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 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 15 -- Shrines and Daecheonghosu

1. (What I learned about Korea)

I took the time to go to a couple historic shrines. One was the Jinjam Confucian school. Another was the Suwoongyo Cheondan, a famous shrine for the Suwoongyo religion (a fusion of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Zen). By going through them, I learned how some of the shrines in the area are laid out. I also read the notices about what was taught or focused on at each shrine, and learned some more about the respective religions by doing so.

This weekend I visited Yuseong Market. This market is only open in days of the month ending in 4 or 9, so the 4th this Saturday was an ideal time to go through it. I got some delicious food there (including some duck), and I learned more about how the markets are laid out and what is sold in them. I regrettably did not get to see the livestock, but maybe another trip I will be able to do that.

After the market, I went to Sutonggol, a popular resort area. Sutonggol is known for its waterfall, but it seemed to be pretty dry when I went. Still, the scenery was nice and I got to hike a new mountain, Geumsabong. This was the first 'resort' type area I'd been to, so I learned about how those are laid out and what's in them.

Today I went to Lake Daecheonghosu. It's one of the 8 Scenic Sights of Daejeon (so I only have 2 more to go). The lake itself was spectacular, as were the mountains and parks in the area. I visited the Public Information Center near the dam, and there I learned a little more about how important water conservation is in Korea. The information there said that a water shortfall of over 100 million tons is predicted, and that the country is aggressively researching ways to ameliorate this problem. I hadn't known that water in Korea was so precious, but I do now.

While I was up there, I took the chance to try another of the 6 food specialties of the city, namely maeuntang (spicy catfish soup). I found a restaurant known for the dish in my restaurant guide. The restaurant was a place in the middle of a quiet residential neighborhood bordering the lake. The food was excellent, and the view was great too. I learned more about how fish is cooked and served in Korea. Also, as I took the bus back, I increased my familiarity with the local bus system.

Also while I was by the Lake, I saw a sign indicating the release of the 50,000 Won banknote. This was the first news of it being released that I'd heard, even though it debuted a couple weeks ago. I guess the local ATMs haven't been upgraded to provide it yet. Still, this will make life easier when carrying large sums of money (for paying rent, for instance). The previous largest bill was 10,000 Won, less than $10. Now we will be able to carry money much more compactly.

2. (Project status)

I continued working on documentation this week. Also, Dr. Paul Oh had a conference with Clayton and I over Skype, and he is having me start implementing the dancing robot algorithm on the HUBO over here. So next week I'll be focusing on starting that.

3. (Pictures of the week)

The first two photos are of Suwoongyo Shrine, and the third is of Lake Daecheonghosu.

4. (What I learned about myself)

The restaurant I ate the maeuntang at was probably the most remote place I've been to so far, and I was unfamiliar with the area and the local bus schedule. As a result, getting back seemed challenging. But I was able to communicate with the people at the restaurant well enough to learn when the next bus was coming, and was able to use that information to get on the bus and get to a populated area where I could grab a cab. So I learned that I can navigate even to the furthest, most remote reaches of Daejeon.

5. (New people I met this week)

I didn't meet anyone new this week. Dr. Oh advised that we try to form language partnerships with the locals (teaching them English while learning Korean from there), and I saw a sign for an 'English village' program on campus, so I might try checking that out to see if anyone there wants to partner with me.

6. (Politics)

North Korea has continued to shoot off missiles. To be honest, it's still pretty calm over here -- North Korea has been threatening and posturing for our entire stay here, and nothing's come of it yet. Besides, it's common knowledge that they'd get utterly destroyed if they actually attacked, so it doesn't seem like people are very worried about them bombing us.