Is there anyone in modern history as lucky as Kim Du-han?

He wasn't dragged away during the Japanese colonial era
He wasn't dragged away during the war
He wasn't dragged away during the military regimes
He was a man who lived through the entirety of South Korea's modern history
But it seems like he was someone who avoided the major fires every time to build a world of his own.
If Kim Du-han hadn't been number one in fighting, he would have likely fallen victim to one of those three eras and died
This is why I think being number one in any field is so important.