Global Engagement

I began my journey in mechanical engineering at Seoul National University at a time when Korea’s research infrastructure was very limited. We had a few donated cars on campus that we could observe, but not take apart. During my military service at the Air Force Academy, I finally gained hands-on experience working with engines. That experience inspired me to pursue deeper, practical study, which ultimately led me to Stony Brook University. Stony Brook provided the hands-on environment I needed. In the lab, I was testing radical ideas, analyzing why they broke, and learning how to fix them. There, I realized that meaningful progress comes from repeatedly learning from mistakes. I brought this mindset back to Korea when I joined Hyundai as its first R&D researcher, later serving as Executive Vice Chairman for R&D and leading more than 15,000 researchers. At the time, Korea’s automotive industry relied largely on borrowed technology, and many doubted whether we could develop our own. Developing the Alpha engine was a constant battle. Engine blocks cracked during endurance tests, and cooling pumps failed repeatedly. We iterated, strengthened the designs, and eventually produced Korea's first proprietary engine. That single design stayed in production for 22 years and powered 14 million vehicles, contributing to Korea’s emergence in the global automotive industry. After Alpha, approximately 40 additional engines were developed, including the Beta and Gamma engines, which helped drive Hyundai Motor’s growth into one of the world’s top three automobile companies. In particular, the Theta-1 engine, developed in 2003, was licensed to Chrysler and Mitsubishi and became a core engine in their vehicle lineups. Ultimately, my time at Stony Brook taught me that true innovation is built on the courage to fail. If your success rate is 100%, you aren't truly challenging yourself. Real breakthroughs require the courage to take risks and the resilience to learn from every failure.