GOING PLACES: BEEN THERE...DONE THAT...: WSK TEAMBUILDING

Monday, May 23, 2011

WSK TEAMBUILDING

WSK TEAMBUILDING

ASAN AND JEONJU TRIP: DAY 1

Brianna, my Texan bear is always with me during my trip and excursions.

The author inside the train

It was a snowy dawn which is like saying that Christmas is really approaching. I almost did not sleep last night in order to finish editing my paper. Red-eyed, I left the school hugging my knapsack and wrapped tightly with my scarf. I am not used with this kind of weather for I was from a tropical country. The cold wind made me tremble and shiver. Since there was no community bus that early morning, I just walked up to the Yeokgok Station. I felt hungry that I decided to go to McDonalds and grab some burger. Oh by the way, I brought Brianna with me; she was a small teddy bear on a early settlers attire from Texas. It was given to me by my father when I was on high school. Since then, I started to bring her during my trips and excursions.

The coffee was still hot when I went back to the platform to get through our meeting place in Shinsegae Mall in Oksu Station. I have no more T-money so I reloaded it with KRW5, 000. Unfortunately, the machine was malfunctioning and it did not give my change. I felt so depressed since no one is there to help me. Good thing, I saw the emergency button sign and I told the lady that my change is still inside the machine and she gave it to me after a while.

The WSK bus is at the background

Stop 1: HYUNDAI MOTORS PLANT in ASAN

Our First stop is the Hyundai motor plant in Asan, which specializes in the production of cars for exports, is a large, self-sufficient production facility located on a vast area of land in Asan, capable of producing over 300,000 medium- to large-sized automobiles without resorting to outside sources as the plant is equipped with all the facilities it needs, including the press, the factories for producing the auto bodies, painting facility, assembly lines, and engine and material factories. The first general auto plant in the region of Chungcheon, the Asan plant is helping the region grow into a new economic and industrial center on the western coast of Korea, vitalizing the regional economy. The Asan plant is already playing a central role in the regional economy and society through consistent and vigorous input into modernizing and automating various production facilities.

Cameras were not allowed within the premises yet I was able to have a bird’s eye view on how a car was produced and tested for superior quality. It was my first time to see robots working on the assembly line and the people working there were concentrated on building the small intricate components. In the past, cars were manufactured and assembled by the workers themselves with limited machine support. The plant is a testimony of how IT technology advanced in the span of three decades and how Korea emerged as one of the top producers of cars, mobile phones and other technological products and machineries. Hyundai greatly supports the World Cup Korea team and is active on various educational and social development campaigns around the globe. They gave a small replica of the Hyundai Blue-Will model after our tour and seminar.