By Lee Jong-man, from Hakwoo Gurakbu Vol. 1, No. 1 (July 1939) (Age 54)
My hometown is Yongjam-ri, Daehyeon-myeon, Ulsan-gun, Gyeongnam Province. It’s a small farming and fishing village. The scenery isn't particularly grand, but it's quite a beautiful village. As a child, I studied in a geulbang (traditional Korean school) before getting a haircut and entering Daehyeon School. That Daehyeon School is now the Second Public Elementary School, and to commemorate my alma mater, I recently invested 15,000 won to establish it. And to commemorate my hometown, I decided to create a self-sufficient farming village with an expense of 100,000 won.
My family wasn't extremely wealthy, but as self-sufficient farmers, we harvested over a hundred seok (a unit of grain), so we weren't in dire straits and lived in a peaceful and happy home. I was the third son among seven siblings. After turning twenty, I harbored a dream, left my hometown for Busan, and started a business in trade and fishing. However, I failed spectacularly. Moreover, I disliked seeing the fish rot away while fishing, and I hated seeing the fishermen drink, beat drums, and dance, so I stopped fishing. As a result, I incurred significant losses, sold my land to repay debts with the then-current money (yeopjeon), and returned home. Due to my mistakes, our family finances became difficult, and I couldn't bear to see my parents and siblings heartbroken because we had no land to farm. At that time, an extraordinary resolve came over me: to somehow restore this collapsed family and fortune.
With tears and sighs, I left my hometown mountains and rivers, resolutely departed, and came up to Gyeongseong (Seoul). I then spent nearly ten years traveling around Gangwon Province and Hamgyeong Province for land reclamation projects. However, I didn't succeed, and only then did the idea of doing mining occur to me. But I hesitated due to lack of capital and then set off to see Geumgangsan (Diamond Mountains). At Onjeong-ri, I accidentally met a friend, and with his help, I pursued gold mining in areas like Hoeyang, Yanggu, and Chuncheon. However, all these ventures failed, and I came back up to Gyeongseong and organized a company called Nongrim Jusik Hoesa (Agriculture and Forestry Co., Ltd.).
The plan was to purchase and manage vast state-owned forests, which had sufficient potential and was progressing well, but it collapsed due to a lack of suitable personnel. I then re-engaged in land reclamation projects in places like Bukcheong, Hamgyeong Province. Ultimately, I only ended up doing good for a wealthy person, who reaped all the profits, so in a fit of anger, I rushed back to Seoul.
At that time, I thought I would rather engage in social work than make money, so I created something called Gohakdang (School for Struggling Students) to educate students who were struggling financially. Although the school building was like a hut, there were over 300 students, and because there was no funding, Mr. Lee Jun-yeol, who was a teacher then, and I delivered newspapers and pulled coal carts. Mr. Lee Jun-yeol was in charge of teaching the students, and I was in charge of feeding them, and the hardship at that time was beyond words. Mr. Lee Jun-yeol, who struggled with me back then, is now the managing director of Daedong Mining Co., Ltd. When I think of the hardships we endured with hundreds of students during the summer rainy season and the cold winter, I am truly filled with emotion. That I am still involved in education, and plan to be in the future, can be said to be a gift from those past struggles.
The Gohakdang accumulated debts of 5,000 to 6,000 won, and I was forced to close it down, experiencing the misfortune of its liquidation. With the ambition to leave the city and build an ideal farming village, I went to Yeongheung-gun with the support of Messrs. Kim Yeo-sik and Kim Chang-jun. At that time, my sand gold mining venture failed due to a flood, and due to a sense of responsibility, I started gold mining again. In a place called Myeongtae-dong, Hawoncheon, Hamnam, I partnered with someone to operate another person's mine. The results were very good, but my partner took all the profit, and I left the place with only 17 jeon (a small unit of money). The indignation and despair at that time were beyond words.
After that, I roamed the mountains prospecting for mines. I searched for ore veins deep in the mountains, through ice and snow in winter. The toenail I lost then has not healed to this day, and it still itches terribly in the summer. In Sinheung, I operated a gold mine with the support of Mr. Hyun Seung-jin, earning 200,000 won, but then failed again. Afterwards, I independently managed the Hampyeong Mine in Gosan-myeon, Jeongpyeong, without capital, and then bought the Yeongpyeong Mine for 450 won and extracted minerals for four years. I managed the mine there under the spirit of self-sufficiency. Unexpectedly, the results were excellent, and I sold it for 1.5 million won a few years ago, contributing 500,000 won to Daedong Nongchon Sa (Daedong Rural Company). And though it may sound like boasting, I then distributed 250,000 won to my employees and several hundred thousand won to my benefactors.
My current businesses include investments in Daedong Technical College (1.5 million won), Daedong Mining Co., Ltd. (3 million won), the Mining Association (150,000 won), and Daedong Publishing Co. (100,000 won), which I am currently managing.
As for mining areas, the Jangjin mine is the largest, with an annual output value of 30 million won and 280 mining districts. There are 140 districts in Chosan and 300 in Jaseong. In total, combining various locations, there are over 1,000 mining districts. A recently discovered iron mine is estimated to contain 100 million tons, which is valued at hundreds of millions of won, so I look forward to the future with great anticipation and joy.
I am not boasting at all about all this wealth. This is not my property; it belongs to society and to Joseon, and I say this without concealment, only to share our joy. In the future, I wish to establish a comprehensive university and build a science research center with the wealth that I acquire. I want to establish an industrial school in Pyeongyang, an agricultural school in Namseon (Southern Korea), and liberal arts and natural science departments in Gyeongseong (Seoul). I believe that I will surely realize this, and I pray to Heaven for it. Furthermore, I intend to extensively implement rural projects and self-sufficient farming through a company organization.
My motto is 'Workplace as Classroom (職場敎場), Labor-Management Cooperation, Rural Idealization'—these three. I proceed with these as my goals. Once all these projects are launched, my plan is to entrust each institution to its suitable person and for me, personally, to freely and leisurely spend the rest of my life, without responsibility, as a miner if I go to a mine, or a farmer if I go to a rural area. This is my set business plan, and my philosophy on life.
I am currently preparing to send talented individuals abroad for study. And in any company I manage, if profits remain, half of them are distributed to employees and workers. Although this might seem like a loss at first glance, it actually leads to good results and benefits both parties.
The success I have now did not happen overnight through gold mining. It involved blood and sweat that others do not know, and it is a delusion for anyone to think they can become rich overnight without effort. However, money is everywhere, and anyone can grasp it with effort. Governments and financial institutions are waiting for people to come and ask for the money they have created. The reason one cannot obtain that money is that their method is wrong, and they try to acquire it without effort or production.
The first thing is trust. If a person becomes trusted by others, and also by God, then nothing is impossible for them. God created the universe and all things and gave them all to us, so we too can possess money as we wish. If one cannot possess it, it is due to their own fault, and because God dislikes them and people dislike them. If there is sincerity and effort, and trust is thorough, gold will naturally be drawn to them.
I still lack much. And I know much less. I diligently learn knowledge in religious fields, scientific fields, and all other fields from teachers and students, and cultivating myself is also a great task. I find my sole pleasure in reading books and meditating with closed eyes. And my question is, "How can I live as a true human being?" I also choose to understand everything positively and rejoice.
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