Today marks the first week spent in Korea interning at Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI). The experience has already proved invaluable as we really have an insiders look at how the best shipyard in the world operates. In America, research and development is rarely, if ever (I think) done at shipyards. It is something that a different division of a company does elsewhere, or in the case of the Navy, research is done in many different places around the country. At HHI, however, they are doing research and development in all areas of shipbuilding from painting to welding, ship hull design, propulsion and engines, vibration and noise control, propeller design, and structures, etc. In fact, we spent each day this week, 8am-5pm in their research facilities, attending lectures on what each department does and learning why their work is cutting edge. We witnessed tow tank tests in their state of the art facility (state of the art is a relative term. It was built in 1984 but is really new when compared to University of Michigan's tow tank which was built eighty years prior in 1904), observed structural steel tests for their massive Liquid Natural Gas carriers, and participated in a competition within our group to analytically determine the load on a cylinder standing vertically in the water in waves. We validated our calculations by performing a model test in their 2D wave tank. This is similar situation to the wave loading that a SPAR oil rig experiences at sea. It should also be noted that this week was entirely spent inside research labs and we have not even scratched the surface of the actual shipyard!
Each evening we have returned to our dorms, exercised in the gym (table tennis is huge here and the gym has four tables), and walked to the local restaurants and bars to experience the culture here. Bar-wise, there are specific Western style bars where pocket billiards are the centerpiece and whereas the local style establishments include food as a major piece of the nightlife. We went to a place last night where we sat on the floor at a table which had a coal pit in the middle and we fried pork and ate it on lettuce with a variety of sauces. Soju is the popular alcoholic drink here and traditionally you may only be served by another person and the respectful method of pouring is with two hands.
On Saturday, we visited several mountain temple sites in the ancient capital city of Gyeongju. The main temple was finished in 774 and was destroyed by Japanese invaders in 1593. It was rebuilt after extensive research following the Korean War. After, we drove up a huge mountain into the clouds to visit the Seokguram grotto which contains what is regarded as the best Asian Buddhist work. The stone carving of Buddha is massive and is recessed in the mountain and surrounded with carvings of different gods and guardians. It was an awe inspiring experience to visit a place so in touch with nature and rich in history.
Tonight Korea plays in the World Cup and we are going with the three Korean students, who are participating in this internship with us, to the HHI gymnasium to watch the game with many many other people. America does not play until 3 am here so we are all going to be sporting red shirts to cheer on Korea.
An-nyong-hi ka-se-yo! (Goodbye for now!)
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