We started particularly early today because the Hyundai car factory was around two hours away. Because of this, we got a boxed breakfast containing a sandwich, mixed nuts, assorted fruit, red bean mochi, and juice. We also got Yakult from a yogurt drink cart that was outside of the hotel. After arriving to the Hyundai factory, we began a tour of the different sections and saw the process from raw steel to a finished automobile. Unfortunately, we weren’t allowed to take photos during the tour. We started by observing robotic arms move raw steel and cut blanks. The blanks were then moved by robotic arms through a series of presses to form the metal sheets into parts of the car body. It was almost mesmerizing seeing the robotic arms move with such precision and efficiency. The next step was bonding the body parts together with a strong adhesive and then welding them together. Once again, robotic arms handled these tasks and even did the welding. Even when moving between all the different steps, autonomous carts and forklifts transport the components between different machines in the factory. The next step was painting, where paint and coatings are applied to the now assembled body of the vehicle. Lastly, we saw the completed body go through an assembly line as it was equipped with the mechanical and electronic components needed to make it drive. While the car was moved by belts along the assembly line, this part relied heavily on human labor, especially since all models were sent through. Therefore, the workers have to be ready for any Hyundai model to come down the line, and they read the specifications for the particular vehicle based on a ticket that is printed and put on the hood. After being fully assembled, the car is then tested to ensure it is ready to be exported and sold to consumers. I was extremely impressed with the use of robotic arms and autonomous robots and enjoyed seeing how they were utilized in the plant. I also left the tour with a much better understanding of the process of building a car from the ground up.
After the Hyundai tour and a long drive back to Seoul, we had lunch alongside the Han River. On the drive, we stopped at a rest stop, which had a wide variety of restaurants and snack stands to fuel up on. Also, more so than in America, recycling is taken very seriously. At the rest stop, there were several different bins, separating trash, paper, plastic, bottles, and compostables. For lunch we received boxed packages with beef bulgogi, rice, bean sprout soup, seaweed, and assorted sides. It was a beautiful sunny day, making lunch by the river even more enjoyable. After eating, we had some free time where a group of us played hacky sack by the riverside. Soon, we were boarding a cruise ship for a relaxing ride down the Han River. Some notable sights were Seoul’s financial district and Seoul’s National Assembly. As we enjoyed the sights and the breeze, we held dried sardines out for seagulls to swoop in and take from our hands. After finishing the cruise, we went back to the hotel in Gangnam.
To finish off the night, we spent some free time in Insadong, another market which had lots of antique stores and art galleries. It was nice to go into shops that were not tourist traps and focused more on interesting artifacts and artwork. For dinner, we walked to the Myeong-dong night market to get street food. I got gyeran-pang (a sweet bread with an egg cooked on top) for only 2000 won ($1.43) and custard Bungeoppang (fish shaped pastry) for only 4000 won ($2.86). The prices were very reasonable, and the food was very delicious. As the night came to an end, we took the bus back to the hotel and rested to prepare for another exciting day.
