Day 9 in Korea was our second full day in Pohang, and would also be our last. The day started with us heading back to POSTECH. Even though we had already spent an entire day at the university, I was glad to visit again because it was probably my favorite thing we’d done so far on the trip. This time we would take a proper tour of the school, since the previous day had been more focused on academics and research.

We were split into four groups (not our normal groups) for the tour. The students leading the tour were all involved with helping foreign exchange students adjust to POSTECH, so our tour guide was very nice and knowledgeable. When he began speaking, I couldn’t pinpoint the accent; it didn’t sound Korean. He continued to speak, and I thought I was hearing things, since he sounded like he had a British accent. Then Michael asked where he was from, and he said that although he was born in Korea, he spent five years of his childhood in London, which made sense.

The tour was a lot of fun, and we got to see various things including the student library and the gym. One building had a slide which was extremely unexpected but fun. I wish we had a slide at Pitt! We also learned about a fun tradition they have, which is called the ‘day of screaming.’ During exam season, on one day everyone goes to the library and screams at the top of their lungs. Quite the contrast from the silence in Hillman! One other comparison to Pitt, and even the U.S. in general, is that there is not a culture of living off campus. Apparently, the dorms there only cost around $400 so living off campus doesn’t make much financial sense. Most students just live in dorms all four years. After the tour, we ate lunch and got some coffee with our tour guide (for someone who hates coffee, all the Korean coffee I’ve tried has been quite good). Again, it was just cool to talk with someone our age living in Korea, and talk about differences from the U.S. He said he was getting ready for his mandatory military service, which is certainly something that I’m glad I don’t have to do in the U.S.

We departed POSTECH for the final time and went to visit POSCO, a Korean steel manufacturing company. POSCO actually played a big role in founding POSTECH, with the goal of creating a university that could make future innovators and advance science and technology in Korea. We started with a tour of a very cool museum that had lots of videos and some interactive displays. I really enjoyed the simulation of the blast furnace. This also included 3D recreations of some of our faces being projected on the walls, which was very cool but unexpected. There was also some very impressive painted steel, that was made to look and even just other materials, such as wood or granite. You could hardly believe it was steel until you touched it and heard the ‘clang.’

We then toured a separate museum on the history of POSCO. The company was founded in the 1970s by President Park Chung Hee, with the goal of having South Korea be independent in steel manufacturing. Steel production helped greatly revitalize Korea’s economy. Park Chung Hee is an interesting and controversial figure, since he was a brutal military dictator but also did a lot to help bolster South Korea’s economy.

Finally, we got to see the steel mill itself. There’s not much I can say about this other than that it was simply awe-inspiring. As we climbed the stairs to enter the mill, you could hear the clashing and banging progressively become louder. We then followed a tall walkway and looked down as 1200 degree Celsius molten steel rolled along the conveyor belt. I felt like forbidden knowledge was being bestowed upon me. You could feel the heat of the steel radiating all the way from up on the walkway. It was almost an out-of-body experience.

We didn’t do much else in the evening, since we had to start working on our final presentations and videos. But I’d like to close with a reflection on a few similarities between Pohang and Pittsburgh. Pohang has a football (soccer) team called the Steelers, similar to Pittsburgh. This of course reflects the fact that steelmaking has played a crucial role in the histories of both cities. Steel took off in Pittsburgh in the 19th century and the city continued to be the major producer of steel in the U.S. throughout much of the 20th century. Pittsburgh, and the U.S. as a whole, no longer produces much steel, since the country’s economy has largely moved on from manufacturing. The industry today is dominated by China. However, as steelmaking in Pittsburgh began to wind down, POSCO’s factory in Pohang just started its construction. Although steel production in Pohang began nearly a century after it did in Pittsburgh, it continues to be a dominant force in Pohang’s economy today. POSCO has helped Korea remain globally relevant and secure economic independence from neighboring countries such as China and Japan.