Success stories rarely lose their appeal, especially when they trace a climb from poverty through hardship to wealth and recognition.
That arc drives Hwang Ho-taek’s book, “A Tycoon Who Loved Fine Instruments” (Nanam Publishing), built around the memoir of Min Myeong-sul, 84, chairman and founder of Cosmos Musical Instruments. It follows Min from a poor childhood in Haenam, South Jeolla province, through decades of struggle and growth.
Min left home at 15 with 200 hwan, first for Mokpo and then, on impulse, for Seoul. He started his business at 30 and, more than 50 years later, had built a company with annual sales of 50 billion won. The book highlights friends and bosses who helped him at key moments, and it recounts a romance with the woman who became his wife after they connected through a morale-boosting letter during his Vietnam deployment.
The memoir also emphasizes discipline. Min still keeps a stark note titled “Life and Death” that he wrote in 1965 before leaving for Vietnam, along with a 1972 opening announcement card. He says he has lived with the mindset that “the stake of my life is 200 hwan,” a posture the book links to steady work habits, trust in relationships and business opportunities.
The narrative describes how that trust mattered as he moved from selling imported cigarettes and gum to working at a musical-instrument shop, and later as he pursued partnerships with global companies such as Yamaha and Kawai.
Min’s pen name, Nam-eun, refers to Haenam’s nickname as Korea’s “land’s end.” The book frames it as both an endpoint and a starting line, reflecting Min’s insistence on continued challenge rather than settling.
It also portrays a life of giving. Min, who entered the Catholic Church at 50 following his wife, Jeong Jin-suk Klara, is identified as Min Myeong-sul Francisco and is described as continuing donations and good works for his hometown and neighbors.
The review argues that Min’s story also raises questions about family businesses. Min says he never pressed his children to take over, but the succession appears to be unfolding naturally.
In South Korea, the author writes, negative sentiment toward conglomerates and inherited wealth remains strong, and corporate problems are real. Still, the review notes that family-run firms can benefit from fast decision-making, long-term planning and stable management, and it points to examples abroad: Japan’s Kawai, a piano maker run by the founder’s family into the fourth generation, and Sweden’s Wallenberg family, which has managed businesses for more than 160 years while earning respect for transparency, ethics and sustained giving.
Citing the ancient text “Book of Rites,” the review quotes: “Music is giving.” It adds that a well-made instrument faithfully carries a performer’s expression. Cosmos Musical Instruments, it notes, took its name from its original location in Cosmos Department Store; intended or not, “cosmos,” meaning a “harmonious world,” fits instruments as “tools for giving.” The review closes by expressing hope that the company will remain a respected family business that seeks harmony and gives back.
The reviewer also notes omissions: the book offers little detail on Min’s support for musicians, on the strain of his wife’s five bouts with cancer, or on Min’s own health while living for more than 20 years with an insulin pump. By contrast, it spends lengthy space introducing artists represented in the Min Family Art Museum collection. The review suggests that imbalance may reflect Min’s modesty.
It ends by calling Hwang a diligent reporter and wondering what his next reporting and writing will bring.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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