Last Day

Today we visited IFEZ, Internation Free Economic Zone, where they showed us how they were building certain cities up to become international hub cities. The marketing presentation was amazing and after we watched the video..they took us outside and actually showed us what they had already begun building. I asked where they acquired the land to build, and the answer was that they were reclaiming the land from the sea. I didn't quite understand what that meant, so I asked. Basically what they are doing is drudging up sand from the bottom of the sea and dropping it on one spot until it begans to rise to surface level and compact itself to be able to work on it. It is a very simple idea, however, it was the biggest concept to me. Until that point, I had never heard of something like that and I find it amazing that something like that can be done. I feel that pulls into POSCO's slogan, "Resources are limited; Creativity is Unlimited."

Death Waiver

Today I officially signed my death waiver....im not playing. Today we went to the DMZ which is the demilitarized zone where North and South Korea face each other. It was at this place where the cease fire agreement was signed; however, both countries do stand guard 24 hours a day to make sure the agreement is adhered to. It was very interesting to actually see the place that I have only seen in pictures in books and on tv. As you took this tour, you could feel the intensity and the seriousness of this matter. We went inside the blue house that is always shown on tv, it is here where the countries come together to hold conversations. When we went in the blue house we actually could walk onto North Korea's side ((inside the house of course)). It was interesting because there is the actual country's border that run directly down the middle of that blue building. The building is set so that both countries have an equal amount of the house.The line is split directly down the middle of this large oak table, and both countries have thier sides, no one steps across. I found it very interesting because you can see just how different these two countries are. Luckily, no attacks happened while we were there, so we received our liability form, that we signed stating that if we died the tour guide was not responsible or liable in any way. He called it a souvenir, I called it a blessing.

Hyundai

Today we visited the Hyundai car and boat factory. We went to the Hyundai plant and saw the new car that Hyundai is putting out called the Genesis, it is supposed to compete with the Mercedes-Benz. As we toured the car factory, I quickly realized that each part of the car is put together by hand, there were no machines at all. However, we didn't spend that much time there because we went to the Boat factory where we saw the dry docks. The dry docks are where they continue to build the boat connecting the bottom and the top. I have never seen a boat that close and personal, and I must admit that it was incredible. They produce about 100 boats a year, which is the remarkable when you consider the size. This was also the first day that we had McDonalds, and it was a healthy change!!!!

The 3rd Largest Steel Maker

Today we visited POSCO, the 3rd largest steel maker in the the world. There slogan was "Resources is Limited, Creativity is Unlimited." As we toured the steel plant, we watched as the steel was rolled out on a long conveyor belt and was rolled back and forth so that it would cool...it was then rolled under what looked like water to cool it once again. After it became liquid, it was rolled into a giant pin. It was very interesting to see something like that created. We were watching from about three stories up and we could feel the heat from this steel. I really liked there slogan as the world continues to use up all of its resources, we will have to become more resourceful about how we go about living.

SigNinG of mEmOraNDuM

Today....we went to Chung Ang University where our eminent scholar, Dr. Sang-Man Lee, teaches. As we approached the school, we were in awe of its beauty. It was incredible. The reason we were there was for Dean Vaughn and the Dean of the School to sign an agreement allowing there to be a foreign exchange program between the two schools. Hopefully there will be more schools added to the list. After this we went to another location of the same school where Dean Vaughn lectured to a class. As we sat in on the lecture I was amazed at how much the Korean college students were up-to-date with recent happenings at Alabama State University. To say the least I was impressed!

JUMPing around Korea!

Today we went out to see a palace....and it was beautiful. I have never seen something like that and in such detail. Our guide Cindy was excellent in telling us everything there was to know about this palace. I learned different things such as only the palace and Buddhi temples are allowed to be painted that many colors, the meaning behind all the dragons, and other little facts. This place is so beautiful and pictures would do it no justice. There is just something about being there and learning all these different things that just opens your mind to the options and choices that you have and the teaches you to take all the opportunities that are afforded to you. It didn't even seem like we were learning, we were more soaking it all in! After the the palace we went to lunch where we were served Be-be-Boop....i hope I did some justice to the name...however it is a hot stone bowl with rice and meat and vegetables and on top lies a raw egg. As you begin stirring this concoction, the egg begins to cook against the hot bowl and you mix some chili paste and......voila! a great meal! After lunch we did a little shopping on our way to a performance called JUMP!, which was a comedy martial arts performance which much to my surprise turned out to be hilarious! I love it! I recommend it to anyone visiting Korea! till tomorrow.....

Finallyyy.....KOREA!!!!!

we arrived in korea and it is beautiful! It is different than what I thought it would be...thought it would be more agricultural but it seems it is a city everywhere. When we arrived in Korea we were welcomed by a great tour guide named Cindy, little did we know she would be our saving grace! Once we got on our LIMO BUS we headed to our fine 5 star hotel....Lotte World Hotel. We were informed that we would be going to dinner and a show, so we hurried to shower and change. that night we ate at a Korean House which serves authentic korean food. It was definitely my first time seeing so much food on a table and there was also another nice twist...we ate on the heated ground. It was cool ... I enjoyed it. The show was interesting with the different singing and dancing. After the show, we headed back to the hotel to get some sleep in. till tomorrow.....

The first day of travel

okkkkayyyyy...so our first day of travel was okay until we touched down in San Fran where our connecting flight to korea was.....CANCELLED!!!!!!!!!!! and let me add that our airline was horrible in making sure that we had a place to stay and travel to the hotel. They did not want to accomadate us in any way..they basically wanted 14 people to stay in 4 rooms...but neways we got it all figured out...thanks to Dr.Booth! newho we spent the night in San Fran and were excited to get on the next plane outttaa there!

Reflection

Before we can begin our journey overseas, we must first reflect on our past trips we have taken in the state of Alabama. During the last couple months we have traveled to different manufacturing plants such as Mercedez-Benz and ZF. Both of these places brought a new light on how a company should be run and the environment that should be put in place to invoke a self-worth at work. A big piece of Mercedez-Benz production was a process called Just-In-Time. This includes having just enough supplies in the warehouse to create the amount of products needed at that time. ZF, which is their supplier, transports more materials as they are needed;therefore, doing their part with Just-In-Time.

10 days before Take-off!

This trip will be amazing! A 10-day trip to South Korea and Japan to heighten our international business savvy. Although everyone is looking forward to the trip, many are not looking forward to the flight! I am! 20 hours of sleep...thats my way of starting off a trip!