Born of This Land

Why it’s on the list: The autobiography of Chung Ju-yung, who left a farming village in what is now North Korea with nothing, opened an auto-repair shop, and built Hyundai — construction, shipbuilding, cars, heavy industry — into one of the world’s largest industrial groups alongside the postwar reconstruction of South Korea. Written in his eighties, it covers the colonial period, the Korean War, the contracting business that grew on American military work, and the shipyards and highways he took on before he had the capacity to deliver them.

Where I heard about it

• @mastersinvest — on his “2025 Reading … so far” list, August 2025, in bold (his mark for “very good”), annotated “Chung Ju-yung, founder Hyundai”. The full 46-title list is on 2025 Reading So Far… (tweet).
• @patrick_oshag’s thread — named in the replies to his question “Anyone read anything thought provoking lately ?”, October 2026 (@ArturoSaCo: “the self bio of the founder of Hyundai”). Full set of replies: Anyone read anything thought provoking… (tweet).

Connections

• 2025 Reading So Far… (tweet) — the list this came from.
• HD Hyundai — the shipbuilding and heavy-industry arm of the group Chung built, and the only Hyundai page in the wiki so far.