We were originally scheduled to see SECO MIBOGEAR but something happened and we were rescheduled to the US Consulate in Busan. I actually learned a lot from consul Daniel C. Gedacht about the US’s role in South Korea and the South Korean economy and information about Busan. He even went in depth about the current Japanese and Korean relationship and how it’s a little tainted. 

Mr. Gedacht does a lot of “smile and wave” activities as he puts it. He has to appear at a lot of ceremonies and events just to show that the US is present here and is has interest in what’s going on. Also 600,000 Americans visited South Korea last year so the tourist industry is definitely growing. We also went into his office after a long security check and it was pretty cozy and nice. He’s travelled so much so being a US diplomat must be exciting in that sense. 

After visiting the US Consulate, we got a yummy chicken lunch with a ton of side dishes. We also had time to get some dessert and I got a brown sugar milk tea, which is now my favorite kind of bubble tea. It’s going to be super hard to find in the US though so I’ll have to learn how to make it. Next stop is Pusan University which is ranked 8th or so in South Korea.

We sat through an informational lecture about the university, and then a very in-depth yet brief lecture about North Korea. The North Korea lecture was very interesting but the professor spoke mostly in a formal political tone so it was harder to follow. Definitely learned a lot about North Korea though!

I kept comparing Pusan National University to Hanyang University and I liked Hanyang a lot more for some reason. I think I just enjoyed the atmosphere more and the student tour at Hanyang was really insightful. Also though we were all really tired at Pusan and I didn’t have that much energy left to really want to know more about Pusan. The excitement was dying down. This was also our last company/university visit so we were done after that!

We headed back to the hotel and Dr. Yun took a group of us out for a feast of live octopus. I was honestly intrigued and kind of scared to try it. I had exactly three pieces and made sure it was covered in spicy sauce, but you could feel it moving in your mouth and suctioning to your teeth and gums. Blah it was quite the experience though! We went to the fish market next door and then to the department mall for some food!