Brief Introduction of our day!
Today we visited the Museum of Agriculture, SK Telecom and Seoul Energy Dream Centre! Read on to find out more!
Day 4
Throughout our trip in Korea, we've seen so many applications of advanced technology, it was only apt for us to take a step back to see how far we've come by understanding how agriculture in Korea has evolved from its humble beginnings.
At the Museum of Agriculture, we got the opportunity to see life-sized statues that mimicked days of the past! It was thought-provoking to see how farmers in the past used physics concepts, such as the principle of moments, in some of their tools to lessen the labour needed for farming.
What surprised us was the write-up on how the rice fields were used in winter! In winter, villagers spent the time to use manure to enrich the soil for the next harvest. In addition to that, dormant fields were often occupied with children/birds. As the fields iced up, children used to speed across the fields on sleds! What an incredible scene!
For lunch we headed to Myeong Dong and had a local dish of stewed chicken, potatoes and sweet potato vermicelli, one of our favourites so far!
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| We look forward to our meals everyday! |
We then made our way to SK Telecom! SK Telecom is the largest mobile operator in Korea with nearly 50% of the market share. It is the company that commercialised the fifth generation (5G) network last December and it has the world's best 5G network! The company is truly passionate about realising the age of hyper-innovation by transforming the way customers work, live and play. As part of the experience, we got to try VR shopping and being driven in a self-driving car!
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| Gao Jie shopping for a pair of sneakers |
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| Being driven in a self-driving car! |
That's not all! We had the privilege to be given the "Future Experience" called HI-Land 2049. The scene is as such:
In 2049, the human race has combined all the advanced technologies in order to construct a future city, HI-Land, and we are on an expedition to visit the new city but are unexpectedly given missions to save casualties at a volcanic eruption and our whole planet from an approaching meteor!
All our senses were treated as we entered through a robot gate, took a simulated train shuttle to the space control centre, teleported to a volcanic eruption in Collimar Mexico where we literally felt the heat of the volcanic eruption, took another simulated shuttle to HI-Land, performed remote surgery on a casualty, got transported down into HI-Land deep in the ocean, attended a live holographic conference meeting, go on an actual AR mission to change the course of an approaching meteor and finally take a 4D simulator ride through HI-Land. (For pictures and more information: https://tum.sktelecom.com/eng/main.do)
Just when we thought we experienced it all at Sangam MBC, we got to experience all this! What an experience of a lifetime!
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| Our only picture of the entire experience at the robot gate! It's a MUST DO for anyone visiting Seoul! |
Our last stop for the day was Seoul Energy Dream Centre where we got to tour the first energy-independent building in Korea. Purposefully designed, its architects incorporated solar energy, geothermal energy and all sorts of energy saving features to make the building not only energy efficient but also able to sell surplus energy back to the main grid in Korea to gather donations for the climate fund. If only all buildings were energy-independent, imagine what a positive impact that would make on our climate!
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| Who do you think generated the most kinetic energy? |
Gravitational potential energy and solar energy at work
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| Wind energy and the effect of the shapes of the blades on the amount of energy generated |
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| Did you know your appliances still use electricity when they are plugged in but not turned off? |
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| Check out our infrared silhouettes! |
Here are our reflections that capture our learning at Seoul Energy Dream Centre:
"After visiting Seoul Energy Dream Centre, I was surprised to discover that even in the past, houses built in Korea were designed to be kept cooler in summer and warmer in winter. During summer, the sun's rays hits the earth at a smaller angle of incidence (closer to the normal) so most of the sun's rays will not shine into house, helping to keep the house cooler in summer. During winter, the sun's rays hits the earth at a larger angle of incidence (further from the normal) so most of the sun's rays will shine into the house, helping to keep the house warmer in winter. This idea is really interesting as it made me realise that in the past, our ancestors already had a good understanding of how to design energy efficient buildings to keep themselves warm or cool in summer or winter." - Gao Jie
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| Seoul Energy Dream Centre's slanted design is meant to take advantage of the position of the sun's rays during summer and winter |
"Seoul Energy Dream Centre also has a heat recovery ventilation system that uses fresh outdoor air to exchange heat between inflow and outflow and help control relative humidity. I found this technology most interesting as it is an application of adiabatic cooling! The heat recovery ventilator allows energy to be saved by recovering 81% to 90% of waste heat from the exhaust air in winter and summer. In addition, energy loss is reduced and opening of windows is not necessary for ventilation! This advanced energy saving technology, which is also used in other buildings, has contributed to reducing the effects of climate change and making the world a better place!" - Beatrice
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| The heat exchanger concept helps with ventilation within the building |
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| Inflow and outflow of heat to minimise energy wastage |
"Throughout the tour at Seoul Energy Dream Centre, I learnt that it is possible for an entire building to be independently powered and ventilated with various technology. I also found the hydrogen fuel cell exhibit very interesting as I have never seen how it works before. When hydrogen and oxygen react in a fuel cell, chemical energy released is converted into electricity, with water as a by-product. Mr Mong even shared with us how a CEO got a hydrogen powered car to work and drank the water produced by the car in front of his audience to prove that the water was pure!" - Priscilla
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| Hydrogen fuel cell demonstration |
"Throughout the tour at Seoul Energy Dream Centre, I found the way it uses multiple forms of renewable energy most interesting. The integrated system of renewable energies allows the building to generate sufficient electricity to power the entire centre, making it solely dependent on its microgrid only. This is a great step forward as having an independent grid is what many companies have been working on for a more sustainable and eco-friendly future" - Jia Huey
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| Peeling the layers of the Seoul Energy Dream Centre apart to see how its features make it energy efficient |
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| Live view of the energy production and usage for the day! |
Every new day's experiences just keep getting better and better, and today we were even treated to a Korean BBQ! We are looking forward to tomorrow's learning already!
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| BBQ dinner! |
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| WE LOVE SEOUL! |
Stay tuned for more! :)
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