Containing Hyundai Motor Company's journey toward humanity and its warm gaze
Hyundai Motor Company Heritage Magazine 『RETRACE Magazine』

A heritage magazine that systematically archives the history of Hyundai Motor Company and provides inspiration for the future.
Using Hyundai Motor Company's monumental models as milestones, we look back on the past and examine the direction we must take in the era of electrification and the great transformation of future mobility.

Growing deeper over the years
Timeless
The older it gets, the deeper it becomes - Jung Woo-sung
I remember the evening atmosphere of the day my dad came home in his new Sonata.
Even on the weekends when I learned to drive from my mom, and on my first long-distance trip with friends, I was in the Sonata.
(…)

What does a car mean to a family? How different is Korea in the 1980s from Korea in 2020?
My father, who was in his 40s at the time, is now in his 70s, and I, who was an elementary school student at the time, am now in my mid-40s.
I decided to meet up with my friend, who was still fine, at the shopping mall with my wife and children.
We'll be running around looking after our children without even having time to sit down and share a cup of coffee, exhausted from running here and there, and we'll have to part ways.
When will I be able to keep my promise to go glamping together the next time we meet? The realization that such ordinary daily life is, in fact, the most extraordinary is truly a gift of time.
Then one day, he suddenly calls and asks calmly, “Is everything okay?”
It is about confirming each other's safety and gaining strength again.

The first chapter in trial and proof
Base
The First Step of Trial and Proof - Song Jae-eun
How did the innovation of the Sonata, which has become so commonplace and indispensable in the Korean automobile market, begin?
The first attempt to create the Sonata that is now filled with our memories, as the family's first car, a taxi that carries the people's daily lives, and a police car that protects the safety of citizens, was the Stella.
Following the journey of Hyundai Motor Company, which developed Korea's first mid-size car model, the Stella, in the early 1980s, in a domestic mid-size car market heavily reliant on foreign brands, the company's starting point lies in the philosophy of founding chairman Chung Ju-yung, who sought to deliver better cars to more people at more reasonable prices.
Over 40 years ago, in the Korean automobile market, where everything was uncertain, the design drawings we painstakingly drew with our own hands were by no means a given.

In a page of our history
Moment
In a Scene from History - Lee Dong-hee
Stella and Sonata have been through big and small moments in modern Korean history together.
Not only does it hold a place in each individual's memories, it is also a car that has made a significant mark on the technological advancement of Hyundai Motor Company for each generation.
This model, which has the longest history, contains the time and memories of all of us.
Just sharing this connects generations and adds new meaning to long-standing relationships that are often overlooked.


How is your “S” doing?
Diary
How is your S? - Park Hanbitnuri
In the late 1990s, techno music filled the streets, jeans became baggier, and the so-called "Orange Tribe" swarmed Apgujeong Rodeo.
But beyond that glamour, many homes had tables lined with newspapers full of economic articles and college entrance exam prediction tables.
From the scholastic ability test to the college entrance exam, from a black pencil to a marking pen.
The system has changed, and the entrance exams have become more sophisticated.
The college entrance exam was a war, but at the same time, it was an escape route.
Many people believed that if they studied hard, they could escape the current unstable reality.
There was a time when there was a ridiculous rumor going around that if you took the S off the back of a Sonata and stuck it on your desk, you would be able to get into Seoul National University.
We lived in a time when we were so innocent that we could pin our hopes on a vague future.

Crossing borders, reaching further
Fortitude
Sonata, Crossing Borders - Na Yoon-seok
Being able to design and produce a car on your own is proof that not only the company but also the country's overall industry has reached a high level.
In particular, the fact that cars made with South Korean technology are running around the world.
This was what Hyundai Motor Company wanted to achieve in the automobile industry, as founding chairman Chung Ju-yung once said, “A car is a flying national flag.”
That is why the overseas expansion of the Sonata, equipped with Hyundai Motor Company's unique technology and design, is more meaningful than anything else.
Let's unravel the journey that the Sonata took to pioneer the "bigger target" of the North American market.
First, to summarize, it was by no means an easy road, as even with thorough preparation, I experienced bitter pain.

Everyday on the road
Memory
Every Day on the Road - Jeong Hyeon-ji
Just like the various cars on the road, we all have our own memories of cars.
The time I played word games with my younger sibling in the backseat, the weekends when I would ride in my mom's car to the supermarket, the day I took my friends on a perilous trip.
Because the Sonata has been with us for 40 years, the Sonata that was my father's car also became my first car as an adult.
We asked eight Sonata owners who have special memories with their cars.
“Shall we go back to that time for a moment?”

What's in my glovebox?
Glovebox
Opening the glove box - Choi Ha-eun
A small drawer inside the car, the glove box.
In the early days of automobiles, when there were no roofs yet, driving gloves were a necessity, not an option, for cold hands in winter.
The small compartment in front of the passenger seat for easy storage and access to gloves came to be called a glovebox.
Even after time has passed and a roof and windows have been installed, it still stands there with the same name.
Although we don't open it very often, the glove box contains memories and pieces of our daily lives that we've collected while on the go.
Let's take a look at the items intertwined with tea memories introduced by twelve tea owners.

What long history has proven
Inheritors
What Time Has Proven - Ji Seong-hyeon
The depth of the relationship is suddenly felt.
As the time we spent together piles up and we look back on the traces left behind, we finally realize how many moments we shared.
Those who are always by our side and whose presence is evident become the strong support that sustains us in the present.
Our first encounter with Stella led to Sonata, and Hyundai Motor Company has remained by our side like a long-time friend.
As we count the moments we've shared together, we envision the future we'll walk with Hyundai Motor Company.

--- From the text