On Korea's southern island of Geoje sits a 400-hectare plot where 26,000 shipbuilders are hard at work. This is just one of the dockyards that make Korea the global leader in shipbuilding. Last year, seven of the world's ten biggest shipmakers were Korean.
The shipyard owned by Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering places among the top five along with Hyundai Heavy Industries and Samsung Heavy Industries.
Right now some 20 large vessels including a super-tanker with holding capacity of 2.6 million cubic meters are being built there. A tanker of that capacity can hold more natural gas than all Korea uses in one day.
Korea's shipbuilding industry, already strong, just keeps on growing. This year's ship exports are expected to exceed US$30 billion, up 13 percent from last year.
Of the world's total back orders for ships, as measured in compensated gross tons, Korea holds 36 percent. That's enough projects to keep Korea's shipbuilding industry afloat for four years without taking another order.