Day 11 was our final full day in Korea. We were back in Seoul for our last day, where it all began. Our first activity was a visit to TOPIS, Seoul’s Transportation Operation and Information Center. We were back at Seoul City Hall, which we had visited on the third day. It felt like a long time ago and like it just happened, both at the same time. I took a quick trip to the gift shop to buy a Hechi plush. I’d become attached to Hechi and just couldn’t leave Seoul without getting one.
We headed down to the basement of the city hall, where we hadn’t been before. Some of us noticed the heavy metal door, which looked like the entrance to a nuclear bunker. The tour guide confirmed that the TOPIS museum and operating center were in fact a repurposed nuclear bunker. We sat down in a meeting room area and watched a short video introducing TOPIS. TOPIS is responsible for all sorts of transport throughout the city. Not only does TOPIS control public transport like buses and subways, but it also helps to manage private car transportation.
The public transit in Seoul feels much more modern than anything I’ve experienced in the U.S. It’s clean and efficient. I wish we had that here! TOPIS helps manage and control public transit through advanced features that monitor delays and inform users of the situation and when the next bus will arrive. TOPIS also helps manage cars in the case of accidents or delays. There are cameras all over the city that automatically ticket drivers for using the bus lane or driving in a low-emissions zone. We also learned a bit about electric vehicle development in Seoul. We even got to see some of the CCTV footage and the control room itself, which was dramatically revealed through glass that can switch between opaque and transparent. It was very interesting. I can’t help but feel that we could never have this in the U.S. People would definitely complain about freedom. Although it helps keep things efficient, some of the privacy concerns with so much surveillance are definitely valid.
After a stop at the market for hotteok and bingsu, we returned to the hotel for our final presentations and videos, which we had been working on all week. My group decided to do our presentation on POSCO and their so-called “smart factory,” because we found it to be one of the most interesting company visits. As a computer science major, I talked about the data analysis and simulation smart systems, which I found very interesting. Getting to watch all the group videos was really fun, and I think they all turned out great.
Our final activity together was a Korean cooking class. Split into pairs of two, we cooked two dishes: japchae, which is a glass noodle stir fry with vegetables, and gimbap, which is essentially Korean sushi. The gimbap was a seaweed roll packed with rice, ham, crab, pickled radish, carrots, and cucumber. Cooking was a fun experience, and eating what we cooked was our reward. I hadn’t had sushi in a few years, and last time I had tried it I wasn’t really a fan. Maybe gimbap is just different, or maybe my taste buds have changed, but the food was all delicious.
We were officially dismissed for the night, and Chris and I stayed in the area to take a walk to the Hongdae neighborhood. We stopped to get some ice cream on the way and tried some snacks from the shops in Hongdae, before bussing back to the hotel. Thus concluded our final day in Korea.
I can’t believe it’s over already. It went by so fast; it feels we just arrived in Korea and now we’re leaving. I have mixed feelings. On the one hand, I’m sad to be leaving. I’m sure there’s so much more I could do in Korea. On the other hand, it’s been a long and busy trip. Each day has been so packed, and I’m ready to go back home and rest. Either way, this trip was truly amazing and a special opportunity. I’m so fortunate to have been able to go. It was a life experience and something that I will forever cherish.