안녕하세요 - Hello!

Flat maps of the earth are some of the most deceptive things we take for granted. If you were to ask me the fastest path to get from Chicago to Seoul, I would get out a trusty straightedge and draw you a line from one city to the other. Thus it was to my great surprise when stepping onto the plane when the lcd screen in front of my seat displayed out route passing in a large arc through the ARCTIC CIRCLE! No joke! Due to the curvature of the Earth, the fastest route passed into Canada, over Alaska and the Bearing Sea, into the Arctic Circle, and back down over eastern Russia, Japan, and finally to Seoul. Cool to think about when you are flying up there.

So after 14 hours of rough sleep, we all woke up in Korea. We had skeptical ideas of the food due to one dish served on the plane requiring an instruction manual and a toothpaste tube of red pepper paste to eat. But the first thing when we stepped off the plane was how much cheaper food was! Sushi and a drink for lunch was just over 3 bucks (3,500 won). This was observed after dealing with the ticket counter which was in itself a culture shock. Although I have traveled to Mexico and dealt with a language barrier, taking several years of Spanish helped immensely with communication. This was the first time I walked up to someone and had no hope of communicating in the local tongue. All the stuff I learned from my phrase book left my brain and speaking in English had little visible effect. Once we all had our tickets for the next plane, we prepared to reach our ultimate destination of Ulsan.

We deplaned by a big ramp onto the tarmac and the first thing that stood out was the scenery which was clearly the inspiration for traditional oriental landscape artwork. Misty green mountains, rice paddies, and gardens we abound in the elevated landscape whereas all the valleys were packed to the brim with apartment buildings, city sprawl, and industry. Driving through the city, gardens pop into view amongst the buildings and when someone in a straw hat is tending the land, it looks like 500 sq. ft. of a countryside farm dropped in the middle of a city. There really is a certain harmony between technological advances and the environment in Ulsan. Part of that stems from the fact that the city did not exist 50 years ago. It was a small fishing town until after the Korean War, when 'Asan' Chung Ju-yung formed Hyundai. And it was not until 1973 when Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) was formed and the town of Ulsan began to be fostered by the rapidly expanding shipyard (HHI). Now, everywhere in the city you can see evidence of the shipyard. From Hyundai hotel to the 25,000 people who are work at HHI, it is impossible to go anywhere and not see people wearing their work jacket or pants. They are worn with pride here because it really is an honor to work for the best shipyard in the world. Unlike American shipyards, the workers do not put stickers on their hard hats or personalize their outfits. HHI workers are proud to wear their work uniform even outside of work to show off that they work for Hyundai. It is truely a different world over here.

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