South Korea experienced a difficult history in the twentieth century. During the first half of the century, the country was under Japanese colonial rule, and the Korean War that followed left much of the nation's infrastructure devastated. Yet within only about fifty years, Korea achieved a remarkable economic transformation—one that is often regarded as one of the fastest examples of industrial development in modern history. Today, South Korea has become an advanced economy with significant influence in the global economic, cultural, and technological landscape. One of the key driving forces behind this remarkable development was industrialization, and within that process the automotive industry played a particularly important role. The automotive industry is a highly integrated sector that connects a wide range of industries—including steel, chemicals, electronics, semiconductors, and software—and often serves as a barometer of a country's industrial capability and technological sophistication. This lecture will explore the historical development of the automotive industry and examine how it has evolved in relation to technological innovation, institutional systems, industrial strategies, and broader cultural dynamics. From this perspective, we will discuss how the automotive industry has contributed to the industrial development of East Asian economies, particularly Korea, China, and Japan. In addition, the lecture will address how the automotive industry is engaging with emerging technological fields such as semiconductors, electrification, artificial intelligence (AI), and robots. Special attention will also be given to the recent technological rise of China and how these developments may shape the future industrial landscape of East Asia. The lecturer is an engineer with over 25 years of experience in automotive industry. After spending approximately 20 years working in Korea and the United States, he has been involved in electric vehicle development in Shanghai, China for the past five years. Throughout the lecture, the instructor will share practical insights and real-world experiences from the automotive industry in order to provide students with a vivid and practical perspective.

About the speaker:

Youngsoo Jeong is currently based in Shanghai, China, where he serves as Director of Propulsion Systems at PATAC, the engineering center of Shanghai General Motors. Prior to relocating to Shanghai, he led GM’s electrified propulsion system programs for battery electric vehicles in both the United States and Korea as a Global Assistant Chief Engineer.

Language:

English

Time & Location

Saturday, 23 May 2026, 14:00

-1.2009 großer Hörsaal, UG (Fabeckstr. 23/25)

Online participation is available. Please register via the email address: Hojye.kang [at] fu-berlin.de

About the Eurasian Foundation lecture series:

This lecture series is organized by Dr. Hojye Kang and offered within the seminar “Bridging Histories, Forging Futures: Lessons from 150 Years of German-Korean Dialogue for the Eurasia Community,” supported by the Eurasia Foundation (https://www.eurasia.or.jp/). It is an annual program that brings together international experts on Korea’s traditional era, the colonial period, contemporary South and North Korea, and international relations. Each lecture presents key research alongside accessible insights into methodologies, primary sources, and conceptual frameworks, offering a structured perspective on the Korean Peninsula in its broader Eurasian context. The series is open to students and all interested audiences.

Upcoming Lectures:

• Mon, 1 June: “Labor, Urbanism, and Memory in Postwar North Korea Compared with Cases in the Eurasia Community” by Harrison Cheehyung Kim (University of Hawaii at Manoa, USA)
• Mon, 8 June: “Building Bridges: How the Korean Diaspora in Hungary Connects the Eurasia Community — A North Korean Medical Student as a Case of Korean Diaspora” by Bogook Kim (National Archives of Hungary)
• Mon, 15 June: “North Korea in the Eurasia Community: Rationality, Technological Governance, and Economic Transformation” by Benoît Berthelier (The University of Sydney, Australia)
• Mon, 22 June: “Colonial-Era Korean Socialism: Critiques of the Present and Visions for the Future of Eurasia Communities” by Vladimir Tikhonov (University of Oslo, Norway)
• Mon, 29 June: “Donghak as the Origin of K-Democracy: Toward the Spread and Establishment of Democracy in the Eurasia Community” by Byung-Sul Jung (Seoul National University, Korea)
• Mon, 6 July: “Looking toward the Europe–Asia Community: One World” by Sato Yoji (Chairman of the Eurasia Foundation, Japan)
• Sat, 11 July: “The Culture of Mathematical Science in Korea and the Eurasia Community” by Jongtae Lim (Seoul National University, Korea)