It is an icy cold evening in early 2014 and I have just arrived at the Incheon international airport in South Korea where I would be working on the KNOX 2.0 Security platform to be launched along with the Samsung Galaxy S5 at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona later in the year.
As I pick up my baggage and walk towards the bus station (they call them Airport Limousines), I can see bold signs proudly proclaiming that this airport has been rated as the best in the world for seven years in a row from 2005 - 2012 by the Airports Council International. I have to agree that it is one of the best in terms of efficiency, facilities and ease of travel. [Quick tip for people who transit through Incheon: The airport offers some free Transit tours which are an amazing way to experience the Korean culture].
I exchange my U.S Dollars for Korean Won and for the first time in life I see currency notes which read 50,000. Yes, the Korean Won's valuation vs the Dollar is very weak and 1 $ fetches you around 1000 Won. But in terms of the purchasing power, nothing changes much as the prices of most products are on par with US values. Cab fares are a notable exception though as they are metered at a rate which is much lower than US Cab rates.
Eager to look at the sights of this new country, I take a corner seat on the bus. It is already past sunset and the distant Seoul skyline is a maze of neon on skyscrapers of varying sizes. After a journey of about an hour, the bus has reached the Ramada Plaza Hotel at Suwon. I get my bags and check-in into what will be my home for the next two months.
The first week has been a very interesting experience. The Samsung Digital City at Suwon is the global headquarters of Samsung Electronics and has multiple skyscrapers housing the different divisions. After going through the check-in process and getting my Id Card, I am warmly welcomed by my Korean colleagues. I have met many of them when they had visited our office at Santa Clara and it felt great to meet them again.
I am assigned a cubicle on the 25th Floor along with the rest of my Korean team.
I notice a lot of interesting differences at work. A typical work day starts at 9:30. After a few hours of work, the lights dim indicating that its lunch time. Lunch from 12:00 - 12:30 is followed by a small siesta for half an hour. The lights come back on again by 1:00 and productive work goes on till 6:00. At 6:00, people file out for dinner and come back by 7. This is followed by about 2 hours of work and people usually leave for home around 9:30 pm.
On my first day at work, my colleagues take me to a Korean restaurant which is popular for its Tofu (since I'm vegetarian). I try Kimchi (spicy pickled vegetables) and Sundubu ( A vegetarian version of the popular stew in which Tofu is cooked in a pepper sauce).
It has been a good if hectic first week at work. I get half a day off the first weekend and me and my colleague decide to go to the Hwaseong Fortress, a UNESCO World heritage site in Suwon. It is a huge wall surrounding central Suwon with multiple towers and gates built in the 18th Century. As we climb up the stone steps carved onto the hillock, we come across a small Buddha temple. We see a lot of lighted oil lamps and we light one as well. In Buddhist tradition, the lighting of the lamp represents "the light of wisdom illuminating the darkness of ignorance". Not very different from the Hindu tradition.
The Samsung cafeteria in the R5 building has a Asian food section which has Indian vegetarian food. I also explore the nearby area and find out that there are atleast three Indian restaurants on the road just outside the Samsung back gate. I become friends with the Madras-born owner of "Gandhi" Restaurant. But my favourite is the dhaba-style food at "Taste of India". There are also other Indian restaurants near Suwon Station and many others in Seoul and most of them are good. My Korean colleague takes me to a Buddhist speciality restaurant which caters exclusively to vegetarians. The buffet is a treat to the senses as most of the tastes here are uniquely Korean.
The Seoul subway is very convenient. It connects most parts of the city and the price is very affordable. Me and my colleagues take the subway and go to the Gyeongbokgung Palace. This is the largest of all the palaces in Seoul and is situated right in the heart of Seoul. It is already past closing time when we reach. We take a walk around the palace, get some pictures and go to our next stop, the North Seoul Tower.
After moving our way up a winding queue, we get into the Namsan cable car. Each car can seat around 20 people and we can view Seoul below us as the Cable car makes its way up the slopes of Namsan towards the North Seoul Tower. The tower offers a 360 degree view of Seoul and is visible from many places in the city. We enjoy the view, get some Korean memorabilia and head back home.
Being a country which sees no shortage of snow, Skiing is very popular in Korea. My colleague, a snowboarding enthusiast offers to take some of us to Vivaldi Park, a popular ski resort. We jump on the offer. The Ski Resort has buses which picks people up from different locations in and around the city and takes them to the resort. Once you get there, you get all the different gear and get onto the slopes. One thing to keep in mind is that the Skiing lessons are offered only in Korean. So, if you are trying Skiing the first time, it would be best to do it elsewhere.
One big surprise for me was getting to know that the written Korean script is actually very similar to Indian language scripts. There are vowels and consonants and they are placed together in blocks to create syllables. I was able to learn to read Korean in less than a day (but this will help only if English words are directly transcribed into the Korean script). For those of you interested, here is a link to Learn korean in 15 minutes. [As a sidenote, don't be surprised if you hear Tamil/Dravidian words like appa, amma, va, nan, onnu in Korea. The theory that there is any other close relationship between the languages has been largely dismissed by the scientific community though].
The Gangnam style song has made me curious and I decide to head out to Gangnam district. The place is posh with swanky buildings and is often compared to Beverly Hills. Form Gangnam, I take the subway to Itaewon which is the centre for the Expat community in Korea. There are shops and restaurants from all over the world lined next to each other. The War Memorial of Korea in Yongsan is also close by. After visiting the War memorial, I go to the Namdaemun market which is the oldest and largest traditional market in Korea.
As I walk to Seoul station to get back to Suwon, I see a large gathering near the Cheonggyecheon stream. It is a political rally and there is slogan shouting and speakers blaring all around the place. The stream itself is a must visit place. The stream flows below street level and there are steps which can be taken from the street to reach the stream. A walk along the stream is a wonderful experience!
The Winter Olympics is going on in Sochi, Russia and I can see that the entire Korean nation is in sorrow as its most famous star Yuna Kim is robbed of her Gold Medal. Animation Films are hugely popular as well in Korea and I repeatedly kept hearing "Let it Go" on Car Stereos. No wonder I was not surprised when, several weeks after I reached San Jose, I read an article that Yuna Kim was figure skating for a version of "let it go" she recorded herself. Here is the link to the short figure skating video.
It has already been two months since I started from the US. Our team was highly successful in delivering all intended features without any major hiccup and now, it is time to cross the pacific and head back home to the United States. My colleagues in Korea have been very friendly and welcoming and I will miss them. Living in Korea was a unique experience and maybe I will visit again as a tourist sometime down the road.
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| HWASEONG FORTRESS |
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| SAMSUNG DIGITAL CITY |
It has been a good if hectic first week at work. I get half a day off the first weekend and me and my colleague decide to go to the Hwaseong Fortress, a UNESCO World heritage site in Suwon. It is a huge wall surrounding central Suwon with multiple towers and gates built in the 18th Century. As we climb up the stone steps carved onto the hillock, we come across a small Buddha temple. We see a lot of lighted oil lamps and we light one as well. In Buddhist tradition, the lighting of the lamp represents "the light of wisdom illuminating the darkness of ignorance". Not very different from the Hindu tradition.
The Samsung cafeteria in the R5 building has a Asian food section which has Indian vegetarian food. I also explore the nearby area and find out that there are atleast three Indian restaurants on the road just outside the Samsung back gate. I become friends with the Madras-born owner of "Gandhi" Restaurant. But my favourite is the dhaba-style food at "Taste of India". There are also other Indian restaurants near Suwon Station and many others in Seoul and most of them are good. My Korean colleague takes me to a Buddhist speciality restaurant which caters exclusively to vegetarians. The buffet is a treat to the senses as most of the tastes here are uniquely Korean.
 |
| GYEONGBOKGUNG PALACE |
The Seoul subway is very convenient. It connects most parts of the city and the price is very affordable. Me and my colleagues take the subway and go to the Gyeongbokgung Palace. This is the largest of all the palaces in Seoul and is situated right in the heart of Seoul. It is already past closing time when we reach. We take a walk around the palace, get some pictures and go to our next stop, the North Seoul Tower.
 |
| NORTH SEOUL TOWER |
After moving our way up a winding queue, we get into the Namsan cable car. Each car can seat around 20 people and we can view Seoul below us as the Cable car makes its way up the slopes of Namsan towards the North Seoul Tower. The tower offers a 360 degree view of Seoul and is visible from many places in the city. We enjoy the view, get some Korean memorabilia and head back home.
 |
| VIVALDI SKI SLOPES |
Being a country which sees no shortage of snow, Skiing is very popular in Korea. My colleague, a snowboarding enthusiast offers to take some of us to Vivaldi Park, a popular ski resort. We jump on the offer. The Ski Resort has buses which picks people up from different locations in and around the city and takes them to the resort. Once you get there, you get all the different gear and get onto the slopes. One thing to keep in mind is that the Skiing lessons are offered only in Korean. So, if you are trying Skiing the first time, it would be best to do it elsewhere.
One big surprise for me was getting to know that the written Korean script is actually very similar to Indian language scripts. There are vowels and consonants and they are placed together in blocks to create syllables. I was able to learn to read Korean in less than a day (but this will help only if English words are directly transcribed into the Korean script). For those of you interested, here is a link to Learn korean in 15 minutes. [As a sidenote, don't be surprised if you hear Tamil/Dravidian words like appa, amma, va, nan, onnu in Korea. The theory that there is any other close relationship between the languages has been largely dismissed by the scientific community though].
 |
| WAR MEMORIAL OF KOREA |
The Gangnam style song has made me curious and I decide to head out to Gangnam district. The place is posh with swanky buildings and is often compared to Beverly Hills. Form Gangnam, I take the subway to Itaewon which is the centre for the Expat community in Korea. There are shops and restaurants from all over the world lined next to each other. The War Memorial of Korea in Yongsan is also close by. After visiting the War memorial, I go to the Namdaemun market which is the oldest and largest traditional market in Korea.
 |
| CHEONGGYECHEON STREAM |
As I walk to Seoul station to get back to Suwon, I see a large gathering near the Cheonggyecheon stream. It is a political rally and there is slogan shouting and speakers blaring all around the place. The stream itself is a must visit place. The stream flows below street level and there are steps which can be taken from the street to reach the stream. A walk along the stream is a wonderful experience!
The Winter Olympics is going on in Sochi, Russia and I can see that the entire Korean nation is in sorrow as its most famous star Yuna Kim is robbed of her Gold Medal. Animation Films are hugely popular as well in Korea and I repeatedly kept hearing "Let it Go" on Car Stereos. No wonder I was not surprised when, several weeks after I reached San Jose, I read an article that Yuna Kim was figure skating for a version of "let it go" she recorded herself. Here is the link to the short figure skating video.
It has already been two months since I started from the US. Our team was highly successful in delivering all intended features without any major hiccup and now, it is time to cross the pacific and head back home to the United States. My colleagues in Korea have been very friendly and welcoming and I will miss them. Living in Korea was a unique experience and maybe I will visit again as a tourist sometime down the road.
