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Person1915 – 2001

Chung Ju-yung

Founder of the Hyundai group; crossed Panmunjom with a herd of cattle in 1998 and opened the Mount Geumgang tours

He founded Hyundai Engineering & Construction, which took on national development works such as the Gyeongbu Expressway and construction projects abroad, and expanded into shipbuilding and cars. In 1992 he founded the Unification National Party and ran for president. In 1998 he twice crossed Panmunjom into North Korea with herds of cattle on trucks, and Mount Geumgang tours began that November. Hyundai later also took part in the Kaesong Industrial Complex project.

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2 related events

  1. 1
    1998Chung Ju-yung’s Cattle Convoy to the Northkey figure

    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.

  2. 2
    1998 – 2008Start of Mount Geumgang Tourskey figure

    After Chung Ju-yung crossed into North Korea with a herd of cattle, a ship carrying South Korean tourists sailed from Donghae for Mount Geumgang.

People who appear alongside

  • Kim Dae-jung1924 – 2009

    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

  • Kim Jong Il1941 – 2011

    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

Themes this person appears in

  • 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

  • Changing Unification Policies1948 – 2018

    From “march north” to the Panmunjom Declaration — inter-Korean relations from confrontation to dialogue, through joint statements and agreements to summits (up to 2018)