Posthumously, his son became king of the Han Dynasty and is now protagonist of Hyundai. His name is Cheong Mong-gu. Like his father, he is lusty, imperious and overbearing as a dignified machismo even if he is not good-looking.
His face is starchy, square-faced, podgy, and dark-complected with yoke bones as a man of his kidney. His eyes are always sharp and sparkling. His brain is very quick and smart. His body is tall, square-built, and stalwart. His character is manly, tough, and rough. All of it was a clone to his father. Like his father’s early habits, he is, also, passionate with phenomenal propelling power.
Besides, he, like his father, has labored strenuously in the job with obsession. So he is a bear for work. To be sure, his father must have imbued his positive character into his son as a hardnosed mentor. As a result, everything in him influenced the son in a daily life style. Resilience, perseverance, gumption, and workaholic attitude are clone. Like father, like son, Cheong Mong-gu regards Saturday as another Friday. Such hard-driving character has brought the controversial issue such as ‘Saturday Management.’ Thus, the staff under him would grumble about the Saturday Management and gave acrimonious comments about him by balancing his father’s character.
“In principal, most of his character is almost like his father’s. His zygomatic face also reminds us of his father. Like him, he is initially energetic and hot-aired with a hot temper. He has no negative character at all. He, like his father, has possessed a propelling force with tough manners. No sooner said than done. To make something out of nothing is his job. Probably he was born and bred a man like his father. Actually, such a direct and real action was his father’s typical style. Like his father, he has carried his job very well so far. What is bred in the bone will not go out of the flesh. However, his obsession and his second nature seem to be more or less deflected from his father’s tough character.”
One day his men reported to Cheong Ju-young grumblingly as below:
‘This job has lots of problems. It’s not possible to achieve it.’
At this negative thinking, he cried out to them.
“Have you ever tried to do it before
Why not to do it with your best”
It was his tip for his men.
And it was his whip.
Also, it was the secret of his great success. Like Napoleon Bonaparte, there was nothing impossible in him. Certainly, his best bet was a challengeable can-do spirit. And it was his best weapon. And it influenced his son. Thus, like him the son believes in the magic of can-do spirit:
‘If you can, I can, too. There is nothing I can do.’
Indeed, he, like his father, does not know the word of defeatism. So the son was his clone.
Regarding his son, however, his story was stranger than fiction.
Unquestionably he must have been the first-born son(嫡子)with the same character as his father.
Nonetheless, he was not lovable to his father. The reason was not known. But, it was clear that he must not have been the most favorite son for him. So his father let other younger son succeed to the crown. And the father gave him this (auto) project only.
Compared to the crown, the job was trivial and inferior. But it was the only one job for him. Like it or not, it was his lifework. So he had to grin and bear. From then on, he came to cling to the project obsessively. Like his father he breasted himself to the last but not least project desperately. So he zeroed in on the business. Of course, he decided to redeem the crown from his younger brother. As a result, this small project gave him a chance to demonstrate his ability. Indeed he displayed herculean efforts at home and abroad. Subsequently, such a can-do spirit and indomitable attitude from his father prevailed and assured him great successes. Then he could have matched or surpassed his father’s legendary reputation and heroic achievements. And then he could have managed to come back to the throne of the kingdom.
In the process of the redemption of the throne, there was a bloody struggle with his brothers and other competitors over the power. So, the Han Dynasty had to suffer from the ‘Princes’ War’ for many years. After sitting on the throne he baptized one of his luxurious chariots ‘Dynasty.’ Supposedly, through using this baptism he might have wanted to proclaim his victory to the people ostentatiously:
“I am king of the Han Dynasty as the first-born son. So, it is natural that the name of chariot is baptized Dynasty on behalf of me.”
Now, his hope was to be a respectable man like his father’s mentor Chang Bo-ko. So he imitated the mentor’s generosity so that he has recently created the Fund to Charity to help poor people and encourage young men to study hard without concern with the money.
However, there is a quite different thing between him and his father or his icon Chang, Bo-ko. The difference is that his ambition is larger than theirs. (靑出於藍) One day he daringly said to his men:
“I am not focused upon the Far East. My dream extends beyond that of my father’s or my icon Chang Bo-ko. Now I am preoccupied with the world trend to occupy the whole wide world. I want to be respected as a world warlord. It is my dream and hope.”
If it is true, his remark is amazing. If so, his dream is bigger than Chang Bo-ko’s.
According to the Korean records, Chang Bo-ko was a great businessman in Korean history. He conceived a great Asian dream for the first time in the Far East. He carried out a record-breaking plan and proved himself that he was an interregional champion. So the historic figure was hailed as the great expeditionary navigator by his people and neighboring countries. For such a reason, Cheong Mong-gu was eager to be a Chang Bo-ko even if he had no same blood with him. Now he has outdone him in many fields.
