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Doing My Best at the Risk of My Life Saved Me.

Posted August. 06, 2003 21:31,   

A story of a retired man`s resurgence, who once lost all his assets in a moment to pay off someone else`s debts that he guaranteed and attempted suicide numerous times, is now moving us deeply. In particular, the story related to his frustration and recovering from it gives even more salience as it contrasts recent atmosphere of our society where some people take their own lives without much hesitation.

The man of the story is Kang Seok-joon who is currently running an environmental solutions company, `Eeko Bio,` of six staff in the business incubation center of the Research Park at Seoul National University

He lost all his fortunes that he raised while working for a cement company for 30 years due to the currency crisis in 1997. As a friend that he guaranteed a loan went bankrupt with 13 billion won debts, in the twinkling of an eye, Kang lost the cement company, which he invested 100 million won of his retirement allowance, and a 49 pyong apartment in Bundang-gu, Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi.

What is worse, his son (28 at that time) and daughter (25 at that time) who used to work for a motor company and a construction company respectively lost their jobs as victims of businesses reconstructing.

”When my son who was preparing lunch told me `father, there is even no more noodles left`, while my wife was out for odd jobs, as a patriarch of a family, I felt so painful sorrow that I couldn`t put it in words,” said Kang with tears in his eyes.

There was only despair and frustration left for him. He was so shamed that ,in the deep of winter, to freeze himself to death, he went to mountains where hardly no one visits several times and drank 3 bottles of soju and slept there covering his body only with dead leaves. “I couldn`t think of anything. I only repeated to my self everyday that I will commit suicide.”

Kang, however, changed his mind while ravenously eating a meal that an acquaintance that he met by chance in 1998 treated.

“My inner-self told me `What can worse? Death? Ok, let me try one more time,` and, all of the sudden, I could clearly think about my poor father that I used to support and my family.”

Since that day, Kang went to the National Library of Korea every single day. He couldn`t afford to have lunch but, concentrating chemical engineering, that he majored in the university, he started to devote himself in studying powdered silver which has sterilizing power. He came home at night and experimented with silver vessels at home as his experiment materials. After endless experiment, in 2000, he finally developed the `powdered silver coated ceramic ball` which can sterilize bacteria in a humidifier or cooling tower and applied for a patent. After 3 and half years of his efforts, in August 2001, the year that he turned 60, he met an investor and established a company in the Research Park at Seoul National University.

The technology of the company has received much favorable criticism in the U.S. and he is now negotiating with a humidifier company of a conglomerate in Korea.

Kang only sleeps 4 hours a day to work more. He is now developing paint products that are not sticky to animals and commercializing its rice hull extraction technology in making silica that can be used in making semiconductors or cosmetics, medicines.

Reflecting his harsh past that was venerable to committing suicide, he advises.

“I did my best at the risk of my life. Then success came along. I am naturally fit but rather than that having sprit was a key to my success. Chances always come to you. Try to forget about bad past.



Jin-Suk Huh jameshuh@donga.com