Trump's esteem for Korean shipbuilding six decades in the making

Donald Trump, third from left, tours Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering's Geoje shipyard in South Gyeongsang in June 1998. Daewoo is now known as Hanwha Ocean. On Trump's left is his eldest son Donald Trump Jr. [DAEWOO SHIPBUILDING & MARINE ENGINEERING]

 
Korea’s shipbuilding industry, recently thrust into the global spotlight amid repeated praise from U.S. President Donald Trump, has grown to match world-class standards over the past six decades — driven by strong government backing under former President Park Chung Hee and bold investments by major conglomerates.
 
Perhaps Trump’s current impression of Korea’s maritime industry was imprinted 27 years ago when the then-entrepreneur in his 50s visited Daewoo’s shipyard in Geoje, South Gyeongsang, in June 1998.
 
“What is that?” Trump had asked, adding an expletive as he pointed to a massive crane looming 100 meters (328 feet) over the yard.
 
“That’s the world’s largest Goliath crane,” a Daewoo executive explained.
 
At the time, Trump was a world-renowned real estate tycoon and visited Korea as the chairman of The Trump Organization. He expressed his intent to climb to the top of the crane, where he was greeted by the sight of four ships being assembled simultaneously in a dock the size of 11 football pitches.
 
Perhaps Trump was mesmerized by the sheer scale of ship construction. It was said that he impulsively asked that a destroyer under construction be turned into a personal yacht. Although his whimsical request didn’t come to fruition, no one could have imagined then that the moment would resonate with Korea 27 years later.

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The seeds of the nation’s shipbuilding
 
"Every day is filled with news of the Trump administration sending love signs to Korea’s shipbuilding industry,” Shin Dong-shik, chairman of Korea Maritime Consultants, proudly said at an office in Gwanghwamun in central Seoul.
 
The 93-year-old chairman had served as former President Park Chung Hee’s senior presidential secretary for economic affairs and helped draft Korea’s five-year economic development plan.
 
“Our country is surrounded by sea on three sides. We have to take advantage of that and either catch fish or build ships.”
 
He recalled returning to his home country without hesitation after hearing these words from President Park during a 1965 meeting in the United States. Upon returning, he began drawing up blueprints for a shipyard as part of a long-term plan to develop Korea’s shipbuilding industry.
 
“At the time, 150,000-ton ships were the largest, but I foresaw 300,000-ton, even 500,000-ton ships in the future. It was clear the global economy and freight volume would grow.”
 
With that vision, Shin swayed Park to build a shipyard in Geoje capable of constructing 300,000-ton vessels. That shipyard is now known as Hanwha Ocean’s Okpo shipyard.
 
“Shipbuilding combines engineering, steel and electronics — it’s an industry that creates synergy across sectors. I believed it could become the engine driving Korea’s high-tech industry.”
 

Former President Park Chung Hee, front row on right, and former senior presidential secretary for economic affairs Shin Dong-shik, on Park's left, participate at the completion ceremony for KAIST in October 1969. [JOONGANG ILBO]

Late Hyundai founder’s journey to the unknown
 
A government-led shipyard was underway in Geoje, but no firms volunteered to enter the business, leading Park to personally persuade corporate leaders.
 
“Corporations were half-forced to enter the business,” Shin recalls. “Park would call in reluctant business leaders and say, ‘This is something you must do for the Republic of Korea.’ Imagine how they must have felt.”
 
The corporate leader who got the ball rolling in the industry was Hyundai Group’s late founder, Chung Ju-yung.
 
“Shipbuilding is no different from construction — we’re just building on water instead of land,” Chung would say to his employees. He chose Ulsan as the site for the shipyard, lured by its good topography and wide bedrock foundation.
 
Thus began his winding journey to attract investment in the Ulsan shipyard. Chung targeted Britain’s Barclays Bank for financing, but a recommendation letter was needed. So in 1971, he went to London to meet Charles Longbottom, chairman of A&P Appledore, a prestigious British shipbuilding consultancy.
 
He was rejected outright, failing to secure the letter multiple times, as Longbottom doubted that both the Korean government and Hyundai would be able to pay back the large sum.
 
Then came the now-famous turtle ship story.
 
Chung is said to have pulled a 500 won bill from his pocket and told Longbottom, “Our ancestors built this ironclad turtle ship in the 16th century — 300 years before Britain started using iron in ships in the 19th century.”
 

The back of the 500 won bill that late Hyundai founder Chung Ju-yung showed to A&P Appledore Chairman Charles Longbottom to acquire a recommendation letter from him. [HD HYUNDAI HEAVY INDUSTRIES]

 
Perhaps impressed by this patriotic pitch, Longbottom finally gave the recommendation.
 
But that wasn’t the end. Britain’s Export Credit Guarantee Department demanded proof of an actual order before approving the loan.
 
With photos of the Ulsan region and shipyard blueprints under his arms, Chung flew around the world to meet shipowners, eventually able to persuade Greek shipping magnate George Livanos to order two very large crude carriers.




Dethroning Japan to become No. 1
 
The nation’s shipbuilding business, which started in the 1960s, began to rise in the 1970s as domestic shipyards rode the wave of a global shipbuilding boom. The lights of Ulsan and Geoje shipyards rarely went dark at night.
 
Korea’s goal was clear: to beat Japan, the then-unshakable No. 1 in global shipbuilding. To overtake Japan, Korea’s strategy focused on speed and cost. To achieve this, Korean shipyards began constructing several smaller ships in a single large dock, which drastically reduced delivery times.
 

 
As a result, the Korean industry began to chip away at Japan’s dominance. Its global market share rose from 1.3 percent in 1973 to 3.7 percent in 1975, 6.3 percent in 1979, 9 percent in 1980, 9.6 percent in 1982 and 19.2 percent in 1983.
 
A milestone was reached in 1983, the year that HD Hyundai Heavy Industries surpassed Mitsubishi Heavy Industries in total orders and shipbuilding output at a single yard to become the world’s No. 1 with 2.079 million gross tonnage.
 

A 174,000-cubic-meter (6,145,000-cubic-foot) liquefied natural gas carrier built by HD Hyundai Heavy Industries [HD KOREA SHIPBUILDING & OFFSHORE ENGINEERING]

Shipbuilding transforms the industrial ecosystem
 
Shipbuilding played a central role in Korea’s transition to heavy industries.
 
The rise of shipbuilding led to massive expansion across the industrial ecosystem — not only affecting related industries like shipping but also impacting 50 others such as steel, machinery, electronics and engineering.
 
Key to this transformation was localizing core parts like steel plates and engines. In 1973, Posco’s steel mill in Pohang, North Gyeongsang, was completed, finally enabling Korea to build ships with its own steel. In 1977, HD Hyundai Heavy Industries began producing large diesel engines, reducing reliance on imports — within a year, they were capable of in-house production.

BY PARK YOUNG-WOO, OH SAM-GWON [lee.jaeilm@joongang.co.kr]