[Editor's note] Job hopping is common today. According to the Ministry of Data and Statistics (MODS), only 4 out of 10 people stayed at the same workplace from 2018 to 2023. In particular, Millennials and Gen Z prioritize growth potential and personal values over stability and hesitate less to change jobs. In this era, some young people have chosen to dig deep in one field rather than move. We share stories of "craftspeople" who chose depth over speed and mastery over trends.
"Time that would never pass at a classroom desk flew by when I first picked up a welder. Looking back, my drive for achievement led to 14 certifications, a master's degree, and the title of master craftsperson."
Ko Min-chul, 43, of HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, was selected in Sep. last year as a Korea Master Craftsperson (sheet metal and fabrication). The Korea Master Craftsperson honor is the "highest distinction" the government confers on those with more than 15 years of on-site experience and unmatched skills. There are 719 honorees across 92 occupations, and Ko, born in 1982, is the youngest.
Ko is also the shipbuilding industry's first "father-and-child" master craftsperson. Ko Yun-yeol, Ko's father, was selected in 2004 as a Korea Master Craftsperson in sheet metal and fabrication. Ko said, "Watching my father become a master made me decide to stake my life on shipbuilding."
Ko, who joined in 2012, has worked mainly on the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER), known as the "artificial sun." While producing the ITER vacuum vessel, an ultra-precise structure that allows no more than a 1 mm tolerance, Ko introduced an innovation by deploying a "laser tracker" from the machining stage. The result was a major success. HD Hyundai Heavy Industries became the first in the world to deliver the ITER vacuum vessel, once again proving the technological prowess of Korea's shipbuilding industry.
Promoted to giwon in the New Year personnel announcement, Ko is expanding into small modular reactors (SMRs), a future growth area. He is also training "junior masters." He hopes to overcome the persistent on-site labor shortage in the shipbuilding "supercycle" by passing down know-how. The following is a Q&A with Ko.
— What exactly does sheet metal and fabrication involve?
"It's easy if you compare it to paper folding. You cut, bend, and assemble steel plates according to drawings to create three-dimensional structures. It's the foundational technology of shipbuilding that erects all the frames that make up a ship, from the hull to the engine room, tanks, and pipelines."
— We heard that introducing the "laser tracker" was decisive in your selection as a master.
"A laser tracker is an ultra-precise measuring device that tracks 3D coordinates. While conventional ships allow tolerances of around 100 mm, the ITER vacuum vessel demanded extreme precision of 1–3 mm. To capture deviations that can occur from welding heat alone, I learned the laser tracker myself starting in 2014 and applied it to the machining stage. Thanks to that, HD Hyundai Heavy Industries achieved the milestone of delivering the ITER vacuum vessel in 2020 as a world first."
— You are the shipbuilding industry's first "father-and-child" masters. How did your father react?
"He's a man of few words and said, 'Good work. Now you have to do even better.' Instead, he cautioned me to be more careful with words and actions now that I'm a master. I felt deep encouragement in that short remark. In 2004, my father was selected as a Korea Master Craftsperson. I realized that the work clothes I once saw as only grueling labor were a 'decoration' imbued with decades of sweat and passion. That resolve led me to a welding academy and then to a shipyard."
— The hiring process was not all smooth, we hear.
"To qualify for applying to Hyundai Heavy Industries at the time, I started at a partner company in 2007. But hiring froze due to the global financial crisis, and I even worked as a civilian military employee. After hiring resumed in 2011, I failed three interviews. I didn't give up and got in on my fourth try. Persistence paid off."
— Even in the shipbuilding 'supercycle,' on-site labor shortages persist.
"When I supervise high school skills competitions, there are no entrants for welding or steel frame categories. Even if we promise awards, no one applies. Young people clearly prefer autos or semiconductors. As a mentor, I cheer them on, saying, 'If you tough it out for five years, you'll be a veteran,' but it seems hard for young people to choose this line of work."
— Do you have a plan to ease the labor shortage?
"Ultimately, it's 'safety.' In the past, people thought safety and production couldn't go together. But now the view is established that safety puts you at ease and boosts efficiency. Anywhere you look in a shipyard, there are 'safety' slogans, and a lot of mechanized equipment has been introduced, changing the environment significantly. To put it bluntly, it's not a 'nogada' site. As conditions keep improving, I expect young talent will gradually find it more attractive."
— What are your goals going forward?
"I will participate in the SMR business, the company's future growth engine, as a fabrication and sheet metal expert. If the company continues to win orders, I will back it up with all I have. Personally, I want to cultivate junior industrial masters. There are currently three masters at the company, and many colleagues on the floor have hands-on skills on par with masters. But to be recognized as a master, you also need external training and activities such as passing down techniques, which are hard to juggle with regular duties. I hope the company builds a related training system."
— What do you think it means to be a craftsperson?
"I think a craftsperson is 'one who connects.' They must connect the lineage of skills and generations, and heart to heart. Just as we introduced the laser tracker to the field based on the shipbuilding skills forged by our parents' generation through blood and sweat, I want to carry forward future technologies and pass down a better environment and vision to junior colleagues."