Year 1927~1947 1948~1960 1961~1967 1968~1992 1993~2000 2001~2011 Tae-Joon Park was born to Park Bong-kwan and Kim So-soon in Jangan-eup, Gijang-gun, Busan on September 29 on the lunar calendar in 1927. He was the oldest child of six siblings. He moved to Japan at the age of six where his father got his job, and 'the child of Japan's colony' was raised in 'the land of the conqueror.' He spent most of his childhood and adolescence there. This period influenced him in two major ways. First, the pain and suffering of discrimination and disregard against him as 'Josenjin' inspired him to be armed with the resolve to overcome Japan, which led to his wish to make his fatherland a first-class nation. Second, the Japanese language and culture that he was forced to learn became a great asset to him later in helping smooth ties between Korea and Japan when he worked for POSCO and his fatherland. Park was enrolled at the department of engineering at Waseda University in 1945. However, he had to leave Tokyo for a remote mountain place very soon as a pandemonium broke out in the Japanese capital because of the indiscriminate bombing by the U.S. forces. Park heard the Japanese emperor's declaration of unconditional surrender on the radio as he was digging up a bomb shelter in the mountain on the noon of August 15th. He felt a surge of joy from the bottom of his heart. He could not shout "hurray" as there were many Japanese nearby. He just shed tears clenching his fists. Soon after Korea's liberation from Japan his family boarded a ship to return home. He wanted to resume studying his major in Seoul, to no avail. He returned to Japan alone to finish college for the purpose of becoming what was called a pillar of the fatherland, but he dropped out in 1947 only to return home. He spent the winter alone thinking of what to do next in his life.
Year 1927~1947 1948~1960 1961~1967 1968~1992 1993~2000 2001~2011 In the spring of 1948 Park made up his mind. He was determined: "The foundation of military is essential to the remaking of fatherland." He volunteered for the national defense troops in Busan and afterwards entered the South Korea Defense Academy(now Korea Military Academy) in Seoul where he met Park Chung-hee, the most important person ever in his life. Park Chung-hee, then second company commander of the academy, was in charge of teaching ballistics. In his first class TJ Park showed a high level of mathematical ability by solving a difficult problem easily. The two exchanged meaningful glances. Park Chung-hee, 10 years senior to TJ Park, was his teacher and mentor who touched his soul during his six-month training in the academy. After TJ Park and his batchmates were commissioned as second lieutenants they participated in the inaugural ceremony of President Syngman Rhee, the first president of the Republic of Korea. It was Park's dream-come-true moment to witness the foundation of the military and the nation. He was a company commander at the 38th parallel in Cheolwon when the Korean War began in 1950, following the U.S. forces' withdrawal from the Korean peninsula. Only three days later the Korean Army had to retreat to Miari Pass in Seoul, but he was lucky to have survived. Ten out of his 12 fellow commanders were killed. He crossed the river after receiving orders to withdraw their remaining forces to south of the Han River. It was an endless retreat in a precarious situation. The South Korean forces were pushed back to Gyeongju, Pohang, and the Hyeongsan River. Only after General MacArthur made a successful landing in Incheon did the South Korean forces receive the orders to go north. Park's troops went north at full blast. They raised the national flag at the city hall of Cheongjin and went further up, only to be pushed back by the Chinese forces which had decided to intervene in the war. During the Jan. 4th Retreat, Park suffered acute appendicitis and underwent an operation. He boarded a warship in a stretcher and retreated to Gangneung. Ahead of the truce agreement in 1953 Park successfully fulfilled the mission to defend the hydro plant in Hwacheon, which was officially his last battle. His troops fought against the Chinese, which led to a number of casualties on both sides. Shortly after, the truce was agreed upon. Park received the three Orders of Meritorious Service for his fight in the war, and his faith "short life for eternal fatherland" was etched in his heart. This belief became a compass for his life, which never wavered. After the war he enrolled in the College of the Army and received a gold watch from the President for graduating first in his class. In 1954 he became the dean of academic affairs at the Korea Military Academy where he met Hwang Gyeong-ro, his lifelong friend, and in December he married his lifelong partner Chang Ok-ja, a graduate of Ewha Womans University who came from Busan. After he graduated from Korea National Defense University in 1956 he served as a professor of national policy, and then he worked as chief of personnel office at the Ministry of National Defense. He became Chief of Staff and Regiment Commander of the 25th Division at the behest of Park Chung-hee, then commander of the 1st Army. During this period, TJ Park led efforts to get rid of corrupt military suppliers as well as counterfeit red pepper powders, which drew further attention from Park Chung-hee. In 1958, he led the troops in a military march to commemorate the foundation of the military. In 1959, he visited the United States for the first time to attend a training course. In early February 1960, he left the position of chief personnel officer at the Army Headquarters to serve as chief officer of personnel for Park Chung-hee, who just took office as the head of the Munitions Command in Busan. The five months they spent together united them in trust. Park Chung-hee was developing specific plans to stage a coup while he was in Busan. When the April 19 Revolution occurred TJ Park served Park Chung-hee, then the martial law commander in the Busan region, in his capacity as controller of Busan City Hall. That summer, Park Chung-hee was relegated and TJ Park left for his second training in the United States, which lasted until the end of that year.
Year 1927~1947 1948~1960 1961~1967 1968~1992 1993~2000 2001~2011 "There are two reasons I excluded you from the coup list. I thought about the possibility of failing and thus getting executed. In that case, I thought you would have to remain a leader of our Army and I thought about asking you to take care of my family," Park Chung-hee told TJ Park in a meeting two days after he staged a successful coup on May 16th in 1961. His full trust moved TJ Park to tears. Park Chung-hee appointed him as his chief of staff. That year, he was promoted to brigadier general, but he tendered his resignation as chief of staff, and then he took office as the top official of commerce and industry affairs. The political situation was getting more and more complicated at the Supreme Council designed to rebuild the country. Park Chung-hee stationed him in the economic field, paving the way for his devotion to the development of the national economy. At the year end, TJ Park traveled to Europe as chief of the commerce delegation. The following year, he succeeded in getting a loan from Germany when he visited there along with Commerce Minister Chung Rae-hyuk. When Park Chung-hee was elected as president in 1963, he stopped TJ Park, who declined the offer of becoming a minister or lawmaker, from going to the United States to study. Instead he was sent to Japan as a special envoy for 10 months. During this period, he witnessed Japan's post-war economic development and made some resolutions. In December, he was appointed as president of Korea Tungsten Co. where he worked with Hwang Gyeong-ro, An Byung-hwa, Roh Joong-yol, and Chang Kyung-hwan. All of them would work together on the sand of Yeongil Bay four years later. Park turned around the money-losing company in just one year. It was a hands-on business experience for him whose stellar results were closely watched by Park Chung-hee. It was in November 1967 that Park Chung-hee appointed him as 'chairman of the promotion committee for creating a steelmaking complex.' Actually, the two began to design the steelmaking complex from 1965.
Year 1927~1947 1948~1960 1961~1967 1968~1992 1993~2000 2001~2011 When POSCO was created on April 1, 1968 TJ Park became its first president. Out of the 39 founding members there were only two people who had seen a furnace: the president and vice president. They had no technology, experience, or capital. In other words, they had nothing. Loan and technology were originally supposed to come from KISA established in 1966, an international consortium made up of eight steel companies from the U.S., Britain, West Germany, Italy, and France. It was in charge of building Korea's steel company. Based on a report from the World Bank saying the project would fail, however, KISA started to send signals that it would not honor the contract in February 1969 when the construction of the steel yard was about to be completed. Park traveled to the U.S. and confirmed that KISA would not fulfill its promise. On the way back home he stopped over in Hawaii and came up with the idea of using some of the compensation funds from Japan, which was approved by Park Chung-hee. It was a breakthrough and revived hopes of building the envisaged steel company. The construction of the steelmaker's first plant with an annual production capacity of 1.03 million tons started on April 1st in 1970, with the help of compensation funds and a loan from Japan worth about US$120 million and a group of Japanese technology experts. First, TJ Park emphasized the "spirit of turn right!" in which he argued that they should turn right to dive into Yeongil Bay if the project should fail as the factory was built on the compensation in exchange for ancestors' blood. Second, he infused the "spirit of serving the country with the production of steel" in which he argued that they should contribute to the country by achieving great success in the steel industry. Coming as a result of the combination of a sense of mission, exemplary behavior, putting public interests before personal ones, and future strategy, his excellent leadership put POSCO on a roll. Furthermore, President Park Chung-hee gave him full trust and carte blanche in the purchase of facilities. Such approval shielded POSCO from the political influence, and Park Chung-hee visited the company as many as 13 times between 1978 and 1979, showing his deep affection for and interest in the project. Such support put POSCO on the track towards success in the future by raising the morale of the executives and the staff. Following the unexpected death of Park Chung-hee on October 26th in 1979, TJ Park went into politics in order to protect POSCO. Nevertheless, he fulfilled the mission of building the second steel company which had been entrusted by Park Chung-hee. This was to be Gwangyang Steel Company, the most efficient steelmaker in the world. The four-plant steel complex with a production capacity of 12 million tons was completed on September 30th in 1992. To mark the occasion, Park set up an arch to celebrate the 'completion of a quarter century of the POSCO complex construction.' It opened the way for Korea's production of 21 million tons of steel, putting the country at the top in steel production. The following day, Park paid a visit to the tomb of Park Chung-hee in Seoul National Cemetery to report the accomplished mission in tears. Then, he quit as a member of the supreme council of the ruling party and announced his resignation from the political scene. He rejected the offer to be the campaign manager for Kim Young-sam, then the most likely candidate for the presidency, and he stepped down from POSCO's chairmanship. POSCO's leadership in the industrialization of Korea means that the company supplied steel at a 30-40 percent lower price than the international price to Korean carmakers, electronic makers, construction and engineering companies in the 1970s-80s. This stable supply of high-quality steel products enabled them to gain competitive advantage in the global market. Against all odds, Park's POSCO was in the black since day one, developing into the world's best steelmaker. Moreover, Park never received a single share from the company, setting a global example as a 'businessman for the country and its people,' one of the many factors for being celebrated as one of the greatest businessmen in the world. Opening up new horizons for education in Korea During his 25-year period as head of POSCO, TJ Park built a total of 14 elementary, middle-and high schools in Pohang with the help of POSCO funds, and developed them into first-class schools. In 1986, he established Pohang University of Science and Technology(POSTECH), the first science and engineering research university in Korea. He devoted himself to growing it into one of the top universities in the world. By doing so, he fulfilled the task of serving the country with education, one of his two key missions in his life along with serving the nation with steelmaking. His ambitious idea to serve the nation with education started from the insurance rebate worth 60 million won which unexpectedly in 1970. He went to Cheong Wa Dae, he received to deliver the money back to Park Chung-hee, saying, "This is extra income, which is not from the POSCO budget. Please use it for governing purposes." But Park Chung-hee returned the money saying "use it as you like." TJ Park consulted with the executives and established the POSCO Scholarship Foundation in November 1970, which became the cradle of the idea of serving the country with education. The first school which POSCO built was Hyoja Kindergarten. Fifteen years later, TJ Park established POSTECH, and 20 years later he set up Pohang Light Source. The 'POSCO education,' the brainchild of Park's grand future plan, is significant as it has opened up new horizons for education in Korea.
Year 1927~1947 1948~1960 1961~1967 1968~1992 1993~2000 2001~2011 Because of political conflict with Kim Young-sam, Park had to live abroad for about four years from spring in 1993 until 1997. After he returned home, he expressed his intent to run for parliamentary seat in Pohang in May 1997. In July, he won by a landslide in a by-election, gaining a foothold to clear his name and serve the country for the last time. He was appointed as chairman of the United Liberal Democratic Party and joined hands with Kim Jong-pil and Kim Dae-jung in the presidential election. His logic and cause were that the reconciliation between industrialization and democratic forces, Gyeongsang and Jeolla provinces, in the midst of the national economic crisis would be the driving force behind pioneering a hopeful 21st century. Kim Dae-jung's narrow victory resulted in Park having the nickname of ambassador of chaebol reform' at a time when the country needed a major restructuring of the economy such as corporate reform and overhaul of various systems amidst the crisis of national insolvency. He served as co-president of the ruling party and became the first Prime Minister of the new millennium in January 2000. But he declared his retirement from politics and public office in May amidst the conflict between Kim Dae-jung and Kim Jong-pil. Meanwhile, Park had been battling with illness for years.
Year 1927~1947 1948~1960 1961~1967 1968~1992 1993~2000 2001~2011 In the summer of 2001, the 74-year-old Park underwent a major operation at the Weill Cornell Medical Center. It took about six and a half hours. His surgeon removed a rib and a 3.2-kg cyst below his lungs. Silica was found near the roots of the cyst, implying that it was attributed to the sand that he had inhaled at Yeongil Bay. After he recovered Park returned home and became honorary chairman of POSCO, involving in little external activities. In 2008, he became board director of the POSCO TJ Park Foundation. In the meantime, his biography "TJ Park, the World's Best Iron Man"(856 pages, published by Hyeonam) was published in December 2004, providing an opportunity for our society to do him justice. The following year, the Chinese translation was published in Beijing, and an abridged Vietnamese version was published under the title of "TJ Park, Iron Man" in January 2010. The side effects of the operation surfaced in the spring of 2011. He coughed frequently, sometimes spitting blood. In September, he had a reunion with his retired POSCO workers who had toiled against the sand wind in Yeongil Bay. The title of the reunion was "I've missed you! Sir, we too!" Four hundred elderly men and woman held a tearful reunion at the POSCO gym in Jikgok-dong, Pohang. Park asked them to keep in mind that the seed money of POSCO was the compensation funds from Japan, saying that a high level of ethics stemmed from the fact. He also emphasized that POSCO was the brainchild of Park Chung-hee's will and planning, he trusted him completely, and he gave full support and protection for them. Stressing that they had to remember those who had died during factory construction and work, he intoned, "Let's take it as our life's pride and honor that our blood and tears are shining like stars in the history of POSCO and our fatherland's modernization!" TJ Park passed away at 5 p.m. on December 13th 2011. He could not get up after undergoing his second operation at Yonsei University's Severance Hospital. He was buried at a patriot's tomb in Seoul National Cemetery in Dongjak-dong, Seoul. Upon death he became a neighbor to Park Chung-hee.