“If there is gap in your knowledge, ll it through learning. If something must be done, give it your best shot. Whatever the task, work hard and seek to go above and beyond.”
These are the deeply rooted beliefs that Kim Jae-chul held dear ever since a young age, and also a promise that he made with himself. When he began fishing in the Indian Ocean, Kim’s results were not spectacular, even accounting for the superior experience and knowledge of the Japanese vessels. However, he continued to put in effort to learn the fishing methods of the Japanese ships and improve his equipment.
“He studied every aspect of the Japanese ships. The Japanese vessels used lines that were close to 80 km in length. In a location where the other ships couldn’t see, he would briey pull up their lines to measure the size of their hooks and compare them to ours. We also had a stronger will than the Japanese fishermen. If they cast 2,000 baited hooks then we would cast 2,500, so of course we were able to land a greater haul. He would always have a sonar detector turned on to track the movements of sh, and measured the water temperature and plankton to come up with the best solution. Kim was also determined to train his crew to use the shing equipment and methods he was familiar with, to a degree that bordered on obsession.”
The sea was not the only thing that Kim learned about. Kim Jae-chul once told the following story.
“Once I became the head of the Fishing Division, the female staff would often bring me red or blue sales statements, but I knew nothing about numbers because I had been trained as a captain. So I started attending a
bookkeeping academy in the evenings to learn accounting.”
If there was something that Kim didn’t know, he would solve the problem with education, which led to his obsession with gures as a business leader later in life.