BLAZING A TRAIL WHEN THE ROAD ENDS

Jeong In-yeong 지음

서울셀렉션 2018년 09월 07일 출간 종이책 : 2018년 01월 31일 출간

작품소개

책소개

About the book
This book tells the life story of Shin Yong-ho, who founded and built Kyobo Life Insurance, Kyobo Book Centre, and the Daesan Foundation. Shin contracted a terrible illness in his childhood, and by the time he had recovered, it was too late to go to school. Despite missing his chance to receive a formal education, he taught himself through a thousand-day reading project and through hands-on learning. After heading to Seoul by himself at the age of twenty, he moved to China and built a company from scratch. Meanwhile, a meeting with the patriotic poet Yi Yuk-sa inspired him to support the independence movement and pursue his ambition of becoming a capitalist for the Korean people. At the end of World War II, Shin returned to Korea penniless, but he kept his spirits strong and with a great deal of effort invented the concept of education insurance to satisfy Koreans’ thirst for learning. His decision to establish Kyobo Book Centre under the slogan “People make books, and books make people” in the middle of Gwanghwamun in downtown Seoul illustrates his passion for promoting national education and the way he put that into practice. Shin was unstinting in his support of public interest projects, and he established the Daesan Foundation to contribute to the development and globalization of Korean literature, along with the Daesan Agricultural Foundation (originally the Daesan Foundation for Rural Culture and Society) and the Kyobo Foundation for Education. It was Shin, with his profound knowledge of literature, who suggested putting up a billboard at Gwanghwamun (this became known as the Gwanghwamun Geulpan) to carry messages of comfort and hope for the busy pedestrians crossing that intersection. All this sprang from the insight that Shin gained by carefully examining each situation from all possible angles.
Shin was a great entrepreneur who did not content himself with business success and never stopped striving for the development of his country and the future of his people. He was given the John S. Bickley Founder’s Award, which is regarded as the Nobel Prize in the field of insurance; he was named the Insurance Mentor; and he became the first businessperson to be awarded the Geumgwan (Golden Crown) Order of Cultural Merit. The endless creativity and ambition evident in Shin’s life teach us the wisdom and courage that we need in our own.

The can-do spirit that blazed a trail in the wilderness
Shin managed to survive the illness he suffered during his childhood on the slopes of Mt Wolchulsan, but he missed his chance to obtain a formal education, never attending elementary or middle school. Even so, his thousand-day reading project and hands-on learning served as an effective way to study and develop his talents. His self-study at this time gave him an unbreakable will. After training his intellect and realizing his dreams, Shin struck out for Seoul at the tender age of twenty and then continued to the Chinese city of Dalian (then Dairen) by himself. This was his first step toward becoming a businessman dedicated to the good of his nation and people. In China, he achieved financial success by developing a new sales system. After meeting the patriotic poet Yi Yuk-sa, Shin supported the independence movement and set a new goal of helping Koreans by becoming a capitalist for the people. His meeting with Yi proved to be a turning point in Shin’s life, and he made up his mind to become a successful businessperson in China even as he cherished more lofty ambitions. Within a few years, Shin had established a grain company called Bukilgongsa in Beijing and put his company on the right track through his unique blend of hard work and creative thinking. Shin’s belief that he should have enough willpower to punch a hole in an oak tree hinted at the strength of his can-do spirit, which blazed a trail in the wilderness.

Examining each situation from all possible angles
The end of World War II threw China into turmoil,

목차

| Chapter 1 | Mt. Wolchulsan Rises in the Heart of Gwanghwamun
Cutting a twenty-two-floor building down to seventeen
The boy saved by the energy of Mt. Wolchulsan
Not allowed to attend elementary school
Gaining knowledge through self-study
Books make people
Practical knowledge makes people

| Chapter 2 | Dreaming Big Dreams
Success means staying one step ahead
A grand plan to go to China
Looking for niche markets
Tending a garden of one’s own is better than working the field for someone else
Meeting Yi Yuk-sa
An unfamiliar path

| Chapter 3 | The Young Lion Roars in China
Japan’s plunder of China
Hands-on learning in China
Meeting Korean businesspeople
A guerilla in the grain business
Creativity and diligence lead to opportunities
Bukilgongsa ready for the next step
The sad loss of a mentor, and Japan’s defeat
Back home and broke, with nothing to show but experience

| Chapter 4 | Continued Failures and Frustrations
A crisis is not a disaster but an opportunity
Getting into publishing to rebuild the nation
Surviving under the North Korean flag
Back to square one

| Chapter 5 | National Education and Domestic Capital
The world’s first education-based insurance
A business license at last
Launching as “educational insurance,” not “life insurance”
Finding new markets in the early days
Reaching the top of the industry through trust
Look far and wide

| Chapter 6 | Training People Brings Hope
Kyobo Book Centre: the dream of national education
From prime real estate to book heaven

| Chapter 7 | Company Buildings Filled with Hopes and Dreams
Company buildings create the corporate image
Kyobo Tower: where philosophy meets art
Fundamental mind training at Kyeseongwon

| Chapter 8 | A Passion for Public Good Projects
Modernizing the farming village, the foundation of life
Systematic support for literature, the core of culture
Toward a sustainable future
Honors for a pioneer of the insurance industry

| Chapter 9 | The Path of Endless Challenges
A decade after being diagnosed with cancer
80th birthday feast with all Shin’s friends and acquaintances
Always and everywhere, there’s a way

작가정보

저자(글) Jeong In-yeong