Day 3 in Seoul was our first official company visit day Eaton, a power company that is one the leading producers of automobile parts and management of hydraulic and mechanical power more reliably, efficiently and sustainably. Eaton is located in Gangnam-gu which took us an hour bus ride from Myeongdong ( where our hotel is located). Eaton has very strong affiliations with the University of Pittsburgh and several Pitt alumni work there.
We arrived Eaton 45 minutes earlier than the scheduled time, which enabled us to settle down and have little conversations with the company’s Management engineering director, who proceeded with the presentation when in was time. During the presentation, we were shown the overall sales within the last 10 years and how they have been constantly increasing, making them one of the leading power companies to companies not only in the automobile industry, but in agriculture and even in the textile industry. One thing that caught my attention was the fact that even though Eaton is a company mainly focused on production for ICE vehicles (non electric cars), it is very adaptable in the sense that it equilibrates its production, enough for both hybrid and ICE vehicles.
The most remarkable aspect about Eaton Korea, is its dedication to safety of every employee no matter their position at the company. During our visit to the plant, we had to wear safety shoes, goggles and vest, and we were clearly instructed not to touch anything. As we walked around, we observed the workers in the assembly line piecing together the different materials to form the end products. The assembly lines weren’t as long and they comprised of about 5 people per station. During our tour, we were a shown a Qr code which acts as a suggestion bow to the workers. That is if anyone had a complain about the method of production of if they have different ideas to increase efficiency, they would write them, and they were checked on a daily basis.
After our company visit, we headed for lunch where we tried a different Korean dish called Ssambap. It essentially consists of rice, meat and a zingy sauce all wrapped in Korean lettuce, which has a very crispy nature. Dr. Yun showed us how to make the wrap and it was very delicious. After lunch, we headed to the fish market. This is basically a very large seafood market which sells only live fishes. The had different types of fish like crabs, octopus and squid. We also got to try a popular Korean treat which is live octopus with sauce. After the Fish market, we headed to the Hyundai shopping center. The architecture of this mall is out of this world. From the shape of the stairs, to the roof top garden on the fifth floor of the building, everything was simply beautiful.
After shopping, we headed to the long awaited destination which is the Baseball game. Baseball is the most watched sport in the whole of Korea and has people coming from all over the city to watch the game. On our way to the game, we had to the take a subway from the mall to the baseball arena. The time was about 5:00 pm which is of course rush hour. The subway was PACKED, mostly with people coming home from their offices and supporter who were going to watch the baseball game too. This made me realize how crucial public transportation is, in the city of Seoul, just like any major city.
The baseball arena was amazing. It was packed with supporters wearing different colored jerseys and hats to support their teams. Our team for that day was the Kiwoom Heroes who wore burgundy jerseys. My favorite thing about the game were the cheerleaders. Unlike American baseball games which are relatively more quiet and less lively, Korean baseball is the complete opposite. The cheerleaders cheered even louder although their team was losing and they kept encouraging their audience to stand, sing and dance along with them. They had different chants each time a player had to take a swing, and the had mini baseball bats which they hit together like drums. It was really hard to tell which team was losing without checking the scoreboard, because the chants kept getting louder after each session and the fans never seemed to be lose their enthusiasm.
The Baseball game was definitely the highlight of my day, and I really enjoyed being immersed into a new sport I hadn’t known enough about.