Chung Ju-yung, South Korean businessman, founded Hyundai (b. 1915)
Chung Ju-yung or Jung Joo-young (Korean: 정주영; November 25, 1915 – March 21, 2001), was a South Korean entrepreneur, businessman and the founder of Hyundai Groups of South Korea. Raised as the eldest son of a poor Korean farmer, he became the richest man in South Korea. Chung was an integral part to the rapid development of Korea's economy, growing Hyundai Heavy Industries to be the largest ship builder in the world, as well as growing Hyundai Motor Group into the largest automobile manufacturer in Korea, and the third largest in the world. Chung was also a vital contributor to the development of South Korea's infrastructure after the Korean War's destruction of infrastructure, such as constructing the Gyeongbu Expressway in 1970, connecting the capital, Seoul, to the port city of Busan, in alliance with the President Park Chung Hee.
Chung's business ventures steered through the tumultuous times of Japanese colonial rule in Korea as well as the post-Korean War stresses on the economy.
Chung explained his success in his statement: "Our people succeeded because they devoted their enterprising spirits. They used the forces of other mind. Conviction ... creates indomitable efforts. This is the key to (true) miracles ... Man's potential is limitless."
2001Mar, 21
Chung Ju-yung
Choose Another Date
Events on 2001
- 6May
Pope John Paul II
During a trip to Syria, Pope John Paul II becomes the first pope to enter a mosque. - 11Sep
September 11 attacks
Two hijacked aircraft crash into the World Trade Center in New York City, while a third smashes into The Pentagon in Arlington County, Virginia, and a fourth into a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, in a series of coordinated suicide attacks by 19 members of al-Qaeda. A total of 2,996 people are killed. - 14Sep
September 11, 2001 attacks
Historic National Prayer Service held at Washington National Cathedral for victims of the September 11 attacks. A similar service is held in Canada on Parliament Hill, the largest vigil ever held in the nation's capital. - 17Sep
September 11 attacks
The New York Stock Exchange reopens for trading after the September 11 attacks, the longest closure since the Great Depression. - 7Oct
War in Afghanistan (2001-2014)
The Global War on Terrorism begins as a result of the September 11 attacks. The U.S. invasion of Afghanistan initiates with an air assault and covert operations on the ground.