The Bangudae Petroglyphs are located in Daegok-ri, Ulsan, South Korea. This site of substantial engraved rock art was rediscovered in 1971 and was designated as the 285th National Treasure of South Korea on June 23, 1995. The petroglyphs sit in an isolated forested area almost completely enclosed by steep mountains adjacent to the Daegok-cheon River, a tributary of the Taehwa River. There are three major panels in an area measuring 3 m in height and 10 m in length. A number of panels with similar rock-art motifs has been found nearby at the Cheonjeon-ni site.
The Hyundai Motor Company is a South Korean multinational automaker headquartered in Seoul, South Korea. Hyundai was founded in 1967 and it, along with Kia, together comprise the Hyundai Motor Group, which is the world's fourth largest automobile manufacturer based on annual vehicle sales in 2010.
In 2008, Hyundai (without Kia) ranked as the eighth largest automaker. In 2010, Hyundai sold over 3.6 million vehicles worldwide.
Hyundai operates the world's largest integrated automobile manufacturing facility in Ulsan, which is capable of producing 1.6 million units annually. The company employs about 75,000 persons worldwide. Hyundai vehicles are sold in 193 countries through some 6,000 dealerships and showrooms.
History
Chung Ju-Yung founded the Hyundai Engineering and Construction Company in 1947. Hyundai Motor Company was later established in 1967. The company's first model, the Cortina, was released in cooperation with Ford Motor Company in 1968. When Hyundai wanted to develop their own car, they hired George Turnbull, the former Managing Director of Austin Morris at British Leyland. He in turn hired five other top British car engineers.They were Kenneth Barnett body design, engineers John Simpson and Edward Chapman, John Crosthwaite ex-BRM as chassis engineer and Peter Slater as chief development engineer. In 1975, the Pony, the first Korean car, was released, with styling by Giorgio Giugiaro of ItalDesign and powertrain technology provided by Japan's Mitsubishi Motors. Exports began in the following year to Ecuador and soon thereafter to the Benelux countries.
In 1984, Hyundai exported the Pony to Canada, but not to the United States, because the Pony didn't pass emissions standards there. Canadian sales greatly exceeded expectations, and it was at one point the top-selling car on the Canadian market. The Pony afforded a much higher degree of quality and refinement in the lowest price auto segment than the Eastern-bloc imports of the period then available. In 1985, the one millionth Hyundai car was built.
In 1986, Hyundai began to sell cars in the United States, and the Excel was nominated as "Best Product #10" by Fortune magazine, largely because of its affordability. The company began to produce models with its own technology in 1988, beginning with the midsize Sonata. In the spring of 1990, aggregate production of Hyundai automobiles reached the four million mark. In 1991, the company succeeded in developing its first proprietary gasoline engine, the four-cylinder Alpha, and also its own transmission, thus paving the way for technological independence.
In 1996, Hyundai Motor India Limited was established with a production plant in Irungattukottai near Chennai, India.
In 1998, Hyundai began to overhaul its image in an attempt to establish itself as a world-class brand. Chung Ju Yung transferred leadership of Hyundai Motor to his son, Chung Mong Koo, in 1999. Hyundai's parent company, Hyundai Motor Group, invested heavily in the quality, design, manufacturing, and long-term research of its vehicles. It added a 10-year or 100,000-mile (160,000 km) warranty to cars sold in the United States and launched an aggressive marketing campaign.
In 2004, Hyundai was ranked second in "initial quality" in a survey/study by J.D. Power and Associates. Hyundai is now one of the top 100 most valuable brands worldwide. Since 2002, Hyundai has also been one of the worldwide official sponsors of the FIFA World Cup.
In 2006, the South Korean government initiated an investigation of Chung Mong Koo's practices as head of Hyundai, suspecting him of corruption. On April 28, 2006, Chung was arrested, and charged for embezzlement of 100 billion South Korean won (US$106 million). As a result, Hyundai Vice Chairman and CEO, Kim Dong-jin, replaced him as head of the company.
On September 30, 2011, Yang Seung Suk announced his retirement as CEO of Hyundai Motor Co. In the interim replacement period, Chung Mong-koo and Kim Eok-jo will divide the duties of the CEO position.
Ulsan, officially the Ulsan Metropolitan City, is South Korea's seventh largest metropolis with a population of over 1.1 million. It is located in the south-east of the country, neighboring Busan to the south and facing Gyeongju to the north.
Ulsan is the industrial powerhouse of South Korea, forming the heart of the Ulsan Industrial District, which is home to the world's largest automobile assembly plant operated by the Hyundai Motor Company, the world's largest shipyard operated by Hyundai Heavy Industries and the world's third largest oil refinery, owned by SK Energy. In 2008, Ulsan had a GDP per capita of $63,817, the highest by far in South Korea.
