History

<The Sea is Another Territory, Its Great Voyage>

Korea's deep sea fishing industry has a long history of more than 65 years, beginning on June 29, 1957, when the tuna longline research vessel JINAM departed from Busan Port and set sail for the Indian Ocean. (JINAM's departure ceremony was held on June 26, 1957, at Pier 1 of Busan Port)

<No.1 contributors to Korea's economic development>

Since the test run of the Jinam in 1957, the foreign currency earned by the Korean deep sea fishing industry until the end of the 1970s was about 2 billion dollars (1,992.9 million dollars at the time), which laid the foundation for economic reconstruction and industrialization after the Korean War.
In particular, in 1971, the export value of deep sea fisheries even exceeded 5% of Korea's total exports, making it a blue chip industry comparable to the automobile industry today.

<Forgotten Heroes... but should not be forgotten>

Acquiring foreign currency through deep sea fishing is the result of the blood and sweat of our deep sea fishing crews, and in the process, countless crew members sacrificed themselves.
There are currently eight cemeteries in Las Palmas, Spain (104), Tenerife (18), Samoa (89), Suriname (31), Tahiti (14), Fiji (16), Angola (16), and Senegal (13), where the remains of 301 seafarers who died while fishing in deep sea are buried.
The Korea Overseas Fisheries Association has been actively supporting the project to bring the remains of these fallen seafarers back to Korea since 2014 with funding from the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries.

Tributes

With dreams of reaching out to the sea.
and pioneered new fishing grounds across the five oceans.
and devoted themselves to a prosperous tomorrow for Korea.
and dedicated to a rich tomorrow for Korea.
Futility.
They were lost in the blue waves at the edge of the earth.
and disappeared without a trace.
but we will never forget them.
In the steady march of our nation's modernization
and the prosperity of the world
Their noble spirit and will live on
In the infinite development of Korea’s fishery
they will live on forever.
Now, to comfort their spirits
Under the sun and stars of this region
Beneath the sun and stars of this region
where the boats of the deep sea fishery often travel.
The spirits of the great pioneers
The blood of a rewarding war.
Rest in peace here.

Written by Park Mokwol
September 1978
Korea
Established the Korea Deep Sea Fisheries Association