Preface for the English Edition · viii
Editorial Note · xiv
Prologue · 02

| Chapter 1 |
My Hometown, My Parents · 05
My hometown, Tongcheon · 06
My childhood and leaving my hometown · 13

| Chapter 2 |
The Birth of Hyundai · 19
From dock worker to rice shop owner · 20
An auto-repair shop, a fire, and Ado Service again · 25
Blessing in disguise at the Holdong Mine · 31
Postliberation in Donam-dong · 32
Hyundai Auto Service Center, Hyundai Construction, and the Korean War · 36
The ordeal of Goryeong Bridge · 49
Goryeong Bridge, a blessing in disguise · 54
Success is all about timing and decision-making · 59
Shin-yung, my brother · 65

| Chapter 3 |
My Construction Business · 71
Construction, the key to modernization · 72
Going overseas · 75
Building the Soyang River Dam · 81
The Gyeongbu Expressway: Korea’s main artery · 90
I am a builder · 101

| Chapter 4 |
The Hyundai Motor Company and Hyundai Shipbuilding · 105
The Hyundai Motor Company gets its start · 106
Our first car · 112
Dreaming of a shipyard · 128
In search of credit · 132
Someone crazier than me · 141
Leaving a mark in shipbuilding · 144
To laugh or cry · · 148
The oil shock of 1973 · 152

| Chapter 5 |
Drama in the Middle East and the Milestone Year, 1980 · 157
My near-death experience · 158
To the Middle East we go · 163
High drama in Jubail · 165
Hurdle, after hurdle, after hurdle · 171
Mock us if you will · 177
The “thinking bulldozer” · 183
Giving back to society through the Asan Foundation · 185
Korea’s business leader · 190
A difficult late 1970s · 197
Hyundai Heavy Industries under siege · 200
A dark period · 206

| Chapter 6 |
The 1988 Olympics and Korea’s Fifth Republic · 209
President Park Chung-hee and Korea’s bid for the 1988 Olympics · 210
Going all out in Baden-Baden · 214
Two years and two months: serving on the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee · 225
Reclaiming land for a small nation · 231
The bombing in Rangoon · 240
Growing pains · 244

| Chapter 7 |
Mt. Geumgang and Siberia · 251
The evolution of the Mt. Geumgang project · 252
Meeting Gorbachev · 261
Claiming a stake in Siberia · 264

| Chapter 8 |
Loving My Country, Loving the People · 271
Human capital above all else · 272
Hyundai is wealthy, not I · 274
Businesses contribute to their nation · 278
The bigger the better · 283
When will the private sector lead the economy · · 288
Fundamentals over frippery · 292

| Chapter 9 |
My Philosophy, the Spirit of Hyundai · 295
The Hyundai spirit · 296
No more corruption, please · 298
Money and wealth are not the same · 301
Frugality and honesty lead to wealth · 303
Positive thinking is the road to happiness · 308
The conditions for happiness · 313
An ordinary wife · 316
For the nation · 321

Epilogue · 326
Appendix A: Photos of Chung Ju-yung with Family · 329
Appendix B: Chronology · 337
Notes · 353