Making Hyundai, Remaking Seoul: From CEO to South Korea's President The Autobiography of Lee Myung-bak
Lee Myung-bak

This compelling memoir paints a riveting portrait of one Korean's unlikely journey from an early life of stark, grinding poverty to the highest echelons of his country's corporate and governmental leadership. Born in Japan, Lee Myung-bak witnessed the deaths of two of his siblings in the Korean War, survived with his family by hauling garbage from the open-air market in which his beloved mother worked from dawn until dusk, and then endured imprisonment for his student activities in opposition to Korea's military dictatorship.

After he graduated from college, Lee was hired and then quickly promoted as the youngest CEO of Hyundai as it emerged from an obscure construction company to one of the world's top multinational corporations. Working in far-flung outposts ranging from Thailand to Iraq to Siberia, he led Hyundai in the brutally competitive world of international business, winning major contracts that turned the company into a force on the world economic scene.

After years of corporate success, Lee then turned his attention to the political world, where as mayor of Seoul he again confronted enormous challenges in a capital city plagued by notorious water and air pollution, gridlocked streets, and a lack of green spaces and cultural events for its huge population. Moving up to the national scene, he easily won the 2007 presidential election and now serves as president of the Republic of Korea.

Filled with insider anecdotes and outlining Lee's "six strategies for success"—which led to Hyundai's remarkable growth, Seoul's turnaround, and South Korea's growing stature on the world stage—this deeply revealing account of Korean business and political culture will be invaluable for all readers fascinated by Korea's rise.