For today’s agenda, we had two main activities planned: Oil Tank Park and the Water Purification Facility. We headed to the park first at 9:00 a.m., and it took about an hour to get there using public transportation.

When we arrived, they explained that the oil tanks were originally built as a backup power source for the city in case of an emergency. However, due to advancements in technology, they are no longer needed, and the oil was removed from the tanks for safety reasons. The city then decided to repurpose the tanks into public attractions like museums and a café. Unfortunately, when we got there, it was closed, which threw off our plans.

We decided to head to our next destination early and get lunch nearby. We chose hot pot, which turned out to be amazing—probably the best lunch so far. Hot pot is a meal where there’s a pot of boiling broth in the middle of the table, and you can cook vegetables, meat, noodles, and other ingredients in it. It was really delicious.

After lunch, we went to our final destination of the day: the Water Purification Facility, also known as Arisu. This government-run facility purifies water for the city using water from the Han River. The water goes through a purification process and passes through a series of sensors to determine whether it’s safe to drink.

I found this site visit especially fascinating because I’ve been working on a water quality sensor package for over a year, so I was really interested in learning how they assess their water quality. The entire process was very interesting.

After touring the plant and seeing where the water is actually purified, we visited the attached museum. It showcased how water was treated in the past and explained what standards are used today to define clean, healthy drinking water.