Economy16 June and 27 October 1998

Chung Ju-yung’s Cattle Convoy to the North

Also called: Cattle diplomacy

Hyundai’s honorary chairman Chung Ju-yung twice crossed Panmunjom into North Korea with trucks carrying a total of 1,001 cattle, opening the way for the Mount Geumgang tours.

Trucks carrying 501 cattle entering Panmunjom on their way north, 27 October 1998
TSGT Renee' Sitler · Public domain · Source

Born in Tongcheon, Gangwon Province, Chung Ju-yung had left home as a young man with money from his father’s sale of a cow. On 16 June 1998 he crossed Panmunjom into North Korea with 50 trucks carrying 500 cattle raised on his farm at Seosan in South Chungcheong — the first time a civilian had gone north through Panmunjom.

On 27 October he crossed again with 501 more, 1,001 head in all, and on 30 October he met Kim Jong Il, chairman of the National Defence Commission. The Mount Geumgang tours agreed on during these visits began on 18 November that year and later led on to the Kaesong Industrial Complex.

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States and rulers at the time: South Korea — President Kim Dae-jung
North Korea — Supreme Leader Kim Jong Il
Places: Panmunjom, Mount Geumgang

People

Chung Ju-yung1915 – 2001
key figure · Founder of the Hyundai group; crossed Panmunjom with a herd of cattle in 1998 and opened the Mount Geumgang tours
Kim Jong Il1941 – 2011
related figure · Son of Kim Il Sung and leader of North Korea (1994–2011). Named successor in 1980; ruled as chairman of the National Defence Commission under "military-first" politics. North Korea gives his birth year as 1942
Kim Dae-jung1924 – 2009
related figure · 15th President (1998–2003), the first transfer of power to the opposition by election. Steered recovery from the currency crisis and held the first inter-Korean summit; Nobel Peace Prize 2000

Before and after

Earlier: 1998 1998 Nagano Winter Olympics
Later: 1998 Start of Mount Geumgang Tours

Themes that include this event

Inter-Korean Relations: Thaw and Freeze1953 – 2024
From the armistice to “two hostile states” — inter-Korean relations, thawed by talks and exchanges and frozen again by provocations and clashes