The world is wide, and the sea is wider!
Meet the seafarer, the maritime profession responsible for 99% of Korea's logistics!

About 99% of South Korea's trade is conducted through maritime transport.
At the center of logistics is an unfamiliar but essential profession called ‘navigator.’
However, what a navigator does and what process he or she must go through to reach that path are not well known to the public.
"Navigator: The Leader of Maritime Trade" is Korea's first comprehensive guide to navigating the seafarer, containing a detailed career roadmap that aspiring navigators need to know.
In a world where practical information about the shipping industry is scarce, this book goes beyond a simple job introduction and guides you through the life of a navigator to the point of "experiencing."

"Leader of the Maritime Trade: Navigator" is a book that provides clear guidelines to address the vagueness and confusion that young people face when exploring and choosing a career path.
It vividly records not only the entrance exam strategies, qualification exams, practical training, and interview preparation required to become a navigator, but also the urgent situations, human struggles, failures, and moments of recovery encountered on actual ships.
The greatest strength of this book is its ‘real-worldness.’
Through interviews with various types of ships, including container ships, bulk carriers, car carriers, passenger ships, and deep-sea fishing vessels, the book provides a firsthand look at the broad scope of a navigator's duties, detailing how to deal with various situations, daily life, and division of labor.


It also provides realistic and honest answers to questions like, “Can I become a navigator if I suffer from severe seasickness?”, “What do female navigators do?”, and “What should I do if I encounter pirates at sea?”
In addition, the author shares the various prejudices and limitations she overcame as a female navigator, serving as a rare and valuable role model for young women seeking to enter the shipping industry.
The heartfelt advice and compass-like guidance contained throughout the book resonate deeply with all those who ask about their "attitude toward life" beyond the framework of "career."
This book will be a valuable resource for young people contemplating their career paths, parents seeking their children's direction, teachers seeking job experience and career guidance materials, and even young people considering a career change. It will be a special voyage that will allow readers to explore a wider world and a deeper self through the ocean.

How many people can say from the beginning, "My dream is ○○○!"? Even I, who now enjoys the profession of a navigator, didn't dream of being a navigator from the beginning.
In a society that emphasizes studying and entrance exams, it is nearly impossible to gradually figure out what I like and what I am good at.
Most people only start looking into what occupations are available around the time of the college entrance exam.
As it becomes more difficult to get a job, everyone is choosing schools with good job prospects as their first choice.
From the moment they enter university, students begin to worry about their future career path.
After becoming a navigator, I often give lectures to students who dream of becoming maritime officers at Korea Maritime and Ocean University, Mokpo National Maritime University, Maritime High School, and Korea Maritime and Fisheries Training Institute.
The same goes for students' questions.


“How did you become a navigator?” “Isn’t being a navigator difficult?” “How much does a navigator earn?” “What skills do I need to develop to become a navigator?” “Don’t I need to be good at English?” “If I travel around the world, I can travel to those countries?” Questions pour in.
When I give lectures at maritime organizations and meet readers of my books, I get a lot of questions from students and parents.
Among them, the most frequently asked questions are summarized below.
(Omitted) In movies and media, the image of a sailor enjoying romantic seascapes is often highlighted.
But the ship is real.
Once you've adapted to life on board and can handle your work smoothly, the scenery will come as a bonus.
---From "01 Prologue_This is how I became a navigator"

A navigator is a person whose job is to navigate a ship.
What is navigation, and what is its purpose? Navigation is the act of traveling along a sea route to safely transport something to its destination.
The object being transported can be cargo, people, or fish.
Accordingly, ships can be broadly classified into cargo ships, passenger ships, and fishing ships.
Navigators are also divided into those working on merchant ships such as cargo ships, passenger ships, and fishing ships.
Let's look at the four main types of fishing boats.
Fishing vessels can be divided into fishing vessels that catch fish, catch carriers that transport the caught fish, public vessels that have refrigeration, freezing, or processing facilities on board and have several private vessels that receive the catch from private vessels and process it on board, such as for canning, and special fishing vessels.
This book focuses on merchant ships, that is, passenger ships and cargo ships engaged in trade.
(syncopation)

A cargo ship navigator's role is to safely navigate the ship and transport the cargo to its destination.
South Korea, surrounded by the sea on three sides, is a country with a high dependence on exports and imports.
As I briefly mentioned earlier, more than 99% of total cargo volume is transported through maritime trade.
This means that ships are responsible for 99% of the import and export volume.
There are many different types of cargo.
Depending on the type, the structure of the ship also changes.
There are container ships that carry containers, bulk carriers that carry bulk cargo such as iron ore, coal, and grain, tankers that carry LNG, LPG, and crude oil, and car carriers that carry cars.

Because the structure of a ship varies significantly depending on the type of cargo, there are cases where separate training is required for special cargo in addition to the common training that must be received for different ship types.
As a navigator of a cargo ship, the most important thing is to transport the cargo safely.
To achieve this, the safety of the ship, the safety of the cargo, and the safety of the crew must be given priority.
---「02 Anyone Can Be a Navigator: This is What Navigators Do」

Currently, two schools in Korea, Korea Maritime and Ocean University and Target Maritime University, are operating related educational courses.
If you go to college, you can receive the education and training necessary to obtain a navigation license through the educational program provided by the school.


Korea Maritime and Ocean University's College of Maritime Science is the school with the longest history in the maritime field in Korea.
You can prepare to become a navigator by attending Korea Maritime and Ocean University.
The Korea Maritime and Ocean University's Maritime College aims to cultivate maritime professionals by providing all students with a basic education course that includes a one-year onboard training course.
You can become a navigator by advancing to the Department of Navigation Convergence, Department of Marine Police, or Department of Maritime Artificial Intelligence Security at the Maritime University.
All students enrolled in the Maritime University live in the boarding house for four years, and are provided with room and board and prescribed clothing (some items are paid for by the individual) at the government expense.
Part of the entrance fee and tuition fee will be waived for four years.
In the case of male students, those who are determined to be eligible for active duty military service as a result of the physical examination for military service may, in accordance with the Military Service Act, be transferred to the reserve force for shipboard service within the scope of the number of personnel determined by the Military Manpower Administration Commissioner after graduation and complete their military service by serving on board for three years within five years.
---From "03 Becoming a Merchant Marine Navigator: Conquer the Maritime University! Admission to a Maritime University"

When you become a third-year university student, life on a training ship begins.
This is because one year of experience on a training ship is required to obtain a 3rd class marine engineer license.
The school has two training ships, and the basic plan is to live on different training ships for six months.
During the first or second semester, students are given the opportunity to live and practice on a ship operated by an actual company.
You can choose which semester to board and which ship to take based on your grades and circumstances.

Life on a school training ship is like moving your living area and dormitory from land to ship, as you have classmates and professors.
Most of the ships are moored at the docks within the university and classes are held on board, and they also travel to domestic and foreign ports according to the school schedule.
When you train at a shipping company, you board a ship engaged in actual trade as a trainee navigator and live with the captain, navigator, engineer, and crew members, so the atmosphere is different from that of a school training ship.
(syncopation)

If you do a six-month internship as a shipping company captain, you will initially focus all your energy on adapting to life on a ship.
First, you have to get used to the moving ship.
However, even after getting used to it, fatigue often builds up due to the ship's unique smell and unfamiliar environment.
Even I, a 10-year veteran, feel heavy and crushed for a week after returning from vacation and boarding the ship.
Even people who are accustomed to ship life will feel it, but for trainee sailors boarding for the first time, it will be even more difficult and they will feel greatly tired even with just a little movement.
Besides, because I don't know what to do, my nerves are on edge and I'm busy watching the officers' faces.
It's nice to meet an officer who's kind and explains things to you, but don't expect all officers to be like that.
For trainees who are accustomed to learning as students and doing as they are told, this situation can feel unsettling.
If possible, get a detailed handover from the previous trainee navigator.
Even if it is explained in detail in the handover document, there are cases where it gets stuck when actually trying to do it.
Let's watch and learn directly from what the previous trainee navigators do.
It is also a good idea to take a video or record it for personal use after asking permission.
---From "04 Complete Collection of Know-How to Become a Navigator: Practical Life Know-How"

I had an indecisive personality.
I had a hard time choosing what to eat for lunch, and I even had a hard time deciding which snack to eat.
It was hard for me to decide on anything, so I always followed my friends' lead in making decisions.

Then, an incident occurred that changed my indecisive personality in an instant.
It was when I was in college.
There was a sailing simulation class, where the equipment was set up similar to a mission and the class used graphics to make it seem like you were on a ship.
That day, we split into teams and each person took turns being the captain.
When I became a captain, I had to dodge a line of yachts crossing in front of me.
One friend advised me to dodge to the right, while another advised me to dodge to the left.
While I was wandering around, unable to decide which way to go, the screen suddenly froze.
It was because it collided with a yacht.
The screen froze for a while and then the class ended.
I was shocked.
Even after several years, I still remember that scene clearly.
What if this were a real situation? If I had decided to go either right or left, the next path would have been clear.
The accident happened because I just worried and didn't take any action.

When you actually work on a ship and are on watch, there comes a time when you have to make a decision to avoid fishing boats.
You must check the surrounding traffic conditions and make an accurate decision.
To prevent major accidents, navigators must make quick decisions and take a clear stance.

---From "05 Qualities of a Navigator: You Must Decide"