Wednesday was not as great as Monday and Tuesday, but it was still very interesting. We visited several companies and tourist attractions.

We started off our day with another long bus ride to a firm called Samsung Biologics. I was very impressed with the technology they have shown us. The VR goggles were also very cool. 

Afterwards, we had lunch at a local place and took off to visit the Seoul City Hall. I have been to the city hall of Pittsburgh and Seoul’s was so much better. The steel and brick walls in ours were embarrassing in comparison to the green spaces and the artsy designs of staircases and facilities in the massive building. Many areas of the building were open to the public and the city also hired a lot of disabled people to fill certain positions in the building. I thought that was wonderful.

Our tour guide was also very nice. He had been to the United States seven times and had given tours for the city hall to thousands of groups across the world. He also briefed us on contemporary Korean history and it really brought me back to my AP US History days. His discussion of history was full of passion and emotions, exactly what you would expect from a senior citizen who had lived through such times—those who tell history the best. He praised the Americans for protecting South Korea—protecting democracy—and denounced North Korea for their wrongdoings. This was absolutely fascinating to me as they were nothing but facts.

We also visited a startup incubator afterwards. They specialize in assisting foreign persons who want to start businesses in this homogeneous society—a market that is very hard to penetrate. We then took the subway again (and also the bus system) to give the N Seoul Tower a visit and ended the night at a mellow place near Insa-dong where our hotel was located.