The Yuseong local government in Daejeon City invited KDI School international students to a one-day field trip on October 16th. Students had an opportunity to learn the district’s political and research infrastructure. They can also experience cultural aspects by visiting the Yuseong-gu District Office, Yurim Park Chrysanthemums Festival, Yuseong hot spring foot bath experience center, Geological Museum of the Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources (KIGAM), and the Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials.

Yuseong-gu became well-known as the hub of science and technology since 1973 when the Daedeok Science Town was established. It is also famous for its 1,000-year-old hot spring which was designated as a special tourism district in 1994. Yuseong-gu has become an international destination for hot spring baths.

Yurim Park, situated in front of the Yuseong-gu office, is a beautiful park with many flowers, themed sculptures and assortments of chrysanthemums in various designs. It has trees, pavilions, and multipurpose grass plaza and have course, a very bright, colorful, flower garden.  It is indeed a magnificent place of beauty.

Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials was established in 1976. This institute became a pioneer in machinery technology as a state-funded research organization with the continuous search for advanced technologies to develop.

Geological of the Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral resources is the country’s first and only museum dedicated to geology. The main hall is packed with fossils and other dinosaur related items, and exhibits about 2,000 specimens of minerals and rocks. It holds a large 7m-diameter globe and has the dinosaur models of tyrannosaurus and Maiasaura and Duwon meteorite, which is the only stony meteorite in Korea.  In this museum, geological samples have been accumulated over the years through consistent research projects and it was set up to promote understanding and support of the geological field.

By Oluremilekun Akinyemi (2015 MDP, Nigeria)