[Manbo Jeongdam] Chairman Kim Seungho's Tireless Journey on the 'Gieok-ui Gil'

Interview with Boryeong Founder Honorary Chairman Kim Seungho
91 Years Old This Year, Longest-Serving in Korea's Pharmaceutical Industry
"Going to Work Every Day Is the Secret to Health"... A Life of Diligence and Sincerity

Editor's Note'Manbo Jeongdam (萬步情談)' is a segment within the 'One Day Ten Thousand Steps, One Day One Thousand Characters' campaign, featuring interviews with notable figures who love walking. The interviews cover topics such as work and life, health, and happiness, conducted while walking together.

"Humans are also a type of animal. The Chinese characters for animal (動物) mean 'moving (動) object (物).' It means we are beings destined to move actively. Living by moving a lot is the secret to longevity."

Kim Seung-ho, Honorary Chairman of Boryung (formerly Boryung Pharmaceutical) at age 91, had a simple method for managing his health. Even now, past ninety, he goes to work almost every day and to increase his activity, he gets off at a church about 10 minutes away from the company and walks to work. He also has a treadmill in his office to make up for any lacking steps.

He tries to attend quarterly rounds held by the 'Boryung Secretary Office Golf Club,' a group of former Boryung secretaries. Chairman Kim is a skilled golfer with three hole-in-one records. He remains actively involved in various gatherings, including those in the pharmaceutical industry. He firmly stated, "You live long and healthily by moving diligently and working hard."

Starting from opening Boryung Pharmacy in Jongno 5-ga in 1957, Kim built a global pharmaceutical company by developing domestic new drugs and achieving the first export success in Korea. From 'Yonggaksan' to 'Gelfos' and the first overseas release of the hypertension drug 'Kanarb,' his diligence is reflected in everything he did. Although with age his body sometimes cannot keep up with his mind in daily life, he still maintains a clear mind and good health. On the 27th of last month, we met Kim at the Boryung Group headquarters in Jongno-gu, Seoul, where he shared the 'path of memories' of nearly a century of continuous movement.

Chairman Kim Seung-ho sharing a conversation about health secrets with OB members at the 'Homecoming Day,' an event inviting former employees.

A 30-ri Round Trip, the Foundation of Health on the Way to and from School

"Every morning, I walked two hours to school. After school, I had to walk two hours back. It was a mountain path, rough and always hungry, sometimes I remember feeling so exhausted I wanted to just sit down right there."

The path Kim recalls vividly is the mountain trail he walked from home to elementary school (then called 'Gukmin School') during his childhood. Born in Boryeong, Chungnam, Kim's family finances worsened sharply after his father failed in the brewery business, forcing them to move to a neighboring village 6 km away from school. The 12 km round trip was long for a child, but due to the difficult family situation, he was always hungry.

However, after some time on that long path, the scenery began to catch his eye. Kim said, "Climbing the mountain path, I would meet a big tree, and after going around it, a downhill would start. Passing the downhill, a flat new road would appear, signaling the end of the way to school." He added, "On winter days returning home, I hurried up the hill, knowing that if I climbed quickly, I could get home before the early sunset. These sights made the 30-ri round trip less tiring." He emphasized, "Looking back, I think walking 30 ri every day as a child helped me maintain my health until now."

Kim Seung-ho, Honorary Chairman of Boryeong, is overlooking downtown Seoul from the balcony next to his office in the company building in Wonnam-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul.

He also cannot forget the evacuation route during the Korean War and the path to enlist as a student soldier. When the Korean War broke out and North Korean troops advanced south, Kim, then attending high school in Seoul, walked all the way to his hometown Boryeong to evacuate. He walked until his shoes wore out and his toes cracked. After the South Korean army recaptured Seoul, he returned to school but faced the threat of being sent to the front as a student soldier. However, Kim was reassigned as an instructor training recruits and later promoted to officer. He explained, "Facing imminent death, I believed my shooting skills were all I could trust, so I focused on marksmanship and moved faster and more diligently than anyone else. A senior sergeant who noticed me probably thought it was more beneficial for the army to have me train other soldiers."

Jongno 5-ga Boryung Pharmacy, the Bicycle Path to Customers

After founding Boryung Pharmacy under the name of his hometown 'Boryeong,' Kim rode a bicycle all over Seoul. Sometimes he delivered medicine, but mostly he went to get medicines. At that time, Kim said the pharmacy's goal was "to stock medicines so customers wouldn't make a wasted trip." He recalled, "Visiting big pharmacies to get medicines and then delivering them to customers who came back to our pharmacy was a big duty and task for me." He said he rode his bicycle delivering medicines until drenched in sweat.

Kim's efforts to obtain even hard-to-find medicines and deliver them by bicycle earned customers' trust. After Boryung Pharmacy became crowded with customers, Jongno 5-ga became known as a pharmacy street. In front of Boryung Pharmacy, a so-called 'bicycle unit' of professional delivery riders emerged. Kim said, "To strengthen that trust, we opened earlier and closed later than any other pharmacy, becoming a pharmacy that always got the medicines customers wanted and somehow found those that were unavailable."

Jongno 5-ga Boryung Pharmacy also holds precious memories with his late wife. At that time, Kim's greatest joy was the lunchbox his wife carefully prepared and their newborn daughter. He recalled, "At lunchtime, my wife would come carrying the baby on her back and the lunch and side dishes on her head. Looking at the adorable child in her arms, I have never tasted a meal as delicious as that lunch."

Chairman Kim Seungho Embarking on an Antarctic Expedition

From the First Flight in Life to the Journey to Mexico City

"I vividly remember the first time I looked down at our country from the sky."

This was when Kim, ten years after founding Boryung Pharmacy, established a pharmaceutical company to manufacture medicines himself and embarked on a business trip to Japan. At that time, domestic pharmaceutical companies imported raw materials and produced medicines according to government recipes, but in December 1966, Kim boarded a plane to Japan to directly acquire pharmaceutical technology. He said, "It was my first time on a plane and my first trip abroad, so I was excited and nervous."

The Japanese herbal medicine introduced by Boryung Pharmaceutical at that time was Yonggaksan, which became a medicine that made Boryung Pharmaceutical known nationwide. Forty-seven years later, in July 2014, Kim boarded a plane to Mexico to attend the official launch ceremony of Kanarb, the 15th domestic new drug developed by Boryung.

Kanarb is a domestically developed hypertension drug in which Boryung Pharmaceutical invested about 50 billion won over 18 years. It was the first domestic new drug to succeed overseas and currently exports finished products to 13 Latin American countries including Mexico, Colombia, and Panama, while preparing to enter Russia, China, and Europe. Kim, who once sold medicines made at Boryung Pharmacy, personally developed a new drug and promoted the efficacy of domestic medicine overseas.

There were also hardships. Kim, who started Boryung Pharmaceutical and pursued new drug development for decades, faced pressure from the board and shareholders due to poor results despite pouring R&D costs. However, he did not give up on new drug development. Kim emphasized, "The power to endure for decades and the heart to silently do your best are important."

He pledged, "Boryung Pharmaceutical will not be satisfied with the label of a national new drug but will continue the pioneering spirit until the day it creates a global new drug. We will make the path we have walked become a new path ahead." Kim especially said, "We must not forget the spirit of being a company where members are happy, grow together through value creation, become the best rather than the biggest, and contribute to human health."