Today was the shortest one yet, but certainly not the least interesting. We started the day with what I had been the most excited for by far, and that was the archery experience at Suwon fortress. For some background, I do archery recreationally and it is one of my favorite things to do when I am not working. Over breaks when I could get home, if I had time to spare I spent it at the archery range with my compound bow more often than not. Being able to experience a new style of archery with a bow I have never touched before was thrilling and I only wish I could have done more. We arrived at the fortress and walked to a clearing surrounded by long stone walls with intermittent guard outposts for defense, as beautiful as it was effective in its time. In this clearing was set up a line of stands with traditional bows and 10 arrows each waiting for us. The most unusual divergence from the styles of archery I was used to was, despite sounding minute, that the arrow was knocked on the right side of the bow instead of the left. This is significant because when drawing with the right hand and looking down at the target, the bow is no longer out of the line of sight and must be adjusted accordingly. This stems from the use of horseback archery and the benefits of using the thumb to stabilize the arrow to the bow on the move, resulting in a different technique. This small difference in technique stemming from a deep cultural background reminds us the importance of understanding why problems are approached the way they are in different environments.

After walking around Suwon fortress and learning more about the history of the area and those who inhabited it, we departed for the Samsung innovation museum. The museum tour followed the development of electric power and the innovation of computation and memory chips, followed by the development of the company itself over time. We were shown some fascinating examples of the first batteries that were glorified glass jars, and the first television sets that contained no audio or color data and simply reacted to the changing frequencies they received. We were also shown some of the brand new Samsung technologies they had released, including of course the new cell phone but even a computer monitor that tracked your eyes to alter the screen and display images in 3D.

Thank you again for tuning in and I can’t wait to update you tomorrow!