We knew we were approaching the Hyundai plant when we saw "the largest parking lot in the world" - thousands and thousands and THOUSANDS of Hyundais parked at the shipyard ready to be loaded onto super-cargo ships to be delivered to Hyundai dealerships around the world. Our tour of the plant consisted of a Back to the Future-ish video presentation and museum extolling Hyundai's founder, Mr. Asan, and a bus tour around the shipyards. Hyundai is the #1 shipbuilder in the world and we were able see the dry docks and all the ships under construction. They threw all kinds of facts and figures at us such as it takes 6 coats of paint to paint one of their supertankers at a cost of like $20 million dollars (don't quote me on that amount, but it was something like that). Hyundai is actually an entire factory city with over 18,000 houses, a dormitory, hospital, recreational facilities, and schools on the premises.
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| This photo was taken through the bus window so it didn't come out well, but the red in the background is a huge ship ready to load all those bazillion Hyundais on board to send to world market. They call this "The largest parking lot in the world" |
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| For some reason I got chastised for taking a photo of this display inside the Hyundai factory. We weren't allowed to take photos of the shipyards, dry docks, or inner factory at all. |
Mr. Asan, the founder, sounds like he was an extraordinary character. Starting off as a rice deliveryman, he got a job as a mechanic and kept working his way up to open his first factory - eventually becoming a jillionaire, bringing the Olympics to Seoul in 1988, being a friend to world dignitaries and running for president. The display glorified in entrepreneurial spirit, frugality, and work ethic. Touring the Hyundai-world turned out to be an interesting and worthwhile way to spend the morning.
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| Display about Asan's life - starting out as a rice delivery boy |
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