Week 24 -- David Leaves Daejeon

1. (What I learned about Korea)

I went to a classical guitar concert this week. It had a lot of classical music – Schumann, Schubert, Tchaikovsky – transcribed for the Korean guitar. It was really good, and I learned about how Korean guitars sound.

I had to buy presents and souvenirs, so I spent a good portion of my time exploring the local department stores. I learned what’s in them and how they’re laid out in Korea. Then, when I couldn’t get enough good presents in the stores, I went back to Jungang market and Jungang Underground Arcade, two massive shopping areas. The Underground Arcade is a network of subterranean stores, and the market is an open air collection of hundreds of shops and stalls near the KTX station. By exploring these areas, I was able to get all the gifts I needed, and I learned more about Korean shopping.

I got to try something called mooncake this week. I have no idea if it’s a Korea-wide thing or just a specialty of one shop, but either way, I know I like it. It’s like pound cake, but a little sweeter.

2. (Project status)

I archived and saved everything I need. I also prepared a presentation for Dr. Oh, who arrived on Thursday, to discuss a Hubo manual. I had my computer wiped, returned my KAIST Hubo Lab access card, and packed some things for the next coops that are now stored in the lab.

3. (Photos of the week)

The first photo is of Jungang Underground Arcade. The second photo is from our final barbecue dinner with the guys in the Hubo Lab.

4. (What I learned about myself)

I showed that I can conclude things appropriately this week. We went out to dinner with the guys in the Lab, I got gifts for people and said my goodbyes, and was able to pack appropriately (including discarding things that wouldn’t fit).

5. (New people I met this week)

I didn’t meet anyone new this week; I was too busy saying goodbye to all the people I already knew.

I'm in Incheon now, leaving for America in about 12 hours. This post concludes this blog. Goodbye, everybody!

Week 23 -- Buddhas and ICHIT

1. (What I learned about Korea)

This Saturday I went to several of Daedeok shrines and other historical structures.

One of the more interesting ones I went to was Okryugak. This was an old pavilion built for study. It was constructed over a small stream, and was put next to a temple. It was very serene, and it was nice to take a few moments to rest there after the hiking I'd been doing (I'd walked up Gyejoksan while there, as well as to Yonghwa Temple nearby, and also walked up another mountain to look at the Wusul Fortress monument.) It was good to get a rest.

I also saw Ssangcheongdang. This was a small building within a larger old structure. I was only just able to get into the larger one, as it was getting a bit late, but I'm glad I did. It was fun to look over the old architecture, and to examine the sprawling grounds.

I also had occasion to examine some Korean instruments this week, with Dan. Dan plays several string instruments and was able to go into detail about some of them (including one that was very much like a ukelele). It was a good learning experience.

2. (Project status)

I presented successfully at the ICHIT conference.

I also got video of the HUBO arms dancing, verifying that the RoboNova algorithm is indeed scalable.

3. (Photos of the week)

The first photo is of me at the ICHIT conference:

The second two photos are the two famous Buddha statues that I saw on Saturday. The first is the one at Yonghwa Temple, the second at Birae Temple.

The fourth and fifth photos are for comparison -- the other two famous Buddhas I've seen in Daejeon, both over a month ago. They've both been on the blog before, but I'm including them again for reference. One is the carving at Bomunsan, the other the statue at Bongsosa.

4. (What I learned about myself)

When I was climbing to the Wusul fortress monument, I went off path. It was a slog through a lot of brush and undergrowth, but I was able to get through and get up the mountain. I showed that I can overcome such an obstacle.

5. (New people I met this week)

I met several people at the conference, and we discussed the dancing robot project. It was a good time.

Week 22 -- ICAHRR and HUBO

1. (What I learned about Korea)

I did my first noribang -- Korean kareoke -- while at the conference. It was a lot of fun. I got to experience the fun of noribang, and I learned about how it works.

When a bunch of us went out for lunch at the conference, we had a multi-dish family style meal. While many of the meals here are family-style, most of the ones I've had only feature one dish, which everyone takes from (the hot pot, or sweet and sour chicken, for instance). This was the first in which everyone got something different and the dishes were still split. It was an interesting experience.

At the conference, RoboWorld -- a robotics theme park, to be built in Incheon -- was discussed. I learned a lot about what the Korean government is doing to make Incheon more prominent -- among other things, it made the Incheon Free Economic Zone (IFEZ) to bring in business. RoboWorld also gives a few hints about Korean culture. It's to be a massive robotics theme park, but also include a commercial area and an R&D sector. Even in amusement parks, industry will still have a dominant role.

2. (Project status)

I successfully presented at the ICAHRR conference, and I wrote up notes on the other presentations. I created slides for the ICHIT conference.

After much persistence, I may finally get on a HUBO platform (the HUBO itself does not seem to be available, but a set of HUBO arms have been hooked up). In preparation for this, I've prepared the beat tracker/dancing algorithm to make the arms move.

3. (Photo of the week)

Us conference people, out at lunch.

4. (What I learned about myself)

I did my first conference presentation this week, and got through it. I learned that I can present my work to scholars in my field.

5. (New people I met this week)

I met several new people at the conference, including Martin Saerbeck, a German researcher (Back left, in the photo).

Week 21 -- David in Incheon

1. (What I learned about Korea)

I dropped by the Hoedeok Hyanggyo this week. This is an old Confucian school that has been turned into a historical monument. It was nice to see, and I learned a little more about the old hyanggyos and how they are laid out.

Due to my ICAHRR conference, I would be spending Sunday and beyond in Incheon. This I decided to take a little time Saturday to see Seoul, since the two cities are relatively close. I took a day tour of the city and saw several old monuments, including Gyeongbok Palace. Walking around the palace was really cool. The tour guide also taught us about Korean history (like the histories of the various kings and dynasties, and the Japanese invasion) and old customs. We also saw the Ginseng Center, where we learned about the development and harvesting of ginseng, and Insadong, where we got to do some traditional shopping. It was a great chance to learn about Seoul.

I saw some marches while in Seoul -- Saturday was Liberation Day, commemorating the freedom of Korea from Japanese invaders. I learned a little about the history of that when I was in Seoul.

I took the KTX to Seoul, and eventually the subway from Seoul to Incheon. I thus learned more about Korean intercity transportation.

2. (Project status)

I completed my ICAHRR slides and rehearsed my ICAHRR presentation this week. I added some things to the motor controller documentation and posted it online. I also finished gesture choreography.

3. (Photos of the week)

Three photos this week. One is of the Gyeongbok Palace in Seoul, the second is of Insadong in Seoul, and the third is of the ICAHRR conference.

4. (What I learned about myself)

Getting to Incheon required taking multiple forms of transportation, but I was able to do it, demonstrating my ability to use public transportation even when I don't understand the language.

5. (New people I met this week)

I've met numerous new people at the conference. One such person is Dr. Igor Verner of Technion, the Israel Institute of Technology. We had a good talk at the opening party about robotics and our research.

Week 20 -- samhap and presentations

1. (What I learned about Korea)

Up to now most of the dishes I've tried have been standard Korean fare, or Daejeon specialties. But this week the lab went out to dinner at a place that served samhap, a specialty from another region of Korea, Gwangju. Samhap translates to 'Three combination' and is a combination of kimchi, pork, and skate (a kind of stingray). It has a very unusual taste -- in particular, there was a strong ammonia scent to the dish (this site, while rather harsh towards the dish, explains where that scent comes from). I don't know if I'd get it again, but it was certainly fun to try it once, especially in good company.

We also went out as a group to a cutlet shop where we ground our own sesame seeds. That was also a new experience for me. It was interesting mixing the ingredients myself (with the ground seeds, wasabi, and a barbecue-like sauce) to properly prepare the cutlet.

Finally, Clayton and I went with Sean and Jihwan to pick up a new part for the crane. So I got to see how the inter-city mail works (turns out that, instead of a post office, some packages can just be picked up at bus terminals). Not the same as America, and very interesting.

2. (Project status)

I constructed my presentations for ICAHRR and ICHIT this week. I also added some supplementary data to the HUBO flowcharts and posted them online. I was able to get on the HUBO just long enough to verify the audio.

3. (Photo of the week)

Grinding sesame seeds:

4. (What I learned about myself)

The samhap was at first difficult to eat, but I was able to stick it out and enjoy it. I learned that I can eat foods that at first have an extremely unusual taste or smell.

5. (New people I met this week)

I didn't meet anyone new this week.

6. (Politics)

The two captured journalists were freed from North Korea. This is good news, and it signifies that perhaps N. Korea is more open to negotiating than their saber rattling on July 4 and before indicated. Neither Clayton nor I were really worried about the situation before, but I suppose it is reassuring nevertheless.

Week 19 -- Gestures and shoes

1. (What I learned about Korea)

While at lunch one day this week, I took note of the shoes near the front door. Most of them did not have laces. It seems that in general Korean shoes use straps or buckles, as opposed to laces. This makes sense, as shoes are removed much more often in Korea -- namely, whenever entering a residence (even a dormitory room or hotel room) and also when entering most restaurants.

I tried a new kind of food this week; I went to a kaiten-zushi place. This is a restaurant where a conveyor belt runs through the restaurant, passing every seat, and plates of sushi, sashimi, and other small foods go around on the belt. Diners take whatever plates they want off the belt, and the price is calculated by counting the number of plates at the end of the meal. It was a lot of fun, and the sushi tasted great.

2. (Project status)

I cleared up some issues with ICAHRR and ICHIT, and wrapped up the motor controller documentation. Next week I will write the presentations for the two conferences.

I also crafted some HUBO gestures so that it will be able to dance with a variety of motions, and passed those on to Jungwoo for simulation.

Clayton and I gave Major Korpela a lab tour as well.

3. (Photo of the week)

The sushi belt and Major Christopher Korpela.

4. (What I learned about myself)

The HUBO lab tour went off without a hitch, so I learned that I've become knowledgeable enough about the HUBO lab and all its assorted projects to describe them to others.

5. (New people I met this week)

I met Major Korpela to do the lab tour. He was a very nice person, and very enthusiastic about the research going on in the lab. He seemed eager to do research at Drexel once he fulfilled his current set of military obligations.

Minji and I also exchanged more emails, trading our photos that we took in China.

Week 18 -- David in China

1. (What I learned about China)

China was really awesome!

We stayed mostly in the south eastern region, traveling to Shanghai, Huangshan, Hangzhou, and then Jiaxiang for the eclipse itself. We saw a great many cultural artifacts, markets, and modern attractions. We saw a good cross section of the region.

One of the main attractions of the trip was the Oriental Pearl Tower in Shanghai -- the third largest tower in China. We went all the way up and looked over the city, and it was a great view. The floor was transparent so we could see all the way down too. It was really nice.

We hiked on Huangshen mountain for 3 hours one day. This gave us some great views and also some knowledge of local Chinese legends, like the rock that supposedly granted different wishes depending on how many times one touched it. Getting onto the mountain was also interesting, as it required both a bus and a cable car ride.

We saw numerous Buddhist temples. The largest was in Hangzhou, called the Linying Temple. It was in a very large park, and included some cliff-sized rocks with tunnels and Buddha statues carved into them. The stonework was incredible. Other temple buildings on the complex included a hall with many statues, all bearing a different face, and visitors were supposed to pick out the statue whose face most closely matched theirs. Unfortunately, cameras weren't allowed there, or I'd have taken a picture of the one the group decided looked most like me. It was a beautiful place.

Also in Hangzhou we saw a large lake called the West Lake, and we took a boat around on it. The guide went over a little of the history of the area (such as the mythological reason why the rowers on the local canoes face the opposite way from the passengers), and we had fun sailing around.

Before leaving Hangzhou we got foot massages. These were a lot of fun, and were very relaxing. They were a little painful at times (we all agreed on this afterwards), but overall it was a fun way to spend an evening.

In Jiaxiang, of course, the major event was the eclipse. We met up with another eclipse watching team, and we all set up our telescopes and got our solar glasses. Unfortunately, it was overcast where we were, but we still saw everything go dark when totality happened. It was a very strange feeling, it being night out at 9:35 AM. It really was the highlight of the trip. Plus, as the eclipse moved past totality and began to end, the clouds cleared enough to see the obscured sun through our glasses. It was extraordinary.

2. (Project status)

After returning from China, I prepared the camera-ready version of my ICHIT paper.

3. (Photos of the week)

The first photo is the view from the top of the Oriental Pearl Tower, the second is of the Linying Temple park, and the third is me during the eclipse at 9:35 AM.

4. (What I learned about myself)

I learned that I can handle being in a country where I speak none of the language. The guides helped immensely, of course, but even when we were on our own -- such as in a particular museum complex, where we split up -- I didn't get lost or confused.

5. (New people I met this week)

Another person on the trip with us was Minji Kim, a friend of Dr. Oh's daughter (who was also traveling with us). She was fun to talk to, and Clayton, she, and I struck up a good rapport. We're going to keep in touch to exchange photos and the like.