Goodbye, Farewell and Amen: A salute to Korea

So sitting on the youth hostel balcony in Seoul, we are now afforded the opportunity to reflect on our time in Korea. Since the last series of posts, we took several classes about Korea, spent the night in a Buddhist temple, had an Ulsan farewell party, tromped all over Seoul, and a few of us took an expedition into a warzone. It has been the week of weeks for our Korea trip, and our last memories here will likely be our fondest.

It is important to thank all those that made this trip what it was. Hyundai Heavy Industries, The University of Ulsan, and The University of Michigan were of course integral to our successes, so thank you. On a personal level, the real benefactors of this journey have been our Korean UoU student colleagues. They suffered our pain, shared our victories, and put up with us through our cultural ignorance. This not being enough, we can now legitimately call them friends, and that outcome could be the most valuable part of this experience. So Broski, Juneski, He Man, Q Force, Miss Young, Mr. Seo Helpful, our hats are off to you.

Korea is a wonderful country, and we have enjoyed it thoroughly. The national work ethic, culture and pride have been inspiring. The accomplishments of this country are not small, especially if you consider the timeline. We are proud to be associated with such a great nation.

This being said, it is time for the sons and daughters of wolverine nation to return home, and we are ready. Fate be willing, we should see some of you tomorrow.

-UM NA&ME Korea 2009

DMZ

Al, He Man, Cory and I went to the DMZ today. The DMZ (Demilitarized Zone) is a 4km band of land that separates North and South Korea. It is more or less centered on the 38th parallel, and is technically a warzone. North and South Korea are still at war, a cease-fire being the only peace document in existence. Armed guards, lots of barbed wire and strict regulations abound. During the time immediately after the Korean War, over 700,000 land mines were placed throughout the DMZ. About 30% have been removed, but moving off the beaten path can be extremely dangerous. There are land mine signs everywhere, hanging from barbed wire. Since the war, the North Korean’s have been digging infiltration tunnels into South Korea. Four have been discovered so far, the last one in 1990. It is believed that there are at least 17 more that have not been found. We went into tunnel number three, which is 73m deep and has a total length of ~1650m. Of course most of this tunnel is under North Korea. Civilians are able to get within 170m of the border, where there the tunnel is blocked except for a small steel door. There are two more blocks, the last one being directly under the border. We touched the barbed wire, which represents the closest we were able to get to North Korea. Sorry, but we were not allowed to take pictures of the most interesting things. 

After the tunnel, we went to an observation post where we could see the border and North Korea’s propaganda village. This is a fake village, designed to attract South Korean’s to defect. No people live there. It boasts the tallest flagpole in the world, sporting the largest flag in the world. Apparently, the flag must be taken down in the rain for fear that the weight of the water will break the pole. Directly across from it is South Korea’s Freedom village, which does have a population. Living in the constant danger of an invasion, and the threat from land mines, the citizens of this village pay no taxes and their sons are immune from compulsory military service. The economy is mostly ginseng based. Most families make around $100,000 per year, which is quite high for agrarian families in South Korea.

Lastly we went to the Dorasan train station, which is “Not the last station from the South. But the first station to the North.” Built in the 00’s during high hopes for reunification, the train station was a hub for South Korean commuters on their way to factories in North Korea. It also served as a customs station for cargo from the same factories returning south. As typical of relations with North Korea, an incident in which a woman was shot brought all rail traffic to a close. The same person who designed Seoul’s Inchon airport designed the station, and the roofline symbolizes the holding of hands.

Temple Stay

We arrived at the temple in the middle of Thursday afternoon, and left the next day at noon enlightened. Maybe not enlightened by Buddhist standards, but enlightened about Buddhism. We participated in Buddhist ceremonies, ate in the traditional Buddhist way and slept in the finest of Buddhist lodgings. Buddhist ceremonies involved sitting in extremely uncomfortable positions, and attempting to understand an esoteric concept twice translated into English. The most enjoyable was meditation. There was an open-air pavilion, overlooking the mountains and set above a rushing stream. It was one of the most beautiful places in the world. While sitting in silence, ignoring the pain in your knees, you get to contemplate life. The last step of meditation was to lie on your back, which was great. We all agreed that the meditation pavilion was our favorite place. A traditional Buddhist meal is a process in which eating is a secondary benefit. You start with four bowls, a spoon and chopsticks. You get a little bit of water in one bowl, rice in another, then soup and finally side dishes. The unpacking, placement, arrangement and filling of these bowls are quite particular. One yellow radish is included with the bowls. Once finished eating, you clean the inside of all the bowls with the radish, and a little bit of water (no soap). You then drink the water, and eat the radish. Finally, you are given a little bit more water for final bowl rinse. Then everyone dumps his or her water into a common bucket. If there are ANY food particles in the bucket, everyone shares drinking the water…

For sleeping, you are allotted a blanket and a pillow. There is a large room with no furniture. We slept on the floor. This was actually rather nice, except for the grandfather clock that successfully woke us up every hour. Reveille was at 3:30 AM. We participated in a couple ceremonies including 108 bows, which involves standing to kneeling 108 times. Apparently, several thousand bow ceremonies are not uncommon, so we were happy with only the 108. We were scheduled to go for a hike around the mountains, but it was raining so we got to take a two-hour nap. This was heaven, given the 3:30 wake up. Apparently napping is not a typical monk activity; they were smiling at us when that was what we chose to do. There was also some clandestine Pringle eating at night, also not condoned by the monks.

UoU classes

So we took a few classes, Shipbuilding of Korea, Korean Traditional Music, North Korea, Taekwondo, and Globalization etc. All of these were distinctively interesting, but North Korea generated the most buzz within the group. Taught by westerner, this class gave the background of how North Koreans probably think, and theories on why they act the way they do. The lecturer was making generalizations about NK and SK, and it was interesting to know that the SK’s disagreed with a lot of what he said. According to the lecturer, there will probably be some sort of armed conflict within six months. 

Taekwondo was the most interactive of all the classes. This is the Korean Martial Art, and it is more about discipline and peace than fighting. The first step of learning Taekwondo is adequately stretching. When attempting a stretch, if the instructors did not think one was adequately extended, they hand no problem walking over and PUSHING your appendages beyond maximum yielding strength. After 30 minutes of this, we learned basic attack, block and kick moves. A few of us successfully kicked a board into multiple pieces.

One afternoon we took a bus down to Busan again. This time we actually went swimming at the beach, and also toured the aquarium. The water is pretty shallow a long way out at the beach, so the ocean swells get nice and large as they come in. We had a great time trying to surf them on inner tubes, or just getting crushed into the sand. A few of the group actually made it onto Korean TV too.

UUUULLLLLSAN TIGERS!

We got back from the market on Saturday, and just as I was sinking into a blissful nap opportunity knocked. Broski (Yeung-Ha) said that he could take us to a soccer game. We walked about 20 minutes to the Ulsan stadium that was built for the World Cup in 2002.  Originally we were going to pay 8000 Won for normal seats, but bumping up to 10000 Won ($8.02) got us midfield in the premium section. I feel like the Michigan Athletic Department should seriously reevaluate its ticket prices.

Last year it was mentioned that Hyundai basically owned Ulsan, and I would agree with this in part. The real question is which Hyundai? There is HHI, Hyundai Motors, Hyundai Climate Control, the towel hooks in the bathroom say Hyundai… In any case, the local team is the Hyundai Tigers. The stadium was at less than 15% capacity, but there was a dedicated fan base near one goal. They sang, drummed and chanted the entire game. Our premium section was much more reserved, so we attempted to spice things up. Someone bought some of the balloon banger things, and we began jeering the referees with wolverine traditional chants for bad calls. We got a lot of smiles and giggles. Because the stadium was so empty and we were close to the field this was a very personal experience. We could hear the players’ fake screams of agony, and I know they could hear our commentary. Not all of the players were Korean. Those good soccer players who cannot make MLS or club soccer in Europe go pro in places like Korea. It was interesting to see them out there.

Super Bowl planners should also take note from our halftime show. We got a quintet playing a very recognizable tune, followed by a few rounds of ballroom dancing. This was much more intellectually stimulating than anything Janet Jackson could come up with.

Sung Nam Dong a.k.a. Purse City

A few of us having adequately recovered from getting to know Mr. Seo, we decided to hit the Ulsan markets on Saturday. The district is called Sung Nam Dong. The streets are narrow and filled with a variety of shops, street vendors and food joints. Most of the streets are covered. Most of the shopping is clothes and purses, though if you want a bottled squid or live eel you could get that too. I buckled down and looked in a few purse stores for my wife. I have evidence that I did so, now I can move on with my life.

We learned in class the other day (and this is an unconfirmed broad generalization) that to Korean’s globalization means export, but no imports. I can see where this view would come from, because almost everything here is made in Korea, and we in the U.S. have plenty of Kias and Hyundais. However, this does not hold true for culture. Apparently our University is quite famous everywhere, as is Detroit’s murder rate…

Pork's Potential Revenge

Our first evening at UoU was highly successful by all accounts. First off, we ate pork at another Korean restaurant. At these places the tables are about a foot off the ground, and one is expected to sit cross-legged on the floor. For inflexible people like me, and tall people like Al, this can prove rather uncomfortable after long periods of time. Normally we would simply stretch our legs in an alternating pattern under the table. This was complicated somewhat by the fact that the basin for the red-hot charcoal cooking our food was located under the table. The choices were footsy with Al, or 3^rd degree burns.

Despite this, the food was excellent and the company better. After having been fully stuffed, Mr. Seo (Our UoU contact) wanted to take us out to get know us better, and we ended up at a bar/restaurant. It is required to order some food at these places, so he placed a modest order. What arrived at our table was two giant plates of chicken salad, two whole fried chickens, two dishes of corn, be bim bop and bowls of something similar to frootloops. We were inclined to introduce Mr. Seo to the game “Quarters” or “Scat”, which meant that we needed to remove some of the food from the table. Some hours and many pitchers later, Mr. Seo was quite familiar with “Scat.”

HHI, a blast of the past.

Alas, the time has come for us to leave the employ of HHI. After three educational weeks, we are off to the University of Ulsan. Our time at HHI has been quite the experience. Our last week has been spent at the Hyundai Maritime Research Institute (HMRI) and Hyundai Industrial Research Institute (HIRI).

HMRI is about the closest thing we have experienced to our normal academic lives. Similar in focus to the Marine Hydrodynamics Laboratory at Michigan, HMRI has a huge towing tank, model shop, model propeller shop, cavitation tunnel and circulating water channel. In English, that means they test their ship designs in small scale. However a small-scale model of their Very Large Crude Carriers is still 25 feet long. I wanted to turn one into a fishing boat, but Greg convinced me it was not cost effective.

**********WARNING: ENGINEERING LANGUAGE FOLLOWS**********

HMRI also has a gravity wave tank. We got to predict the natural frequencies of vertical cylinders in heave, and then verify our predictions with a test. Because the cylinders were on the free surface, they told us to use 0.5*ρ*g*V for the added mass. Greg and I remembered that fully submerged this would be more like 0.1*ρ*g*V, so we were slightly skeptical. However, they actually moored the cylinder with four chains, changing the problem completely. In that case, their 0.5*ρ*g*V worked out to be accurate. For some reason I think they knew that was going to happen…

The other really neat thing at HMRI was the propeller cavitation test. The cavitation tunnel is a dark room, and they have a strobe light set up at the same frequency as the propeller RPM. The propeller was rotating at around 200 RPM, but appeared to be standing still. That way they could see the cavitation on each blade.

**********END WARNING**********

After all the hardcore NA&ME work at HMRI, we were not all that interested in going to learn about steel microstructure and coatings (paint) at HIRI. We were all pleasantly surprised at just how nifty steel microstructure and paint could really be. They had small samples of welded steel joints, which we sanded and polished to a mirror finish, literally. Under 100x magnification no scratches were to be visible. Next, a diluted nitric acid solution was placed on the sample, which ate away at the cell boundaries, highlighting the microstructure. We then viewed the samples under a microscope and were educated about all the microstructures in the base metal, heat affected zone (HAZ) and the weld metal itself. It was pretty much like high school biology, except with steel. After that, we conducted a Vickers hardness test on the sample. Basically you indent the metal with a constant force, and then measure the size of the indent to determine hardness. We also witnessed a Charpy test (Guillotine for an innocent steel sample), and tensile test (drawing and quartering for an innocent steel sample). Our final workday at HHI and HIRI was the crowning glory. Shot blasting.

It was a rainy day, and our guide took us outside and walked us around the back of the building. Awaiting us was what looked like a shipping container, with only a lock on the outside. My mother warned me about situations like this. Two people wearing red jumpsuits arrived, and they handed us a denim and leather set of pants and jacket. If the clothes from Bonanza were blue, these would be them. After donning the equipment, they wrapped our boots in leather and we put on heavy gloves. They opened the doors of the container and we stepped inside. Next, a hood with independent air supply was placed over our head, with a small glass viewport. Greg went first, and it seriously looked like something out of 2001: A Space Odyssey. An HHI man in the same getup was inside to manage the equipment and to help hold the hose. Without the heavy clothes and hood, the steel shot could easily shred all the flesh from an arm or leg, and eat through the bone if given a few seconds. The safety cartoons showed a man with a giant hole in him, and they were not kidding. The door was closed and locked behind us, and we blasted away. This entire experience was great fun. It was a perfect ending for our time at HHI.

Our bags are packed for the move to UoU, and everyone is a little mellow to be turning in their beloved uniform and hardhat.

Mr. X

As we toured the yard, we got to go on the bridges of many ships. On one particular bridge, we met the fabulous Mr. X (I hope someone else got his card…). Mr. X’s job was to test operate and check the installation of every piece of equipment on the bridge. In a previous life, he had been a mate of some sort. In a great show of generosity, he took our group all around the bridge and demonstrated or described the function of all the equipment. This includes the wheel (duh), throttle, engine control panel, horns, radars, radios, fire control etc. etc. He had shown us the horn button, but had not demonstrated. Last year’s group was able to blow the horn, and I had been looking forward to that particular gem since I learned I was coming to Korea.

There was a suspiciously horn looking lever above the wheel that he had not identified. I asked with great hopes, “What is that?” He replied, “The ships whistle, do you want to blow it?” I nodded my head with increasing rapidity as the adrenaline kicked in, and Mr. X gestured toward the lever. I stood below the lever, grasped it in my hand and looked at him one more time for assurance. He nodded and I pulled lever. I was expecting something on the magnitude of a foghorn, as well as an immediate sense of power and accomplishment. What I got was nothing. As Mr. X laughed along with everyone else on the bridge, it became apparent that this particular lever was not yet working. He pointed at me, made a reeling motion with his other hand and said, “That is what we call fishing in Korea.” Embarrassed, I consoled myself by thinking it was at least worth the try.

Later in the day, we were on yet another bridge, and who should we find working there? Mr. X. In his generosity he showed us around once again, and this time pointed at a small green button, labeled “Whistle”. He once again pointed at me, and indicated that I could push this button. Skeptical, and prepared for another embarrassment (but still worth the try), I pushed the button. There was a second of delay, followed by the sound I had been waiting for. Interestingly, most of the major sound signals are pre-programmed, so only one button push is necessary to say, “You are about to get run over,” in whistle speak. As he sounded all the signals, I decided that Mr. X was not so bad. My opinion of him further improved when he told Jake that his dream was to attend Michigan. I figure we can work something out…

Corporate Secrecy and Shipbuilding

Alright, so the culture is cool right? But what about the ships? To be honest with you all, it is a little tricky writing about our experiences in the shipyard. This is because HHI is very concerned with corporate secrets and security. Every one of us signed a non-disclosure agreement, and some of our experiences have pointed to the fact that what we would consider common knowledge, they consider a corporate secret. The pictures you see in this post were found on the internet, including HHI's website.

Anecdotally, we have heard a few stories that put their policies into context. As the story goes, post World War Two Japanese shipyards were the best in the world. Having almost zero functioning industry remaining in August of 1945, they were able to build an industrial base from the ground up and incorporate the technology to go with it. Toyota is an example of this explosion of industry, and is arguably the world’s most copied company. Koreans experienced a similar set of conditions, with the Korean War. Except that the Koreans had the advantage of seeing what their Japanese neighbors were doing right and wrong, and could improve it. Currently Korea has the world’s top three shipyards. HHI in the lead.

In modern times, it is China that is on the rise. And, anecdotally, the Chinese are quite eager to learn exactly how the Koreans are making ships. One of the stories that we have heard involves Chinese classification society representatives. It usually takes two or three classification reps to certify a new engine, but for one particular ship six reps showed up. During the certification, one of the reps went missing and was later found by HHI police to be photographing other parts of the yard. HHI does not allow cameras at all, we know firsthand. There are signs everywhere. Additionally, it has been said that a Chinese shipping company bought a ship from HHI just to take it back to China and copy the design. The truth of these stories is unknown, but everyone at HHI has learned them. The lesson is that secrecy is a priority. So, in order to keep from violating my non-disclosure agreement, I will describe in vague terms how HHI builds a ship.

First, there is steel, and lots of it. There are ships coming into and out of the yard constantly delivering plate steel. HHI claims to be a just in time style company, and I believe it. The steel is cleaned and primed to keep it from rusting and then distributed throughout the yard. The next step is to make small pieces of ship. There are flat pieces, called panels, which can be pieces of decks, parallel midbody (the flat sides of ship), bottom plates etc. These are all made on massive assembly lines with automated welding and cutting where possible. For pieces (or units in HHI parlance) that are curved, there is a totally different assembly line.

To curve steel in complex ways, such as bow and stern plates, line heating is used. This is an ancient art, and despite modern technology remains an art. Basically you take a flat piece of steel, heat one small strip of it and then douse it in water. The contraction of that heated strip curves the metal. By repeating this process over and over, and after many hours, you can develop almost any shape you want. Once all these units have been produced, they are welded together into blocks.

Blocks are the biggest pieces possible that can be moved around the shipyard, or lifted by crane. The transporters at HHI are capable of lifting up to 1000MT, and some cranes up to 1600MT. That tells you how big the blocks are. All shipyards want to do as much outfitting (rigging of pipes, ventilation, wiring, walkways etc.) into their blocks as possible. It is much easier and cheaper to get into the tight spaces of ship when working on a small chunk with daylight and ventilation. HHI is no different, and they call this process pre-outfitting. Blocks are also painted in advance, in the largest paint booth anyone has ever seen.

Next there are the dry docks. A dry dock is ship sized sunken Jacuzzi with a removable dam at one end, holding back the sea. Blocks are lowered one by one into a dry dock where they are welded together. The main engines almost always exceed the capacity of the cranes, so they are lifted in three large pieces. So like legos, piece by piece the ship is erected. Once the blocks are all together, the dock is flooded, the dam removed, and the ship floats out. It is then tied to the quay (pronounced “key” in Korean English) where all the remaining work is completed. This includes final outfitting, dockside testing, cleaning, final painting etc. The ship is then taken to sea trials, and delivered on time every time.

Owners have the right to not accept a ship for delivery if there are deficiencies in the work. Due to the economic crisis, people have ordered ships that they can either no longer pay for, or no longer need. Owners are now checking over things ever more thoroughly to try and find reasons to delay delivery, and thus delay payment. HHI is a quality builder, and they deliver on time every time.


We have toured every one of these processes and more. Shipbuilding is quite cool, but the Engine and Machinery Division really got my attention. HHI is the world’s leading supplier of low speed marine diesels, and also produces the largest one at over 100,000hp. The main brands of low speed diesel are MAN B&W, or Wartsila. HHI is under license to manufacture both these brands. Perhaps the most critical part of the engine is the crankshaft. HHI has developed their own advanced technology to build crankshafts which makes them a large supplier beyond their own yard. They are the world’s leading producer of propellers as well. After having made medium speed diesels under license for generators and power stations, HHI figured they could do it better. They designed their own medium speed diesel brand, called Himsen. The HI-touch Medium Speed Engine, or Himsen, means “strong” in Korean.

Shipbuilding here is a vertically integrated process. If it is part of a ship, HHI probably makes it. This enables them to keep costs down, profits up.

Burberry Anyone?

Though many things in South Korea are cheaper than in 'Merica, this cannot be said of name brands. Going to the department stores and seeing a pair of normal levees for $200 makes me want to become a smuggler. All things name brand are cherished, as evidenced by the Burberry bike. Whether or not the upholstery is in fact made by Burberry makes no difference. I did a little checking, and it turns out that Burberry was a man in England who started his store in 1856. Gabardine fabric and the trench coat are both Burberry inventions. I hope this makes you feel better about the authenticity of that scarf...

Extracurricular Culture Tours

Our weekday evenings have been well spent on the Ulsan beach or elsewhere. Because we have toured so many segments of HHI, we are now recognizable to a large percentage of the Ulsan population. When visiting the beach we are often invited to the tables (really low platforms for sitting) of HHI employees where we share drinks, Korean food, watermelon and stories. They are very curious about us and also very friendly. In exchange for the food and drink we introduce them to the wonders of Frisbee.

Political correctness does not have the same meaning (if it has one at all) in Korea.  At HHI we have been asked about our religion several times. The person asking has thus far been Christian, and openly shares his beliefs with us. One such occasion lead to our being invited to church, which four of us accepted. I can report that Korean Christian churches (at least this one) are nearly identical in architecture and sermon as American ones. The major differences I noted were that they spoke Korean, and their music was much better. This particular church featured a large choir, with French horn, trombone, clarinet, violin and cello backup. Church was followed by a very nice Korean meal in a restaurant. Kimchi is remarkably appetizing when mixed with pork.

On the same day Dan received a different type of Korean culture experience. Having played Ping Pong in our dorm with some amiable Koreans, they invited him to have a drink with them. Thinking this was going to happen around the corner Dan went with them. Ending up in a car on a nervous adventure to parts unknown, Dan ended up at their house where he was treated to a home cooked meal. Feeling comfortable, he was once again thrown for a loop as he was shuttled off to Foreigner's pub, enjoyed Korean style. The cultural differences in what are and what are not publicly acceptable behaviors were demonstrated for Dan. After quite the experience, he was returned home. For the complete account, Dan should be contacted directly.   

Culture Tour Number Two

This past Saturday we went on our second culture tour to Busan. Busan is a large city south of Ulsan on the east coast of Korea. The picture from the highway is representative of most of Busan. Korean apartments are mostly similar designs, and are everywhere. There is not as much uniqueness as seen in the USA. 

We went to see the APEC house, another Buddhist temple and enjoy a Korean meal. On the drive down, the ever-observant Mr. Filip noted several tall buildings bearing the name “Trump.” This reminded me of Warrant Buffet’s mention of his many investments in Korea, but none in China. The Asia Pacific Economic Conference house was modern and elegant at the same time. Built for the 2005 conference, George W. is in many of the commemorative photos. It was striking how quickly time passes. Following the APEC house, we took a boardwalk following the rocky shore and saw Busan Beach, which can experience over 1 million visitors on an in season weekend.

A very windy steep bus ride into the mountains left a few of our passengers a little nauseous, likely related to their choice of beverage the night before. In any case, another scenic temple was the perfect place to recover in preparation for a table cooked Korean meal. Mr. Filip can be seen to enjoy his food thoroughly.

 

Internet Issues

In case any of you were wondering about our internet connectivity, most of South Korea has been without internet for a few days. This was due to a large cyber attack, likely from North Korea. As a precaution, all sites handling sensitive information and/or a password were blocked. Things are back to normal now.

Our Typical Day

Usually our day begins with the sunrise over the East Sea, and the ring of an alarm clock at 6:30 AM.

 This is followed by a quick trip to the gym, or thirty minutes more of snoozing, our pick. After a nice de-sweat/wake-up shower, we don our prestigious and glorious uniforms in preparation for an unknown day. This uniform includes HHI issued steel-toed boots, HHI issued pants, HHI issued shirt, HHI issued hardhat, HHI issued safety glasses, HHI issued gloves and HHI issued earplugs. Interestingly, we have only one uniform for five working days in a week.  If our ability to smell was not cauterized by the food, we might be experiencing proximity problems. As it is, weekly laundry is sufficient.  

Most of us have outfitted ourselves with cereal or other sustenance for breakfast, though the dorm cafeteria does occasionally offer appetizing breakfast fare. Today I ate some of Dan’s leftover pizza for breakfast, as a Michigander had likely stolen mine. We then board an HHI bus specifically for us, and are promptly delivered to the HHI main gate. The women and men in our group live in dormitories that are separated by quite a distance, so the women meet the bus at the gate. We are given a cordial greeting from Mr. Jeong, and then bussed to whatever department we are scheduled to visit. During the day we experience four major categories of event. Lecturing, which can be quite interesting depending on the topic, language ability of the speaker and time of day. Break time, which can be quite interesting depending on length, quality of coffee provided and whether or not one wins the euchre game. Lunch, which is ALWAYS interesting due to the new foods, familiar foods, and interaction with the average HHI employee. And lastly, the shop tour. Shop tours are the real meat of this experience. It is here that we really understand what is taught in the lectures and also the scale of shipbuilding. Until one has stood on an engine larger than a duplex and costing more than an entire duplex development, the importance of “design decisions” goes underappreciated. At 5 P.M. we are back on the bus enroute to the dorm. At this point we are free to schedule the rest of our evening. Outings thus far have included the grocery store, department store, pool, karaoke (or “chair 2 H” in Korean characters), bar, club, beach and lastly no where.  Weekday evenings can be quite lively, but usually end by midnight due to the early rise and the full day ahead of us.  As for dinner, dorm food is always available, but pizza miraculously seems to appear in our stomachs on a regular basis. Some things are universal.

Tigers, Elephants and Captain Kirk

As mentioned before, globalism has allowed us to avoid severe cases of culture shock. My friend Tony can testify to that. Additionally, South Korea is not the rustic country that many envision, but a first world industrial superpower. 

Hyundai Heavy Industries lives up to this reputation proudly, and the view from our dorm includes two long legged Goliath beauties. These are the world's largest gantry cranes, rated at 1500 and 1600 MT respectively. This is approximately 320 African elephants, or 17777 healthy American males. The first crane was purchased from Kockums AB shipyard in Sweden, dismantled and shipped to Ulsan. I think HHI built the second larger crane themselves.

In fact, the South Korean's have pushed themselves where no man has gone before. Each dorm room is equipped with a working version of Captain Kirk's command post on the Enterprise. If Greg could read Korean, he would call down to Scotty for warp 10.

Culture Tour Number One

On Saturday we took a 1.5 hour bus trip into the Korean countryside and visited three unique cultural sites. The first was Bulguska Temple. UNESCO designated this a world cultural heritage site and it is also Korea’s official No. 1 Historic Place. It was originally built in the 700’s, burned in various wars and rebuilt. Completely restored in the 1970’s it is the most complete depository of Silla art and Buddhist culture in Korea. Interestingly all of the wooden structures were built with no fasteners, similar to a Lincoln log house. This method allowed the structure to flex in the event of earthquakes. Getting up to the temple involved a steep trail climb, along which there were numerous corn dog stands. In addition to the corn dogs, you could buy cooked beetle larvae, which tasted about like you would expect. 

Following Bulguska we visited the Seokguram Grotto, which is considered by Koreans to be the greatest piece of Buddhist art in the world. It is built into the side of a mountain, and contains a large and elaborate statue of Buddha. In the forehead is large ruby, which used to reflect the suns light before the grotto was covered. Originally there was a stream running through the grotto, but this was blocked off during the Japanese occupation. Pictures were not allowed inside the grotto because it violates Buddhist beliefs. We were able to purchase a roof tile, and paint it with our own design. In the next year or two this tile will be used to restore the roof of the grotto. Apparently, the ancient monks calculated the exact curvature of tile necessary to optimize rainwater drainage. I was interested to see the calculation, but no one seemed to understand my request.  The tile to the right of the UM tile was prepared by our University of Ulsan counterparts. We took a group picture with the two tiles together that I will post as soon as I get it. 

We ate lunch at a Korean restaurant, which gave us our first real taste of Korean food. Up to this point we have been eating HHI cafeteria and dorm food, which is comparable in quality to American cafeteria and dorm food. There were single propane burner stoves on each table, like a nice camp stove, and a special pan. We cooked our own food right on the spot. In addition to the beef, onion, carrot and bean sprouts that we cooked, there were many traditional Korean side dishes, and some Hite beer or corn tea, which we like to call “liquid popcorn.”

After we lunch we re boarded the bus and went to Yangdong Folk Village. The bus ride put some of us to sleep, but Mr. Jeong’s liberal distribution of ice cream at Yangdong seemed to have a restorative effect. This village was likely populated as early as 400 B.C., and the houses that we saw were built in the 1700’s. This is still a populated village as evidenced by Al’s careful inspection of a satellite dish. We saw a snake in the road, and were quite careful to avoid it. The consensus among the group was triangular head = poisonous and I had no desire to verify this with personal experience. We stopped in at a small house where we were served more food, and traditional Korean rice wine. Everyone was enjoying himself or herself thoroughly.

A nice nap on the bus ride home prepared us for a night of celebration on the Ulsan beach. We bought some roman candles, bottle rockets, a smidge more Hite and celebrated the 4^th of July in style. Our singing of the national anthem coupled with the roman candles elicited some strange looks from fellow beach goers, but we felt it was a necessary exercise.