Gwanggyaeto Leadership

 King Gwanggyaeto the Great in the Goguryeo, the old land of Korea, is a historical figure who is called Alexander the great in East Asia. He was awarded the title of King the Great, like Sejong the Great, an outstanding politician who invented the world’s most scientific character Hangeul and managed well for the happiness of the people and the stability of the country. 

More than 600 years after Alexander the Great (356-323 BC) unified Greece and Persia and became a hero and died, Gwanggaeto the Great (374-412) expanded his kingdom as a great empire on a wider land than in East Asia. Like Alexander, Gwanggaeto was a relatively short life after becoming king at the age of a teenager, but achieved great political achievements.

As soon as he became the king, he attacked Baekje in the south to get the land, won a naval battle with ancient Japan and advanced to Inner Mongolia in the north. Likewise, he expanded his territory and secured an economic foundation for the people’s livelihood and wide trade in living commodities and resources. And it prospered through the formation and exchange of Goguryeo’s own culture. Furthermore, as he expanded the territory of the Korean Peninsula, he even placed Japan under his sphere of influence.

It is especially noteworthy that Goguryeo had an influence on the relationship between Eastern and Western Asia through cultural exchanges with surrounding neighbors, Central Asia and India. A large historical stone monument written on the triumph of Gwanggaeto the Great is quite famous.

“The king’s grace went up to the sky, and his dignity reached the whole world. When the bad crowd was wiped out, the people all worked hard and lived in comfort. The country had become rich and strong, and it was full of all kinds of grain. Unfortunately, however, Heaven did not show pity on these people, and had the great king leave their side as early as 39 years old.” +

The management crisis that occurred to Dongdaemun merchants has been happening frequently. The big factor in the management crisis would be the narrow market size. To make matters worse, the market contracted even more as foreign buyers from China, Japan, Russia and Southeast Asian countries declined. 

-Some of the popular Dongdaemun fashion items we exported last week, seoulclick.com- 

In the midst of this management crisis, Dongdaemun merchants must look to the global market in line with the leadership of Gwanggaeto the Great. If anyone sees it from a different perspective, however, there will probably be a wide global market. 

Now, we need to understand the experience of Dongwon Group Chairman Kim Jae-chul and his entrepreneurship. 

Chairman Kim Jae-chul is an entrepreneur who founded Dongwon, a seafood company in 1969, and retired in 2019 and became the honorary chairman. Donated a lot of research funding to KAIST with the idea that AI is the food of the future, he broadened his horizons and saw new work and a wide global market like his quote.  

“Let’s turn the world map upside down. The Korean peninsula is no longer a small peninsula hanging on the eastern edge of the Eurasian continent, but a strategic gateway to Northeast Asia that rises toward the vast ocean of the Pacific Ocean.” ++

With a new thinking like Columbus, he started an innovative business that went to distant seas and grew into a large company that today benefits from economies of scale. In this way, he is one of the true entrepreneurs of this era who can be praised for Gwanggaeto’s leadership towards a vast new land. +++

CEO Kim Jae-chul, as a person who led the pioneering and growth of Korean fishing in distant seas, said that those who are weak in sailing can die. As in business management, however, it is said that when strong, fishery production is increased even in the rough sea, and great performance of the management is achieved. 

In the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic, I ordered fresh food online from a luxury department store yesterday and got it delivered. When I opened the box of the delivered product, I was surprised to see that the department store put a couple of frozen bottles of natural mineral water in place of ice packs. As Dongwon pursues social responsibility and is manufacturing drinking water with eco bottles made lightly with small actions to save the earth, I once again thought about the entrepreneurial spirit of CEO Kim Jae-cheol.

Dongdaemun merchants’ global marketing strategy is like a rough sea with high waves, so it can be achieved when it has strong market competitiveness. The problem is that Dongdaemun merchants are small and medium-sized companies, and not only have weak market competitiveness, but also have not accumulated experience or know-how in trading with a larger and unknown global market. 

Fortunately, however, now is the era of borderless trade and commerce. Since sustainable management is difficult by simply waiting for overseas buyers to come, all Dongdaemun merchants should strengthen their market competitiveness and seek out the global market on their own. 

It is an unavoidable strategic choice for survival. Of course, enhancing market competitiveness is not so easy as Rome was not built in a day. Fortunately, the wisdom of Gwanggaeto the great left the solution as a valuable gift for us.

“Every day, 50 steps and 100 steps doesn’t seem to make a big difference, but if this piles up, it makes a huge difference. Don’t be afraid of trial and error, walk 100 steps every day. Our Goguryeo people should always keep that pace.” ++++

+ https://ko.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gwangaeto

++ https://www.google.com/search?/Captain Kim/book

+++ Rather, he is right to say that he is a pioneer in maritime management, like the famous Jang Bogo of the Silla dynasty.

+++++ https://vod.kbs.co.kr/index.html?source=episode&sname

<53>

Bong Sul (Advisor, SeoulClick)

www.seoulclick.com

Read more: Bong (Bong Sik) Sul, Dongdaemun Style, ebook.kstudy.com, Seoul, 2019.