박태준 리더십에 대한 재고찰

Abstract

and the spirit of a maestro. Park’s strong sense of mission and integrity came from Bushido, the Japanese equivalent to chivalry. His time in Japan taught Park bitter lessons. His sorrow and dispiriting experience of discrimination against people of a country under the Japanese colonial rule convinced him to firmly believe that Korea should achieve economic growth and development first because that would be the only way to overcome Japan and establish a normal bilateral relationship on an equal footing with Japan. Hence, Park’s strong spirit of victory over Japan was born. Park’s firm beliefs can be summarized as follows. The first step to overcome Japan is to know and understand Japan well. The second step is to make the most of your knowledge and understanding to develop Korea’s economy. The last step is to overcome Japan. Ultimately, establish a true Korea-Japan relationship on an equal footing. These are key to Park Tae-joon’s leadership. Anti-Japanese sentiment prevails in Korean society to date. However, it is also true Koreans have become more confident and comfortable when it comes to Japan thanks to Korea’s remarkable economic growth and higher standing on the international stage. Some Koreans go one step further and hold an objective view on the bilateral relationship regardless of the past. Park’s leadership reminds us of his ultimate aims, overcoming Japan in the long term. Instead of sticking to the past and not yielding at all, Park believed that Korea should leave the past and its prejudice against Japan behind. He also believed that studying and understanding the Japanese cultural attributes would definitely help Korea achieve economic growth. I am confident that revisiting Park Tae-joon and his great leadership gives us a much-needed fresh look to examine and improve the bilateral relationship, which has seen many political ups and downs; to ease the recent tension between Korea and Japan in particular; and to help the two countries develop a more desirable bilateral relationship in the 21st century. With China’s recent rapid rise on the international stage, the Korea-Japan relation could easily lose momentum. It is my hope that this paper would give a chance to people to rethink the importance of the Korea-Japan relationship and to continue more objective studies on the bilateral cooperation which has been very active since the normalization of bilateral diplomatic ties.; Political disputes between Korea and Japan have been cause for many ups and downs of its bilateral relationship with Japan. In 2012, when the commander-in-chief of the Republic of Korea made a visit to the Dokdo islets and publicly demanded the Emperor of Japan to apologize for its past wrongdoings, such action strained the bilateral relationship. Recently, as new administrations took office in Korea and Japan respectively, hopes have been high among the public that the tension would be eased. However, it seems somewhat unlikely for now. Thanks to Korea’s rapid economic growth and higher standing on the international stage, Koreans no longer think Japan is invincible. However, it is still true that Korea’s trade deficit with Japan remains large which clearly demonstrates that Japan remains economically powerful to the extent that its decisions would impact the Korean economy and security. For the sake of Korea’s economic growth and national security, Korea needs to seek quick ways to mend ties with Japan. Then, why is Park Tae-joon an inspiration for us in this context at this time? Park was a man who successfully secured Japan’s financial support and cooperation for POSCO, which flourished under his leadership in the 1970's and '80's. He was also one of the men who laid the foundation for Korea’s industrial success and opened a new era of the Korea-Japan cooperative relationship. Then, how could Park be offered support and cooperation and at the same time be respected by Japanese people? Park was very fluent in Japanese and had considerable knowledge and understanding of the Japanese culture. Armed with his language skills and cultural understanding, Park successfully formed long-standing friendships with Japanese leaders of many different fields. Park’s friends, all renowned leaders in Japanese society, later financially backed Park’s plan to build and run an integrated steelworks in Korea. Technological support was provided, too. Furthermore, Park introduced and integrated many virtues of Japanese society, one of the advanced countries of the world, into his company. He proactively encouraged his staff to use them to build mills, produce steel, and manage his organization. With his endless effort, Korea finally overcame its prolonged trade deficit with Japan in the steel industry. In the meantime, Park successfully built the world-class Gwangyang Steelworks by exploiting all the technologies his company accumulated based on the well-known dedication and wonderful craftsmanship of Koreans, which fulfilled his ultimate aim to overcome Japan. What's more, with the aim of improving the bilateral economic cooperation and building a more trustworthy relationship, Park, a forward-looking pioneer, also founded the Korea-Japan Economic Association as a means to create a system of cooperation between the two countries. This paper recompiles and reorganizes existing data, documents and verbal evidence made by interested parties with the aim of demonstrating that Park’s leadership was built on Japanese culture and that he used it well to successfully overcome Japan economically. In his childhood and early teens, Park spent 14 years in Japan, a colonial ruler of his mother country back then, which ultimately had a profound impact on his world view. Young Park’s delicate adolescence was influenced by Japanese culture, which manifested itself mainly in the Japanese family system, Yangming studies and Bushido. Through the Japanese familial system, Park learned that interpersonal relationships and long-term views mattered. Yangming studies of Japan taught him the importance of listening to and respecting field workers; 한일관계는 양국의 정치적인 갈등으로 부침을 거듭해오고 있다. 일례로 2012년 대한민국 최고통수권자의 독도방문 및 일본천황에 대한 공개적인 사과요구 발언으로 양국관계는 크게 냉각되었으며 이러한 경색국면은 양국의 새 정부출범에 따른 양국국민들의 기대에도 불구하고 개선될 기미를 보이지 않고 있다. 한국의 경제성장 및 국제적인 지위향상으로 인한 한국인의 대일인식 저하에도 불구, 거대한 대일 무역적자 규모가 보여주듯 일본은 여전히 한국경제와 안보에 결정적인 영향력을 미칠 수 있는 경제대국이다. 한국의 안보와 지속적인 경제발전을 위해서라도 일본과의 조속한 관계회복이 필요하다. 그러면 이 시점에서 왜 박태준에 대한 재조명이 필요한가? 박태준은 1970~1980년대 일본의 협력을 이끌어내어 포스코를 성공시켰다. 또 한국의 산업화 기틀을 만들었으며 한일협력의 시대를 개척했던 인물이다. 과연 박태준은 어떻게 일본의 협력을 받으면서도 일본인들로부터 존경을 받을 수 있었을까? 박태준은 고급 일본어 구사능력과 일본문화에 대한 깊은 이해를 무기로 일본의 다방면의 지도층 인사들과 폭넓게 교류하며, 그들의 협력을 받아 일관제철소 건설과 운영에 필요한 자금 및 기술을 이끌어내었다. 뿐만 아니라 선진 일본사회의 좋은 점들을 제철소의 건설과 생산, 그리고 경영현장에 적극 활용하였다. 그 결과 철강분야에서는 한국의 오랜 현안인 대일 무역적자 문제를 해결하였으며, 장인정신으로 축적한 기술로 세계적인 수준의 광양제철소를 건설해 그가 지향했던 극일을 마침내 이루어냈다. 또한 한일경제협력의 저변을 확대하고 일본과의 신뢰기반을 구축하고자 한일경제협회를 설립하여 미래지향적인 협력시스템을 구축했다. 논문에서는 박태준 리더십의 바탕에 일본문화가 있었으며, 그가 이것을 극일로 승화시켰다는 점을 기존자료와 관계자들의 증언 등을 토대로 재구성하고 논증하였다. 유년기와 다감한 청소년 시절의 14년을 식민지 종주국 일본에서 성장한 박태준의 정신세계에 바탕을 제공한 것은 일본문화였다. 그것은 이에(家)제도, 양명학(陽明學), 그리고 무사도(武士道)로서 ‘이에’ 제도는 감동으로 맺는 인간관계와 장기적인 시야를 제공했다. 그리고 일본 양명학에서는 현장주의, 지행합일, 그리고 장인정신을 얻었으며 박태준의 강력한 사명감과 청렴사상은 일본 무사도에 근거하고 있다. 그리고 식민지 백성의 서러움과 차별을 경험한 박태준 리더십은 경제발전을 통해 일본을 반드시 뛰어넘어야 일본과 명실상부한 협력관계의 구축이 가능하다는 강한 극일의 신념을 갖게 했다. 일본을 올바로 알고, 적극 활용하여 한국경제를 발전시키고, 종국에는 일본을 뛰어 넘어야 비로소 진정한 한일관계가 구축될 수 있다는 것이 박태준의 확고한 신념이며 그가 가진 리더십의 핵심이다. 오늘날 한국사회의 반일정서는 여전하다. 하지만 한국의 경제적인 발전과 국제적인 지위향상으로 일본을 대하는 한국인의 생각에도 자신감과 여유가 생겨났고, 한일관계를 객관적으로 볼 수 있는 분위기도 조성되고 있다. 장기적인 시야에서 극일의 길은 한국주장을 일방적으로 펼치는 데 있는 것이 아니라, 일본에 대한 선입관에서 벗어나 상대방인 일본의 문화와 정서를 연구하고 이해하며, 이를 적극 활용해 경제발전을 이루자고 하는 실리적인 접근에 있다는 점을 박태준 리더십을 통해 다시 한 번 상기하고자 한다. 박태준에 대한 재조명은 정치적인 문제로 부침을 거듭하고 있는 한일관계, 특히 최근의 경색된 한일관계를 풀고 21세기 바람직한 한일관계를 만들어나가는 데 필요한 시사점을 제공해줄 것이라고 확신한다. 중국의 부상으로 자칫 소홀해지기 쉬운 한일관계의 중요성에 대해서 재점검하고 한일국교정상화 이후 활발했던 일본과의 협력관계에 대한 보다 면밀하고 객관적인 연구가 이어지기를 기대한다.|Political disputes between Korea and Japan have been cause for many ups and downs of its bilateral relationship with Japan. In 2012, when the commander-in-chief of the Republic of Korea made a visit to the Dokdo islets and publicly demanded the Emperor of Japan to apologize for its past wrongdoings, such action strained the bilateral relationship. Recently, as new administrations took office in Korea and Japan respectively, hopes have been high among the public that the tension would be eased. However, it seems somewhat unlikely for now. Thanks to Korea’s rapid economic growth and higher standing on the international stage, Koreans no longer think Japan is invincible. However, it is still true that Korea’s trade deficit with Japan remains large which clearly demonstrates that Japan remains economically powerful to the extent that its decisions would impact the Korean economy and security. For the sake of Korea’s economic growth and national security, Korea needs to seek quick ways to mend ties with Japan. Then, why is Park Tae-joon an inspiration for us in this context at this time? Park was a man who successfully secured Japan’s financial support and cooperation for POSCO, which flourished under his leadership in the 1970's and '80's. He was also one of the men who laid the foundation for Korea’s industrial success and opened a new era of the Korea-Japan cooperative relationship. Then, how could Park be offered support and cooperation and at the same time be respected by Japanese people? Park was very fluent in Japanese and had considerable knowledge and understanding of the Japanese culture. Armed with his language skills and cultural understanding, Park successfully formed long-standing friendships with Japanese leaders of many different fields. Park’s friends, all renowned leaders in Japanese society, later financially backed Park’s plan to build and run an integrated steelworks in Korea. Technological support was provided, too. Furthermore, Park introduced and integrated many virtues of Japanese society, one of the advanced countries of the world, into his company. He proactively encouraged his staff to use them to build mills, produce steel, and manage his organization. With his endless effort, Korea finally overcame its prolonged trade deficit with Japan in the steel industry. In the meantime, Park successfully built the world-class Gwangyang Steelworks by exploiting all the technologies his company accumulated based on the well-known dedication and wonderful craftsmanship of Koreans, which fulfilled his ultimate aim to overcome Japan. What's more, with the aim of improving the bilateral economic cooperation and building a more trustworthy relationship, Park, a forward-looking pioneer, also founded the Korea-Japan Economic Association as a means to create a system of cooperation between the two countries. This paper recompiles and reorganizes existing data, documents and verbal evidence made by interested parties with the aim of demonstrating that Park’s leadership was built on Japanese culture and that he used it well to successfully overcome Japan economically. In his childhood and early teens, Park spent 14 years in Japan, a colonial ruler of his mother country back then, which ultimately had a profound impact on his world view. Young Park’s delicate adolescence was influenced by Japanese culture, which manifested itself mainly in the Japanese family system, Yangming studies and Bushido. Through the Japanese familial system, Park learned that interpersonal relationships and long-term views mattered. Yangming studies of Japan taught him the importance of listening to and respecting field workers; unity of knowledge and action