo also snickered. The place where the ‘Joseon Sagi Company’ used to be was where Yukong (油公)* was supposed to be built.

*Oil Corporation – Korea Petroleum Corporation, now SK Energy

* * *

A special train arrived at Ulsan Station, and Chairman Park and other key figures moved to the groundbreaking ceremony site first.

Kijo looked around the area around Ulsan Station.

The road to Yeokjeon seemed to be filled with people.

People flocked to see what was going on when they heard rumors that a big attraction was opening in Ulsan.

Perhaps because it was Saturday and unusually warm that day, spectators were flocking like a flock of clouds and heading to the groundbreaking ceremony site.

It was a common sight in those days when there was nothing to see or enjoy on the weekends.

Arriving at the groundbreaking ceremony site, the venue was located on a small hill overlooking the blue sea.

The ceremony was held to the sound of dynamite explosions at a ceremony hall behind the planned oil refinery site in Gosari, Daehyeon-myeon, Ulsan-gun.

It was the moment when the core of the first five-year economic development plan was launched with a powerful start.

The keynote speaker was at a gathering of business leaders, and my seat was assigned to be next to President Lee Byung-chul.

Kijo sat next to Lee Byung-chul and listened to Chairman Park’s speech.

“In order to wash away the 4,000-year history of poverty and achieve the wealth and honor our nation long desired, we came to Ulsan and decided to build a new industrial city here… … .”

Chairman Park said that he wanted to create a miracle like the Ruhr industrial zone in West Germany and recreate the glory of Silla.

After the groundbreaking ceremony, the key figures moved to Bulguksa Hotel in Gyeongju and had a banquet.

The keynote speech was to prepare for the violence that would occur at the Bulguksa Hotel.

Director Killen of Yusom began his speech in the presence of government ministers and ambassadors from various countries.

At a place where he was supposed to give a congratulatory speech, Killen poured cold water on it with an inappropriate remark.

“… It is premature for Korea, which lacks capital, technology, and resources, to establish such a large-scale industrial complex… ”

The expressions of the Korean officials distorted at Killen’s unexpected negative remark.

Chairman Park’s face also became stiff, and the Cheonwoohoe members sitting with Kijo also looked puzzled with expressions like, “Huh?”

The keynote speech focused on the face of Kim Yong-tae, who attended as an economic advisor representing the Central Intelligence Agency.

A look of ‘That kid…’ appeared on Kim Yong-tae’s face.

It seemed that Killen, who had been opposing the construction of the Ulsan Industrial Complex throughout, could no longer stand it when he showed his true colors even at the celebration party.

Kim Yong-tae, who had been crying, jumped up and headed toward Killen as soon as he finished his speech and came down from the podium.

Kim Yong-tae grabbed Killen by the collar and shook him, shouting in a voice full of anger.

“Hey, you punk. We’re struggling to survive, so why are you making fun of us!”

Then he threw Killen to the floor.

Everyone there was shocked.

Director Yusom Killen was a man of great authority.

It was a position higher than that of the Prime Minister, holding the Korean economy in his hands.

When security guard Park Jong-gyu tried to run out, Chairman Park stopped him. It seemed like he was going to overreact.

Instead, he spoke to the protocol secretary, Sang-ho Cho.

“This is a good thing to do in a place where ambassadors from all over the world are present. Stop it!”

Jo Sang-ho quickly ran over and barely saved Killen from being trampled by Kim Yong-tae’s shoes, and dragged Kim Yong-tae out of the banquet hall.

Kim Yong-tae’s heartbroken screams were heard as he was dragged away.

“That kid! If you have money to build a factory, don’t you get angry when he tells you to buy American products? Don’t you get mad!”

It was what he said to Jo Sang-ho, who was dragging him out.

“Let go of that! That kid needs to be beaten to death! We need to beat him half to death before we can step on him so he doesn’t look down on us!”

Chairman Park put his hand on one side of his head as if he had a headache as he continued to hear Kim Yong-tae’s voice.

He had an expression on his face like he was wondering how he could possibly handle this, since he had assaulted an American government official in his presence, and in front of ambassadors from various countries.

Meanwhile, Kijo checked the expressions of the West German and American ambassadors.

West German Ambassador Bungel looked pleased to see the revolutionary government at odds with American officials, while American Ambassador Samuel Berger looked perplexed.

At that time, Supreme Council Spokesperson Lee Hu-rak came out and organized the room.

“Ah, ah… I think there was a problem with the interpretation. It seems that Advisor Kim Yong-tae misunderstood what Director Killen said. I’m sorry. I will apologize to Director Killen on his behalf.”

It was a quick response.

When Public Relations Director Won Chung-yeon was dumbfounded and stood there in a daze, Lee Hu-rak responded appropriately.

“Please give a round of applause to Director Killen, who has suffered a misfortune.”

Everyone present applauded Lee Hu-rak’s words.

Chairman Park nodded his head as he looked at Lee Hu-rak.

Lee Hu-rak seemed to have scored points with Chairman Park.

“What the heck is going on…. Something that would only happen in a day labor camp is happening….”

Although Chung Ju-young was strong and determined enough to do flying kicks at construction sites, he seemed incredulous when something like this happened at an official event with the head of state present.

It was a chaotic Korea that went beyond Dynamic Korea.

The revolutionary government was still immature, and although it had a strong desire to live well, it was equally impatient and angry.

* * *

After returning from Ulsan, Kijo visited the National Film Production Center in Sejong-ro a few days later.

The National Film Institute was an agency that assisted the government in producing and distributing films, as well as in public and private film production.

They had a black and white automatic film developing facility and handled all domestic movie film development.

There, Kijo met director Shin Sang-ok and checked the film taken at the Ulsan groundbreaking ceremony.

The groundbreaking ceremony dynamite explosion scene and the local residents who came to watch the ceremony were vividly captured.

“Did you have a lot of scenes that you wanted to use in the movie?”

“Yes, we’ve made a lot of progress. I think we’ll be able to make the movie in six months.”

Shin Sang-ok was commissioned to produce the film, tentatively titled ‘The Story of a Fertilizer Factory Man and a Farm Girl’, requested by the Central Intelligence Agency. He quickly came up with a predictable but smooth scenario.

He was a box office hit director who dominated the 1960s.

“Shouldn’t we not write the scene with Chairman Park in it?”

The new director asked.

“Yes, please don’t use it. If you do, it will be like a government propaganda film and will not be popular.”

“That’s right. Then, something like ‘Independence Association and Young Syngman Rhee’ will come out. Haha.”

Shin Sang-ok ridiculed Im Hwa-soo by mentioning the Syngman Rhee propaganda film he produced in 1959 with a large sum of money from the Liberal Party.

The keynote speech looked at the faces of Chairman Park and government officials captured on film.

It was disappointing that President Yun Bo-seon, who should have attended, was absent.

Because of the political schedule, the political situation was starting to heat up, and I had a feeling that President Yun Bo-seon would meet with Chairman Park Chung-hee as in the original history.