[Opinion] “Construction Power”

People working in the construction industry were called “contractors” right after Korea’s independence. The word was a holdover from the era of Japanese colonial rule. “Contracting” means that someone legally agrees to do something within a certain period. At that time, those who are engaged in the construction were just considered subcontractors. When the Chosun Construction Association, which was later changed to the Korea Construction Association, was established, most of its 138 member companies were small businesses without employees. However, now, after 60 years, the industry has grown to 55,000 enterprises with annual contracts worth 110 trillion won.

Exports and construction have been two growth engines for Korea’s economic development. Starting from the first overseas construction order for Thailand’s highways in 1965, the industry became the world’s second largest next to the U.S. in terms of orders received in 1981. Also, thanks to a construction boom in the Middle East, many workers left their families to work in the region. Most of them earned big money after a couple of years of hard work. They contributed to the development of Korea’s economy as they sent their hard-earned money to the nation.

With the development in the construction industry, the nation was able to build highways, subways, harbors and houses out of the ashes of the Korean War within a very short span of time. There was a dark side behind the rapid and remarkable achievement, however. Seongsu Bridge and Sampung department store collapsed in 1994 and 1995, respectively due to shoddy work. Yet, the industry successfully overcame this crisis by once again successfully making inroads into the overseas construction market after the 1997 financial crisis.

Now, Korea is recognized for its highly sophisticated construction technology. In Dubai, Samsung is constructing a 160-story building that will be the world’s tallest (700m high). Last year, the industry received overseas orders totaling 16.5 billion dollars, the largest yearly total ever.

Yesterday was the 60th anniversary of Korea’s Construction Day. I feel so proud of the achievements that the industry has made for the country. The construction industry is where Koreans can keep their upper hand in the future since it values the quality of technology and human power. We have created what we have today out of nothing. We can do the same again only if we follow suit of the construction workers and learn their challenging spirit and diligence. Marking the anniversary, I deeply thank the construction workers for their services.

Hong Chan-sik, Editorial Writer, chansik@donga.com