There is a special senior secretary in the Dae-sung group, which is a famous company in Seoul. Her name is Jhun Sung-hee. She always looks young and fresh. She wore a short hair style, red lipstick and the orange jacket. She welcomed a CBT reporter with a bright voice and offered a cup of tea. When people see her appearance, it is hard for them to guess her age. She has been a secretary for 32 years, and she is 69 years old. CBT met Jhun Sung-hee, who is called ‘The doyenne of the secretary field’. Let’s listen to her story.-Ed

Why did she decide to be a secretary?

It has been 32 years since she became a senior secretary in the Dae-sung group. Now, she is the chief of Korean Association of Administrative Professionals and she is so famous that she is called ‘The doyenne of the secretary field’. Also, she published her autobiography about her success story. She graduated from the department of Pharmacy at Ewha Womens University, and she didn’t want to be a secretary at first. “Honestly, I didn’t major in secretarial services and didn’t want to be a secretary. I started the work to support my family when I was 37 years old. At that time, most secretaries were young and beautiful ladies. It was unconventional for a housewife to do the secretarial work.”
She doesn’t have any regrets that she started the secretarial work instead of pharmaceutical work. “I don’t have repent of having that job. The work is right for me. I feel a sense of satisfaction because many people appreciate my work and they praise me. People usually retire when they are about 65 years old, but I’m still working and improving myself though I am almost 70 years old.”

The secret to working at one’s job for over 30 years

It was not easy to work because she started her career so late. Nevertheless, the secret to work as a senior secretary for a long time is doing her best even though the work is small things. “There are no trifling things. Some secretaries think that serving tea is trifling work. However, serving tea is one of the most important tasks of a secretary. It is the task of entertaining a guest and improving the company’s image,” she said.  “Doing one’s best in one’s own surroundings is very important. It is not enough to perform of what the boss ordered. Secretaries have to agonize continuously about how to help their bosses.”
She works not just as a secretary but as a partner of her boss. During the boss’s absence, she performs her boss’s tasks and reports them. The boss, the chairman of Dae-sung group, said in his testimonial for her book, “We haven’t been just boss and employee but partners for over 30 years.”
Most people change their jobs for the sake of better conditions and salaries, but she is absorbed in whatever she does from start to finish. “I tend to be absorbed in every task. This personality trait is a great help for secretarial work, and it makes other people look on me with favor.”

Thorough self-discipline

She goes to work at 5:30 a.m. every day and checks the schedule of each day. After that, she briefly studies foreign languages around 7:00 am. When employees begin to come to the office, she starts to work in earnest. She said, "Doing everything a little bit early makes me work more efficiently. If you are pressed for time so that you don't pay enough attention to the tasks, you will make mistakes. I'm so accustomed to managing time thoroughly that I hardly make mistakes at work.
 She has learned many things besides secretarial work: Oriental painting, Korean traditional dance, and Gayageum. Her paintings are so excellent that she once held an exhibition. She said that she always has thought how to use time more efficiently after she realized that the rest of her life was limited. She goes to the cultural center to learn painting, dancing, and music in her spare time, such as break times or her boss's meeting times.

Plans for the future

Her energetic character and outstanding work skills make her look much younger than she is. Her boss asked her to do secretarial work until she becomes an honorary president, but she turned it down because she will retire next year. She said, "I think it is time to prepare for the rest of my life. I will retire after completing the change-over not to cause inconvenience. I want to live beautifully and rosily in my old age after retirement while enjoying pastimes like writing and learning Gayageum.

Comment to CBNU students

She said, "Do your best all the time, no matter what the task is. Even if the tasks are hard and difficult, you can earn a fruitful outcome by enduring and trying patiently. Making effort by 1% more is pivotal than just accomplishing a given task," and she added, "Doing your utmost in study is a matter of requirement. I have been studying continuously up until now. If you build your ability steadily, you won't be behind other people after entering into the world." In addition, she emphasized the importance of not losing confidence, saying, "When the work goes the wrong way, people easily feel they are incompetent. In that slump, people should not devalue or criticize their own values. Mistakes result from a distrust of themselves, not the lack of ability or knowledge. Never underestimate your ability or values; always think that you are a capable and talented person."