Jacob Franks, Plus3 South Korea, Summer 2026
An urban cityscape sprawls out before you. Towers of glass and steel peer over the clouds. At first glance, the city around you simply feels like a city—like home. Then, you chance a glance to your right and see trees, flowers, and a stream running through downtown. There are chairs set along the waterway, public bookshelves lining the surrounding walls. You look to your left and see a historic palace, transporting you through time to dynastic Korea. This is Seoul, the capital of South Korea, standing as a monument to nature, human progress, and human history.
In every aspect of Seoul, there is a modern flair. Public transport and traffic are monitored and controlled entirely by smart systems and sensors. Their water treatment facility, Arisu, is an achievement in engineering of all kinds. Even public utilities as minor as escalators are powered by sensors, conserving energy by shutting down whenever not in use. This isn’t what makes Seoul unique, however. To me, what made Seoul distinct from any other city is its insistence on blending that modernism with nature and history. Unlike most cities that ignore or actively bury their history, Seoul still has countless temples, palaces, and shrines standing within. Similarly, nature is abundant throughout the city. There are open grass plazas littered about the cityscape, and everywhere you look, indoors or out, there are plants livening up the area. The greatest example of this is the Cheonggyecheon River. The Cheonggyecheon was an important fixture in Seoul’s history. In fact, the entire city was built around the Cheonggyecheon, similar to Pittsburgh’s three rivers. As time pressed on and the city grew, the stream’s purpose once again changed, becoming a sever system, made to carry waste out of the city. While the industrialization of Seoul during the 20th century meant covering the stream with roads and concrete, this soon changed as, in 2005, a project to uncover and revitalize the historic river created the national park that runs through Seoul today. The Cheonggyecheon’s story reflects the respect for nature and green space in modern Seoul through its revitalization and uncovering, the appreciation of history in Seoul as the river laid the city’s foundation and is recognized both for that feat and as a symbol of the country’s economic development, and the modernization of Seoul both due to the fragments of roadways and supports left in the park as reminders of its history and its location in the middle of modern-day Seoul.
My time in South Korea has been instrumental in both my academic career and personal development. Our trip to POSTECH was eye-opening as, with every lab we toured, I was left increasingly awestruck by the equipment in front of us. It reminded me of my passion for technology and research as I saw all the data that made each futuristic innovation in front of us possible. It fully reinvigorated the academic passion that my first year at Pitt started to revive after a painful high school experience. Similarly, our trip to Seoul’s water treatment facility made me finally feel secure in my decision to declare as a chemical engineer. While I theoretically enjoy the many aspects of chemical engineering, it wasn’t until I saw the water treatment facility that I was certain I made the right choice. Seeing one location supplying water to an entire city, fueled almost entirely by the work of chemical engineers was simply amazing. In the facility, I saw the filtration systems powered by fluid dynamics, the high resolution filters made possible by complex electrochemistry, the process engineering that went into the entire plant, and more. Seeing all of the different jobs I’ve heard chemical engineers talk about in-person sparked an excitement about my studies that I had apparently only felt vestiges of before this.
On a personal level, my time in South Korea was also invaluable. Learning about and experiencing cultures outside my own has always felt essential to me. I think that, as a society, the most effective way to improve is for each individual to put themselves in situations where they will be forced to meet new people in unfamiliar environments. That is what South Korea was for me. Spending those two weeks in South Korea made me meet new people like the POSTECH student I had lunch with or the man I spoke with at Namsan Tower for almost thirty minutes. Even more interesting was experiencing the culture in South Korea with the language barrier in place. While that language barrier inevitably changes your experience, I think it can also be a boon at times as it forced me to find locals and speak with them, asking questions and learning about their culture from the people who live it every day. The kindness and respect I experienced in Korea was heart-warming as well. Anytime I was struggling or confused, a local would be ready and willing to answer any questions I had, through English or a friendly game of charades. Seeing that respect intrinsic to the culture firsthand was eye-opening, and I think the most interesting way I experienced it passively was in the respect for the environment demonstrated across Seoul. Seoul has a ludicrously high population density, but despite that, during our entire trip I only saw one piece of litter on the ground which was only made more impressive by the fact I would see a maximum of five trash cans throughout a 12-hour day of walking. As minor as that sounds, it truly highlights that respect for not only nature but the society Korean citizens live in, as that personal responsibility shows an understanding that everyone in Seoul shares a common home in Seoul. That respect for one another is such a wonderful aspect of Korean culture which I would love to see more of in America.
The Plus3 Program in South Korea taught me endless lessons and gave me countless experiences that I would have never experienced without the support I received. It has given me valuable insights into the world I live in which will undoubtedly impact my professional endeavors in engineering going forward. The integration of smart systems in everyday technology to improve efficiency was fascinating and certainly something I will try to include in my own future work. Furthermore, the personal experiences I was afforded while overseas helped to change my worldview and appreciate South Korean culture more deeply, from the historical aspects to the Korean Wave in America (the sudden prevalence of K-Pop, K-Drama, Manhwa, and other Korean cultural exports in the Western Hemisphere). Finally, my time overseas allowed me to grow closer to my peers, leaving me with lifelong friends that I have stayed close with since leaving Korea.
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