Meet the very first ever Korean car
Meet the very first ever Korean car
The history of Korean cars starts at the end of ‘50-‘53 Korean War. When hostilities ceased, the US and the Republic of Korea signed a military alliance – celebrated late last month in Washington – whereby many American soldiers would become permanently stationed in South Korea. They’re still there. And in the Seoul-Washington relationship, described as being “forged in blood” we find the roots of the Korean car manufacturing industry.
It’s the cheerful little blue chariot you can see in the pictures above. It’s called the ‘Sibal’, dates back to one thousand nine hundred fifty five and is the very first ever car to be produced in Korea. Choi Mu-Seong and his two brothers built it on the basis of a Willys Jeep – so ubiquitous in South Korea in the mid 1950s – using spare parts from the US military. For such an significant car for this most significant of car-building nations, there’s precious information on how the thing was actually made.
We’re told around fifty per cent of the Sibal’s engine (most likely a four-cylinder petrol, tho’ no one’s fairly sure) was produced in Korea, while the assets was formed using – and this is good – old oil drums. That’s right, the form of the Sibal, modelled on the Jeep, was arm hammered into place using oil drums. Talk about ambitious…
However it wasn’t truly that rubbish. Initial request was deemed as being poor, but following the receipt of a presidential award, Sibal production flourished. Mostly thanks to cabbies: most of the Sibals made during the mid to late 50s were used as taxis.
The blue car you see above could be the last left in Korea, despite estimates putting production at around Three,000 models. Production lasted from one thousand nine hundred fifty five to around 1959, stifled in part by government policy that restricted the fresh car market.
Unluckily, despite TopGear.com’s pleading, the official on arm at the National Museum of Korean Contemporary History – where this example is stationed – did not acquiesce to our requests for a quick test drive. Mainly because it’s a historic museum lump enshrined for future generations to understand the embark of an epic journey, and also because there’s, um, actually no engine in the model.
So how did South Korean go from Sibal to near-global predominance? Well, in 1962, the Seoul government enacted the Automobile Industry Promotion Policy, which barred foreign automakers producing locally unless they were in joint ventures with Korean companies. That law truly kickstarted the automotive landscape.