This morning, we took the public bus to the Oil Tank Culture Park. During the 1970’s, when the world was going through a petroleum shortage, Korea built up Oil Tanks to store and preserve the valuable resource. In 2017, the city turned the unutilized oil tanks into a green space as an initiative towards more sustainable forms of energy. Now, six of the original tanks have been turned into decorative installations such as a glass pavilion and a concert hall. Many festivals and summer concerts are held at the park as well. It would be nice to see similar actions taken in Pittsburgh, which has remnants of old mills and steel industry infrastructure which could be turned into something positive for nearby communities. During our visit, unfortunately, we could not go into any of the revamped oil tanks because they were doing construction in some parts of the park. After taking the subway back, we went to pursue some lunch. We found a Korean fried chicken place that seemed very similar to Raising Canes Chicken back home. I got a platter that came with chicken, fries, bread, and a drink. Following lunch, we had a tour of one of Seoul’s largest water purifying facilities.

We toured the Arisu Ttukdo Water Purification Center. Arisu is one of the leading worldwide companies when it comes to water purification. During the tour, we learned about the company and their process to clean water taken in from the Han River. The water intake station collects water from the river. The water then goes to a receiving well and mixing tank where the water volume is managed and the proper amount of purifying chemicals is added. The water then moves to a coagulation chamber and sedimentation tank where masses of solid and the water separate. The next step is the filter chamber where fine particles are removed as it runs through layers of sand and gravel. The water then is oxidized with ozone and purified further by activated carbon. A small amount of chlorination agent is added to prevent microbial contamination, and then the water is finally stored in a distributing reservoir. We got to then see some of these processes in action and the difference in water quality over time. We also got to see some of the sensors used to monitor pH, concentration of unwanted precipitate, and other important markers of water purity. After touring the modern facility, we visited the informative museum which included a historical water treatment area in the bottom of the building. This purification method was effective, but consisted of only layers of sand and gravel, and it relied on helpful bacteria to completely purify. After touring the water facility, we went back to the hotel for dinner.

Our group worked on our final project that we would be presenting the following day. After finalizing our slides and our video, we went out for a group dinner. We went to a Korean Barbecue place that specialized in lamb. I got to try lamb shanks, lamb skewers, and marinated lamb, all of which was phenomenal. After dinner, we got cookies nearby for dessert and went home to call it a night. This was our last day of company tours, and sadly, we only have two more days before we will be back home in the states. It has been a fantastic trip with so many different experiences, all of which have left a huge impact on my life.