This is an inauguration plaque awarded to employees by Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME), a company founded in AD 1973. Once one of South Korea’s top three shipbuilding enterprises, DSME filed for bankruptcy and was acquired in AD 2023.
This circular bronze plaque features a decorative ring of anchors along its outer edge. At the centre is an image symbolising the company’s shipbuilding legacy—the Geobukseon (Turtle Ship) warship famously used by Admiral Yi Sun-sin during the Imjin War. Above the warship is the company’s Big Dipper oval logo, which was in use between AD 1978 and AD 1999. The top edge displays the company name, “DAEWOO SHIPBUILDING & HEAVY MACHINERY. LTD.” Below, the plaque bears the postal address, “C.P.O. BOX 2810 SEOUL. KOREA.”
The reverse side of the plaque depicts the Okpo Shipyard, located on Geoje Island, South Korea’s second-largest island. The landscape and intricate details surrounding the shipyard are presented from a north-to-south perspective. At the top, the name of the company and the shipyard is inscribed: “DAEWOO OKPO SHIPYARD.” At the bottom, the text reads: “825A YANG LI. JANG SEUNG FO EUP. KYUNG NAM. KOREA.” This inscription appears to follow a format suggesting it might reference names associated with the company’s management or administrative personnel.
Daewoo Shipbuilding was founded in AD 1973 and was acquired by the Daewoo Group five years later. In AD 1994, it was merged into the group’s subsidiary, Daewoo Heavy Industries. However, following the impact of the Asian Financial Crisis, the Daewoo Group declared bankruptcy and disbanded in November AD 1999. As a result, the shipbuilding division separated from Daewoo Heavy Industries in AD 2000.
Despite surviving previous challenges, Daewoo Shipbuilding was hit hard by the AD 2017 South Korean shipping crisis. Eventually, on May 23, AD 2023, during an extraordinary shareholders’ meeting, the company accepted an acquisition proposal from Hanwha Group. Following the merger, the company was rebranded as “Hanwha Ocean,” continuing its operations under the new ownership.
AD 1997 Asian Financial Crisis
The AD 1997 Asian Financial Crisis, which swept across the Asia-Pacific region, was a consequence of unregulated capital influxes that followed the rapid economic growth of the 1990s. Governments in the region lacked sufficient controls to manage these capital surges effectively. During this period, Southeast Asia and South Korea were experiencing rapid economic expansion, making them attractive targets for speculative investors.
George Soros’s hedge fund, the Quantum Fund, identified an opportunity and targeted the Thai baht for currency speculation. The speculative attack on the baht triggered a ripple effect that quickly spread across other Southeast Asian countries and South Korea, whose economies were heavily inflated by financial bubbles.
South Korea was on the brink of national bankruptcy during the Asian Financial Crisis and was forced to secure a $55 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). However, the loss of economic sovereignty that came with IMF intervention was widely regarded as a national humiliation. In response, a patriotic “Gold Collection Campaign” was launched, where citizens voluntarily donated personal gold items to help repay the IMF loan.
Thanks to these collective efforts, South Korea was able to expedite its recovery, and on August 23, AD 2001, it officially declared the end of the financial crisis. This allowed the IMF to conclude its intervention two years earlier than initially anticipated.
South Korea has produced films set against the backdrop of the Asian Financial Crisis, including “Default”(2018).
這枚青銅獎牌為圓形，正面外圍以環繞的船錨作為裝飾，中央是呼應公司的造船事業，即民族英雄李舜臣將軍在「壬辰倭亂」使用的龜甲船戰艦。龜甲船上方為公元1978至1999年間，公司使用的「北斗七星」橢圓商標。上緣為公司名稱「DAEWOO SHIPBUILDING & HEAVY MACHINERY. LTD.」(大宇造船和重型機械有限公司)，下緣則是公司郵政信箱「C.P.O. BOX 2810 SEOUL .KOREA」。
獎章背面為公司在南韓第二大島巨濟島的玉浦造船廠，以由北朝南的視角呈現造船廠周遭地景和細節。上方為公司和造船廠的名稱「DAEWOO OKPO SHIPYARD」(大宇玉浦造船廠)。下方的文字「825A YANG LI. JANG SEUNG FO EUP. KYUNG NAM. KOREA」按照格式推測，可能是公司管理層有關的人名。
