‘Cars are like part of my body’

Kim Pil-soo, a professor of automotive studies at Daelim College

The worst interviewees for journalists are those who give short or just yes or no answers as there is then nothing much to write about. But talkative people are difficult too as they tend to talk about less interesting topics at length.

Kim Pil-soo, a professor of automotive studies at Daelim College, falls in the latter category. He goes on to speak without pause when asked anything about cars.

But he is different from other talkative people in that he wants to share what he is passionate about, which makes speaking with him interesting.

Asked what cars mean to the professor, he said they are everything to him.

“Cars are like part of my body. They’re inseparable from me,” Kim said. “I can’t think of my life without them.”

He is literally crazy about cars and has a rich knowledge on cars from automobile engineering to design and in-depth insight on the industry.

Due to his expertise, he is always asked to share his ideas, offer advice and make suggestions on various issues by news media, car manufacturers and policymakers. He regularly writes columns for magazines and newspapers.

He is interviewed by television news media three to four times a day. He receives about 10 telephone calls from journalists seeking his opinions on car-related issues.

During an-hour-long interview with this reporter, he received five phone calls from journalists and officials from carmakers.

He also works as an advisor for government organizations such as the Ministry of Land, Transportation and Maritime Affairs, the Ministry of Environment and the Fair Trade Commission.

Recently, he helped presidential candidates with their election pledges related to transportation issues.

He also has numerous titles in private organizations associated with cars, transportation and the automobile industry. And he also teaches.

It is a wonder how he can manage all these roles, but Kim simply says he can deal with all of them because he loves cars and his job.

“Of course, I’m extremely busy. There are lots of things to do. But I like this job, which I think makes me go on this way,” he said in a humble manner.

His love affair with cars started when he was a college student.

Majoring in electrical engineering, he had a chance to study the technology used in manufacturing cars.

“At that time, cars were only for the rich. It was probably the time when Hyundai started to produce its first mass-produced car, the Pony. But I saw a huge potential and wanted to know and learn more about cars,” he said.

So he enrolled in a private automotive mechanics school in Seoul “The more I dug into cars, the more I loved them. And I was sure that I could be a leading figure in this unexplored field,” the 52-year-old professor said.

Kim saved up and in 1991 he finally bought his first car. It was a Kia Motors Capital sedan.

“My friends nicknamed it KITT from American TV series, ‘Knight Rider,’ because I installed a lot of devices I had developed. I owned it for 10 years, traveling a distance of 200,000 kilometers. The car meant a lot to me,” he said.

He has owned various small cars, sport utility vehicles and sport sedans. He currently owns a Jaguar XF 3.0 and a Hyundai Sonata NF.

He said the most amazing change in the car industry over the last decade is the fast growth of domestic automakers as producers of quality cars to a global standard.

“No one would have imagined that Hyundai would become a global auto giant. No one would have thought that it would intimidate Japanese brands.”

Despite the fast growth of Korea’s car industry, Kim pointed out that the automobile and driving culture is still immature.

“Local automakers should now eye driving culture, not just focusing on selling more cars, to truly become a global leader. For example, we don’t have a car museum to show how our auto industry has developed.”

He added that people should be allowed to enjoy cars as a cultural aspect.

“Related laws should be revised to boost the car tuning and classic car markets, which are almost nonexistent here. We still have a long way to go to make cars part of our culture.”

He forecast that the future car industry has huge room for improvement as it meets information technology.

“Like smartphones, cars will have a lot of functions with their basic purpose becoming less important. Cars will not simply be a means to travel. People will do much more than that thanks to the advancement of information technology.” <The Korea Times/Kim Tae-jong>