If you live in North America, chances are you are very familiar with the Hyundai vehicle line by now. In 1986, the first Hyundai was introduced to the market, an Excel, and the company’s lineup has changed dramatically since then. Hyundai produces much more than cars; in fact, at the end of the last century, Hyundai became one of the largest companies in the world. Let’s take a look at this Korean-based multinational corporation and the company behind Hyundai vehicles.

It was in 1946, just a year after the Japanese imperial occupation of the Korean Peninsula, that a new company was born in what is now known as South Korea. Hyundai Motor Industrial Company was founded by Chung Ju-yung, the son of farmers from North Korea, and in 1947 Ju-yung launched a second company, Hyundai Civil Industries. Self-taught, Ju-yung transformed the entire Korean economy with tight control over his Hyundai companies.

Hyundai’s first company was commissioned to build cars, while Hyundai’s second company concentrated on construction. In fact, much of South Korea’s modern infrastructure was built by Hyundai in the period after the end of the Korean War in 1953 and into the 1970s. Hyundai Civil Industries built dams, a highway, a construction yard shipbuilding and a nuclear power plant, while Hyundai Motors produced cars made primarily from Japanese components. Hyundai’s influence extended well beyond the Korean peninsula, as the company won contracts to build a highway in Thailand and a major port in Saudi Arabia. Clearly, Hyundai dominated the Korean market and quickly became a major player on the international scene.

In the 1970s, Hyundai began building boats and shipyards, and in 1986, it produced its first vehicle built entirely from Korean components. From the 1980s onwards, Hyundai added additional specialties, including building semiconductors and magnetic levitation trains.

However, not everything has been brilliant for the company. Decades of workplace problems culminating in new employee safety standards implemented beginning in the 1990s toned down Hyundai’s mystique. In fact, up to that point the company was cited as having the worst security standards of any corporation in the industrialized world.

Cars were another source of trouble for what became known as the Hyundai Group. Although they now make their own vehicles, auto experts considered the quality of Hyundai vehicles during the first decade to be below average. Today, Hyundai vehicles and Hyundai parts are, for the most part, slightly above average in quality compared to the industry as a whole.

With the death of Chung Ju-yung in 2001, Hyundai was divided into three separate companies: Hyundai Heavy Industries, Hyundai Motor Group, and Hyundai Engineering and Construction. Today, Hyundai’s three companies continue to compete successfully in the global marketplace thanks to a farmer’s vision.