Korean TV Network Films at CAR
Ed Hillstrom (left), a mechanical engineering graduate fellow at the Center for Automotive Research and Buckeye Bullet 2 team member, takes his turn in front of the camera. Watching are (from left) Ohio State law school alumnus Joe Han, who with his wife, Young, helped coordinate the visit, and camera reporter Min Kim and producer Seong-Wook Yong from the 24-hour news channel YTN of Korea who visited Ohio State Sept. 30.A Korean cable television network visited Ohio State’s Center for Automotive Research Sept. 30 for a story about the auto industry worldwide.
The film crew from YTN, a news channel comparable to CNN in the United States, is producing a documentary that will air in November.
“For the last year or so, we have seen changes in the auto industry from the financial crisis,” Byung-Sik Lee, YTN’s deputy manager and the on-air reporter for the story, said through interpretation provided by Ohio State law alumnus Joe Han. “We are focusing on how the automotive industry in the U.S., Europe and Asia are coping with this situation to overcome the obstacles. They see the production of eco-friendly cars as the next step to move them forward.”
The crew filmed and interviewed Ohio State researchers and students about many aspects of CAR, including the SMART@CAR consortium, the award-winning Buckeye Bullet 2 and EcoCAR student teams, battery research, the hydrogen refueling station, fuel cell vehicles and other projects.
The visit was initiated through Han and his wife, Young Ihn, of Michigan, who, knowing CAR industry collaborations director David Emerling through their involvement with an Ohio State alumni club in Michigan, had asked him for suggestions of who YTN might interview regarding green initiatives in the automobile industry.
“I appreciate the education I received here at Ohio State, and this is one way of giving back,” Han said.
From CAR the film crew traveled to Michigan to interview representatives of Ford and General Motors; earlier in the week they were at Kia and Hyundai plants in Georgia and Alabama, respectively. They also visited European automotive industry leaders during the Frankfurt auto show held recently in Germany and plan to visit Japan for the documentary, which will be aired not only in Korea but also on the Internet and the Korean package of DIRECTV.
