From cars to business, this racer proves they're all connected

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From cars to business, this racer proves they're all connected

Lee Seung-hun, a professional car racer and an M.B.A. student at Seoul National University (SNU) participates in an interview with the JoongAng Ilbo on Saturday on the school's campus in Gwanak District, southern Seoul. [KIM KYUNG-ROK]

Lee Seung-hun, a professional car racer and an M.B.A. student at Seoul National University (SNU) participates in an interview with the JoongAng Ilbo on Saturday on the school's campus in Gwanak District, southern Seoul. [KIM KYUNG-ROK]

 
A professional car racer who has been enchanted with cars from a young age is now sitting in a class at Seoul National University (SNU) to explore more about the mobility industry. 
 
Lee Seung-hun is a 40-year-old racer of the Oilclick and Woori Car racing team. Last year, Lee finished with the most wins at the Nexen Tire Speed Racing GT-300, a race where racers compete with rebuilt commercial cars. He finished in first place five times in the preliminary race and three times in the final race.
 
“I have always liked anything that has an engine, ever since middle school,” said Lee, who started his Master of Business Administration (M.B.A.) degree at SNU this January.
 
Lee until now has built his career on many different, seemingly unrelated fields, but they all stem from his love for cars. He first built his career as a Webtoon producer.
 
According to Lee, he started working as a Naver Webtoon producer because he loved racing cartoons. While working at Naver, he created a service called MY CAR to help people manage their cars.
 
“There are many things you have to do to maintain a car. For instance, car owners need to go for regular car check-ups. Also, a driver may not be able to easily recall simple things like the car's plate number. And at the time, there was no service that provided information like that automatically,” said Lee.
 
Lee studied at the Hankuk University of Foreign Studies with a double major in Malay-Indonesian languages and business. When asked about how he came to the decision to embark on a journey as an M.B.A. student at SNU, he said he wanted to learn more and knew that he would gain much from the M.B.A. program while still being able to actively work as a professional racer.
 
Lee’s crush on cars began 13 years ago when he was in college. He attended a practice session of a car club to learn more, and he recalls asking a club member to let him sit in the passenger seat during practice.
 
“I thought my life was about to end,” said Lee, reminiscing on his first time riding in a race car. “I felt way dizzier than if I was riding on a rollercoaster, and my legs were shaking by the time I got out of the vehicle.”
 
From then on, Lee said, he became "addicted" to car racing. “The driving scene continued to pop up in my mind. I decided that I should learn right away.”
 
He soon after bought a 3-million-won ($2,400) secondhand car and started practicing on different tracks across the country. With his continuous effort, he finally became a professional racer, joining his current team in 2017.
 
When asked about what the biggest charm of racing is, Lee answered it is the sense of achievement. 
 
"Racing requires both physical and mental capabilities, skills, effort and a sophisticated vehicle. It feels very rewarding when I end up with a good record. I hope I continue getting good records for a long time in the racing field and keep growing as a professional racer," said Lee.

BY LEE BYUNG-JUN [kjdnational@joongang.co.kr]
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