Hyundau5 Times Chairman Chung Ju-yung Shattered the Impossible (Feat. The Turtle Ship)

Hyundai 5 Times Chairman Chung Ju-yung Shattered the Impossible (Feat. The Turtle Ship)

“Hey, have you even tried?” Erasing the word ‘Impossible’

“Only those who believe they can achieve something will actually achieve it. Those who doubt never even begin.”

After the war, the country was in ruins. No resources, no technology, no capital. All we had was a desperate desire to “live a better life.” When everyone else said, “It can’t be done,” “It’s crazy,” or “That defies common sense,” I asked one question:

“Imja (Hey, you), have you tried it?”

Asking if they had tried wasn’t about being reckless. It was a rebuke against the weakness of giving up before starting, and a declaration of my conviction that action leads to answers. Let’s revisit the sites of these great undertakings that literally changed the map.

📍 Location 1. Soyang River Dam: Silencing the “Armchair Experts”

Address: Chuncheon-si, Gangwon-do

When planning the Soyang River Dam, Japanese engineers insisted on a concrete dam. It was an incredibly expensive and time-consuming method. While touring the site, I noticed the abundance of gravel and sand.

“There’s sand and gravel everywhere. Why can’t we build a rock-fill dam with this?”

The Japanese engineers laughed, calling us ignorant. “An earth dam will collapse in a flood,” they claimed. But I was certain. Concrete is expensive and hard to transport, but local sand and gravel become harder and stronger when compacted. I knew this because I had worked with these materials myself on the ground.

I pushed forward, and the result was a massive success. We cut construction costs by 30%, and the dam stood firm against every flood. Armchair experts don’t realize the answer lies on-site. Break your fixed mindsets and widen your view. The path everyone else takes isn’t always the right one.

📍 Location 2. Gyeongbu Expressway: The Nation’s Artery

Address: Seoul to Busan

We needed to open the country’s main artery. To build a 428km highway, we lacked equipment, technology, and funds. Even the World Bank refused to lend us money, asking, “Korea has no cars, so why do you need a highway?”

I commanded the site while sleeping in a jeep. I used my own jacket to cover the drying cement. The workers started calling me the “Tiger.” To meet the July 7th completion deadline, we fought day and night. It wasn’t easy, and there were times I wanted to give up.

But once the road opened, logistics flowed, factories rose, and the Korean economy began to skyrocket. When given an impossible goal, don’t make excuses — find a method. Miracles are made by those who stay on the ground, breathing in the dust.

📍 Location 3. Jubail Industrial Port: Success in the Sandstorms

Address: Jubail, Saudi Arabia

When the Oil Shock shook the nation, I flew to Saudi Arabia. The Jubail Port project was the “Project of the 20th Century.” Everyone said it was madness. “It’s too hot to work,” “Sandstorms will ruin the equipment,” “There is no water.”

But I saw it differently. “No rain means we can work 365 days a year. There’s sand everywhere, so material is free. If it’s hot, we work at night and sleep during the day.”

We manufactured massive steel structures in Ulsan, put them on barges, and towed them across the Pacific to Saudi Arabia. That voyage through typhoons was a life-or-death gamble. But we did it. The oil dollars earned from that project saved the Korean economy. Crisis is opportunity. Change your perspective, and even a scorching desert becomes a land of opportunity.

📍 Location 4. Mipo Bay Beach: The Turtle Ship Story

Address: Dong-gu, Ulsan

When I declared I would build a shipyard, all I had was a photo of an empty beach and a map. I went to the UK to borrow money, but I was turned away: “How can Korea build ships?”

I pulled a 500-won bill from my pocket and showed them the Turtle Ship printed on it. “Look. The UK built iron ships in the 1800s, but we built the Turtle Ship — an ironclad warship — in the 1500s. Do not underestimate our potential.”

With that spirit, I secured the loan. We took orders for ships before we even had a shipyard. We dug the dry dock and built the ship simultaneously — something unprecedented in world history. Don’t say you can’t because you “don’t have it.” If you don’t have it, make it.

📍 Location 5. Hyundai Motor Plant: Technological Independence

Address: Buk-gu, Ulsan

“Independent car production is impossible.” When we split with Ford and decided to make our own car, everyone sneered. “A country that can’t even make decent bicycles wants to build cars?”

But assembling other people’s cars meant remaining a technological colony forever. I sent engineers to Italy and we drew blueprints through sleepless nights. Looking at a car with tens of thousands of parts, it seemed hopeless, but we persisted.

After countless failures, the ‘Pony’ was born. Korea became the 16th nation in the world and the 2nd in Asia to have its own car model. I wiped and tightened bolts on the assembly line until my wrench wore down. What I wanted to achieve was technological independence.

Epilogue: You Don’t Find the Path, You Pave It.

Today, we revisited the sites of “impossibility.” The gravel of Soyang Dam, the asphalt of the Expressway, the sandstorms of Saudi, the beach at Mipo Bay, and the first automobile plant.

At first, these were all things that “didn’t exist.” But the question, “Have you tried it?” turned them into reality. The world will give you thousands of reasons why “it won’t work.” Don’t be intimidated. They only say that because they haven’t tried.

Do not fear failure. Failure is simply valuable data telling you, “This isn’t the way.” If there is no road, pave one. Where you walk becomes the path.

Are you tired of the repetitive daily grind?

Ready to take on a new challenge and realize “your idea” while keeping your day job? We invite you to a challenge in January 2026: Set a new goal and make “your thing” a reality.

🔥 Recruiting: Ignition Cohort 1

“Have you tried it?” You’ll never know unless you try. Just like no one knows if this experience will be the turning point that changes your life.

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