Chambumo Gyeong - 451. Tongil Industries
True Parents built and managed the Yehwa Air Rifle Factory as one of the first steps in creating a global economic foundation. On May 20, 1959, after the establishment of HSA-UWC, we received a permit to build a factory for Yehwa Air Rifles, and established the factory at Incheon and used it as a foundation to build Tongil Industries. Because True Parents believed that the machine tool industry was important for the revival of Korean manufacturing, they established Tongil Industries, incorporating technologies from around the world. True Parents devoted themselves to Tongil Industries, not for the sake of the company but for the future of Korea and the world. Although it began small, Tongil Industries' outstanding technology played an important role in the development of Korea's key industries, especially the automotive and military sectors. 6 To the same degree that we engage in church activities, we must think about the items young people like and use. One such product is the air rifle. We are the only ones in Korea who have conducted research into this technology. We did so for the sake of product quality and future results. If we do a good job in the development stage, I am confident we will eventually gain success. We will obtain patents to build new products. When you create a new product, it is not perfect from the beginning. I studied this industry and came to know the stages of product development. It is absolutely impossible to invent something and reach commercial success in the same year. It takes at least three years, if not more. I began with this awareness. We built a factory at Incheon, but at that time the factory had nothing. I had an assistant and one machine tool. It was a shop with nothing but a couple of machine drills, some saws and a plane. That is the origin of our air rifle factory. (158-191, 1967/12/27) 7 When we first were making the air rifle, we used brass pipes as one of its components, and that failed. We decided to buy stainless steel pipes instead. That's when we began to make rifles from stainless steel. To start, we made about 30 rifles and sold them. We were able to sell them, but it was costly to continue the operation. For seven years we had to invest in the factory. After seven years, in 1964 we began full-scale marketing of our rifles. Those years were a period for us to identify our mistakes in the manufacturing process and address these problems. If we had started to mass produce air rifles without first identifying these issues, we would have sustained tremendous losses. It took us about seven years to identify and remedy the problems in every aspect of the production process. Now we have begun mass production with the confidence that nothing will go wrong. It was through this ten-year history that we began to mass-produce air rifles. (158-192, 1967/12/27) 8 When we first began to manufacture air rifles, there was gossip among our HSA-UWC leaders and members. Nobody understood Father's heart. Even the people who were in charge of the project did not understand, so I commuted to the Incheon factory twice a day. People had to stay involved because I was visiting the factory every day. Now these operations have turned into a company that is considered in Korea to be the most, or maybe second most, successful in the production of patented products. This is how I developed this company. You are selling air rifles. This rifle is a remarkable tactical product. Korea is dealing with a communist threat, so this product is appropriate, given the backdrop of the times. (158-192, 1967/12/27) 9 Companies that have a sturdy foundation have technicians, funding and professional managers. We grew our business under difficult circumstances in competition with these companies. The reality was that we had no funding, technicians or professional management. Faced with this reality, it was nothing less than an amazing adventure to enter a field of Korean industry. What we wanted to do in those circumstances was to create a product that would be unique all around the world and patent it. We chose the air rifle. Spiritually I knew this was the right choice, but it truly was an unusual idea. Old-fashioned air rifles had not been produced for a long time. That product line had not advanced for years, and you would not expect to make much profit. However, I saw the air rifles potential, and that is why we made it. Those who have used it say that our air rifle is the best. That is why people buy it. We could do this because our people were organized. (026-085, 1969/10/18) 10 Two years from now, once we are on track to make air rifles and rifles for target shooting, we will expand our market to other nations. Actually I have already investigated the global market. I believe we can export at least one and a half million rifles a year, perhaps as many as two and a half to three million. We have to lay a foundation upon which we can move forward on our own without any external economic aid. Otherwise, we cannot completely restore this nation. That is why it is an absolute requirement to set an economic foundation. (157-228, 1967/04/02) 11 The most important issue in running a factory is having a plan and running things according to that plan. Next is the organization and then the process. You need to manage dozens of stages in the process of manufacturing even one product. You have to dfcsign your organization properly. Second, you have to install the proper equipment in the right facilities. You need to have the right equipment. And third you need technicians. These are the three key components. In the future we must equip ourselves with the right manufacturing processes so that we do not fall behind other producers in the global competition. You have to get these three points right when you are in a competitive market. You can shorten the production time for a certain product only when you have organizational unity, professional management and skilled technicians. There are a lot of factories that manufacture specialty items. In a competitive industry, each company tries to find methods to make the best products at the lowest cost. That is why you need proper facilities and technology, and you must excel at business management. The success or failure of the business depends on that. (158-078, 1967/12/26) 12 To do good deeds you have to shed blood and sweat, offer devotion, be humble and gentle to others, display brotherly affection to your siblings, and love the earth. If you respond with goodness to the people who oppose you, and do that 100 percent of the time, they will submit to you. Hence, you cannot be arrogant. The person who gives first is the subject partner. I have carried out this responsibility as Abel in all matters. This is my philosophy of life. When you stand before someone who is more public-minded than yourself, you must be humble. I have fought ideological battles in the spirit world and also on earth. In commerce, what I invested through my devotion must grow. We have to make effort until we attain a foundation for this factory. There are still some areas where we need to make more effort. That is why I do not pray for heaven to help us make money. (017-304, 1967/03/04) 13 The Korean church has been unable to adequately assist and aid foreign countries. I am asking you to push forward until we are able to provide sufficient assistance to foreign countries. I faced relentless opposition in making these factories, but all this time I was thinking ahead. We must draw the first and second lines of defense, and set up a strong self-sufficient foundation. We learned about God's heart by shedding tears, sweat and blood. Now we must build an economic foundation. We need a global economic foundation in order to restore the world. That is why I am working to develop industries. (019-065, 1967/12/24) 14 When we established Tongil Industries at Cheongpa-dong, we began in a house that had been built by the Japanese during the occupation. It was a shed that was about half a pyeong (1.65 square meters) in size, behind a house where they stored charcoal briquettes. We did not have a lathe, so we bought an old one that had been used by the Japanese. We paid 720,000 won, before the currency reform. At the time I said, "This machine will increase our output to 7,000 and even 70,000 units, enabling us to grow at the same pace with others in the military and automotive industry in the Republic of Korea. So, have faith!" Do you think people believed me at that time? Many people probably thought I was an unrealistic dreamer when I said those things. (179-188, 1988/08/12) 15 When the automotive industry first emerged in Korea, Tongil Industries made a great contribution. With access to the latest technology, we laid the foundation for the reindustrialization of Korea to move forward. At that time, I believed the only way to do this was for Tongil Industries to produce unique products. Becoming famous in Korea was not that difficult. What you needed was a patented product. You had to do the research and development to make something the nation needed. That does not mean you could jump into the machine industry without preparation. That is why we made air rifles. Many of my ideas were incorporated into the development of those air rifles. (287-159, 1997/10/30) 16 When there was a machinery exhibition in Japan, we displayed the production line system we developed at Tongil Industries. When it came to computer chips, the Japanese were proud of FANUC, which they consider to be the top manufacturer. The president of that company came to our exhibit and was shocked. He had thought that Tongil Industries was nothing, but he realized that it was bound to become a major competitor for his company. We also had four factories in Germany at that time. The lathes we used at these four factories were state of the art in their class. There are battleships and aircraft carriers that have screw axles 50 meters in length, and boats weighing thousands of tons. Not just any factory can manufacture these. We made these, and also many automotive parts. It was because of Tongil Industries that the automotive industry in Korea could become what it is today. The Korean automobile companies use Tongil Industries products. (190-242, 1989/06/19) 17 We have to gain experience in the machine tool industry and I am working hard to do just that. I visited factories in Germany, France, the United Kingdom and other nations. I also went to Japan and even the United States. Why are we in the machine tool industry, the most difficult industry? The answer is simple: it is so that we can quickly go multinational. When we accomplish this, we can become world-class champions in all fields. I am challenging you to do this in a short time, rather than to take a long time to do it. Tongil Industries has reached the stage where it can automate its entire production line. (122-201, 1982/11/11) 18 After I established Tongil Industries at Sutaek-ri, I often had to go back and forth over the hill at Manguri three times in a single day to get there from Seoul. Going there twice a day was commonplace, and I would always go at least once a day. Do you know why? I had to offer acts of devotion to embrace and guide the global industrial networks. I believed that I had to offer demotion with my blood and tears, which could touch heaven and the hearts of the people of the industrial world who had gone to the spirit world, so that they could inspire their counterparts on earth. Only by doing so would what they accomplished become part of heaven s possession. That is why I have offered so many acts of devotion. I also tried to go to Cheong-pyeong every day when I could. This was also to offer devotion. To become the top leader of the world, you have to become an owner in all respects. When things were difficult, I never said that I would not go. I did this for decades, all by myself. That is why heaven gives me blessings. Satan cannot accuse me about this. (133-161, 1984/07/10) 19 The workers in the factories at Tongil Industries might think, "Why does Father come to the factory every day when he should be busy with other things?" That is not the way to think. You might think there is not much of a difference between what you saw last night and what you«ee this morning. However, when I see some development today as compared to yesterday, I am inspired. Even if you are making the same machine, if you look for even one thing to improve, compared to the day before, and you actually find it, it is exciting. This is where we are going to hoist our flag, and then we can sing praises in God's presence and establish a condition. I have to come and check things until we reach a certain standard. If we move forward in this way, when something arises that could hinder our plans, it will disappear. Some incident will take place that opens a path for us. That path will open or close depending on whether or not you work together. None of you understand the path I am taking. It may seem as if I am taking a risk, but later everything will be achieved. (016-318, 1966/07/31) 20 The reason I offer these acts of devotion is not simply for the sake of this one factory in Sutaek-ri. I have been praying to connect the fate of the Republic of Korea and the fortune of the world to this place. Once the products manufactured in our factory become essential to this industry, and we enter into contracts with the nation and begin production, my responsibility is finished. My wish is to make our business the most important business in Korea. Once it finds its place, our business will grow rapidly. (033-161, 1970/08/11)
21 I am struggling fiercely for this nation. I live for the sake of this nation. I am investing my family and relatives, asking them to sacrifice. To this day, I have taken on debt and worked for the sake of the future of the Republic of Korea. I had to go through all manner of humiliation from 1980 to 1985 in order to introduce Germany's science and technology to this nation. In this way I brought cutting-edge resources from the world to Tongil Industries and paved the way for this nation to move into the future. I had to suffer many hardships in order to do this. A scholar who learned of this said, "The advancements that we see today in Korea's automobile industry were made possible because of Reverend Moon's great contribution through Tongil Industries." (169-092, 1987/10/25) |