Hyundai and a Hero

Back home, Oprah Winfrey’s been known to give away cars every once in a while. Today, every student from IU’s Kelley School of Business visiting Hyundai’s factory in Asan is coming home with a new car.

That’s right.

After giving a thorough tour of the 4,000-employee production facility, Jin Lee, a member of the company’s general affairs team, presented everyone with a scale model of one of the company’s cars.

So it shouldn’t be too hard to get the cars home.

Many students also will bring home their impressions about the 15-year-old plant, which produces about 300,000 cars annually. Spread out over 1.8 million square feet, the highly automated facility features a press shop, welding and painting facilities and an assembly operation. It also has two engine shops that make 850,000 units annually and a foundry.

More than 300 robots and just 35 workers over a 50-hour work week manage two enormous metal presses, which make the car’s chassis and doors.

Another 200 workers are in the welding area, who oversees more robots and less than a 1 percent defect rate.

About 1,000 people work in assembly operations, with more than 25,000 car parts.

Despite the fact that your new car can come in one of 14 colors, 80 percent of cars make here are black, white or silver.



After a Korean lunch in the employee cafeteria, we traveled to Chungmugong Yi Sun-sin, a memorial to South Korea’s greatest military hero.

The Seoul-born Admiral Yi (1545-98) designed a new form of metal warship called "turtle boats" and used them to achieve an astonishing string of victories over the much larger Japanese navy that attacked Korea in the late 16th century.

He is featured on the 100 won coin -- kind of similar to Lincoln being on the penny -- and statutes around the country. But this place is where he ultimately was memorized and many of his succeeding relatives are buried here.

Other than the Civil Defense sirens that we hear at about 2 p.m., this is a peaceful place. The magpie birds are a joy to see in this beautiful park, which includes a koi pond that is popular with students.

Something’s in the air

For a second straight day, the skies are overcast as we leave the city for Asan, where Hyundai Motors has one of three production facilities in South Korea.

Due to sand storms in northern China, yellow colored sand from the Gobi Desert travels with the winds and the cold front to produce hazy conditions in East Asia. CNN reported that Beijing was impacted by the “yellow wind,” and warnings were given here in South Korea.

The skies were indeed hazy today at times, particularly during the morning hours, similar to those during a foggy day. The hills in and around Seoul, as well as the city’s many towering structures were harder to discern at times as a result.



It was common to see the locals wearing masks over their faces, but it was not prevalent.

Far more common was something familiar in Indiana -- basketball courts. The large recreation area located near our hotel in Yeouido has at least eight goals. Sunday night after dark, it was remarkable for us to see a lone player working on his game.

Earlier, several courts featured more action. Monday, as we head down the expressway, we occasionally see courts along the roadside.

Seoul has two teams in Korea’s professional basket ball league, which recently wrapped up another season.

Far more popular right now is Korea’s entry in the World Baseball Classic. Several TVs in Hyundai’s employee cafeteria and a nearby lounge were tuned into today’s game against Mexico. Factory workers were engrossed in the game but were displaying little emotion, even after the Latin Americans broke open the game at the top of the second inning.

When Mexico’s Augie Ojeda hit a two-run single off Korean starter Ryu Hyun-jin with the bases loaded and with two outs, most sat stoically and silently, except for one employee who groaned silently. Obviously, it was a much different reaction than what a Hoosiers fan might show wherever he was.

Tuesday night, some students could see Korean fans in another setting. There’s a big soccer game here then and many are looking into getting tickets.

Thankfully for South Koreans, their baseball team came back, hitting three home runs to defeat Mexico 8-2.

Gyeongbokgung Palace and its 21st Century Neighbors

According to its official Web site, Gyeongbokgung Palace was constructed in 1395, three years after the Joseon Dynasty was founded by Yi Seong-gye. After the completion of its main royal palace, the dynasty moved from Gaeseong to Seoul and it was named the "Palace Greatly Blessed by Heaven."

With Mount Bugaksan to its rear and Mount Namsan in the foreground, Gyeong-bokgung Palace remains at the heart of this 21st century metropolis. It is a city within a city.

We arrived there after taking a short walk from our hotel to the subway line. Along the way we walked past the local offices of Deloitte Consulting – only business students would want to have their picture taken in this location.

We saw other familiar brands along the way, including a Dunkin Donuts, Starbuck’s, Outback steakhouse and a 7/11. While students are here to learn about a different country, they also are comforted by seeing some familiar names.



Well maintained by the South Korean government, Gyeongbokgung Palace’s immense size and scope was both impressive and exhausting to all of us.

Our visit began with the highly choreographed maneuvers of a changing of the guard. It concluded with a visit to the National Folk Museum. Comprised of more than 300 buildings, Gyeongbokgung is located on more than 4.4 million square feet.

After dinner over noodles and dumplings, we continued walking throughout this modern city, taking in its vibrancy and streets filled with shoppers and many well-dressed people.

A good night’s sleep is expected for everyone in our group. Tomorrow, our business visits will begin with a tour at Hyundai.

Toyko, then Seoul

We arrived in Tokyo at about 4:30 p.m. local time on Saturday, which gave us ample time to visit gift shops and sushi bars in the terminal.

Among those wanting to have real, authentic sushi was Deepak. Be sure to check out this You Tube video of him and his California Roll: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=scmWz6Homm0&feature=channel_page

Delicious.

For many others, it was time for people watching. We clearly now have arrived in Asia.

After another two-hour flight, we finally made it to Incheon, an international airport located on an island about 40 minutes away from our hotel (and during light traffic). Professor Kang and our guide, “Jacqueline,” warmly welcomed us.

Tomorrow, after sleeping in, we will set out for cultural sites, particularly Gyeongbokgung, the "Palace Greatly Blessed by Heaven."

Slumdog Millionaire

Before the trip, some of us had visited United Airlines’ web site to see what the in-flight entertainment would be for the 12-hour-plus journey. To many people’s delight, the site advertised that Academy Award-nominees “Doubt,” “The Changling” and “Slumdog Millionaire” would be among our choices.

However, as we boarded the plane, which initially was warm enough for saunas in some health clubs, there were no in-seat entertainment consoles. The blockbuster movie line-up apparently was for the first-class passengers.

Little more than an hour into the flight, the cabin temperature was more comfortable and our cheerful and professional crew on United Airlines 881, began the TV offerings with news documentaries from the BBC.

Later on the schedule would be “Spark of Genius,” a good movie about an inventor who fought the Ford Motor Co. for stealing his patent for the intermittent windshield wiper, as well as “The Secret Life of Bees” and “Quantum of Solace.”

During the screening of the first movie, a technical glitch caused us to briefly see Phillip Seymour Hoffman in a scene from “Doubt.” Would it be possible for us to see that film as well? Could the in-flight magazine perhaps be wrong?

After a few generous and discretely placed compliments to crew members about their service given, particularly about the attention given to the vegetarians in our group, one of us politely posed the questions above.

While our assumptions were indeed true, with a wink and a nod to “technical difficulties,” “Slumdog Millionaire” soon was on the screen in our cabins.

As the attendant told me later, it was the most engrossed group of passengers he’d seen in a while.

As our group of business students is learning, it always is profitable to listen to what the customer wants. Thanks.

We're on our way

It was early and chilly as two groups of students from the Kelley School of Business set out together on a bus at 4:30 a.m. on Friday, March 13 for two destinations. Half of us are off to China and the others to Korea.

All of us knew that the trip would be long. Asia is on the other side of world and more than 13 hours ahead of Bloomington. Once we reached Indianapolis International Airport, it was time for goodbye to our friends heading off for China.

While about a fourth of the contingent are experienced international travelers, about another quarter of us have never left North America. Asia and South Korea will be completely new.

Despite the strong powers of Starbucks, the natural desire our first flight out of Indy, as you can see in this You Tube video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pIMGpSsjsXQ.

After a safe landing in Chicago and about a five-hour layover, we embarked for Tokyo. Also on board was a group of students from the Liberal Arts and Management Program, so IU will be well-represented in the Land of the Morning Calm.

Instead of the beach, Kelley students go global

Daytona. Vail. Seoul.

While the first two destinations may be familiar to many as spring break destinations, a group of 15 students in Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business are opting for another international locale, South Korea.

The students, along with faculty and staff, depart for Seoul on Friday (March 13), as part of a class.

"Going to Miami would have been fun, but it's predictable," said Jasmin Foster, a sophomore in the Kelley School of Business from Indianapolis, who is heading to South Korea for 10 days.

"There are already millions of other college students hitting up a sandy beach for spring break. There will be fewer of us who will be able to say we went to a foreign country, and experienced a culture so different than ours. I love to be in the minority," Foster added.

Classmate Michael Anda, a junior in the Kelley School from Ridgefield, Conn., told me, "I chose to go on this trip to South Korea because I think it's a truly unique experience to travel to a place unlike any other I have been to before. To me, college is a time to take advantage of opportunities that will not exist after graduation, and this trip fits that description."

Bruce Jaffee, chairperson and professor of business economics and public policy, quipped, "It's really an experience for them and a long way to go for spring break."

Michael Robinson, IU professor of East Asian Languages and Cultures, says that "one of the things that have stoked student interest in Korea over the last decade has been an incredible wave of Korean popular culture that's entered into the Asian region and also into the U.S., particularly through movies … The other thing they connect Korea with is its high-tech, totally networked and connected society."

Korea leads the world in broadband connectivity and is a growing center for technological development worldwide. Robinson and Jaffee also noted that the classes have provided students with important context about the current global financial crisis.

"Korea has already gone through a very, very severe bubble breaking during the Asian financial crisis of 1997-98," Robinson explained, "where they saw their unemployment rate rise to more than 15 percent and GNP shrunk 6 percent ... Right now, it's looking like some of the best firms that came out of that crisis, now restructured, are doing some very creative things to get through this global recession."

In Korea, students will visit business and cultural sites, as well as the Demilitarized Zone at the border with North Korea.

Danielle Metcalf, a junior in the Kelley School from Bloomington, said she hopes to gain a better understanding of one of today's major players in the international economy but not just for business success.

"Nothing productive can emerge without correct interpretation of the country and its practices," she said.

Come along with us on the trip.