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| Aboard another shockingly fancy bus |
Today was a day of much traveling and sight-seeing, but unfortunately not many pictures! Whether for the sake of NATIONAL SECURITY at POSCO or simply out of awe and respect at Seokguram, my camera stayed inactive during much of this day's adventures. I'll supplement the few pictures I took with what I can find on the 'nets to try to give you an idea of what all we witnessed while bopping around the greater Daegu area.
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| The view from the parking lot-- before they confiscated my camera! |
Our first stop was the legendary
POSCO steel mill. One of the largest in the world, and with one of the most interesting histories, POSCO bears considerable significance. Basically, in the 70s, during a period of economic restructuring, Korea's president decided to build the best steel mill in the world. Korea didn't have a steel industry at the time, so such an undertaking was met with much skepticism both domestically and internationally, but Korea's commitment was so strong that it actually pulled it off, much to the benefit of Korea's economy as a whole. This is a prime example of what's known as
import substitution industrialization, which has proven to be one of the most effective methods of industrialization in the modern era. By selling domestically-produced steel under the cost of foreign competitors, POSCO not only grew and profited as a company, but it also helped other businesses and industries in Korea grow and develop. POSCO was a key player at the heart of Korea's rapid rise to become the economic powerhouse it is today.
