Having been certified in such fields as electrical engineering, firefighting equipment and engineering, Master Kim’s expertise is both broad and deep. That experience and technical know-how, along with his tireless dedication to mentoring the other members of the electrical maintenance team, were what led to Kim being named one of this year’s three new POSCO Masters of Korea.

The title POSCO Master of Korea is reserved for the best of the best field technicians, those with not only incredible skills, but who also lead their co-workers by example and help contribute to the competitiveness of the company.

Let’s take a look at Master Sungnam Kim, and how four decades of dedication have made him a legend on the electrical maintenance team.

Dreaming of POSCO While Still in School

Sungnam Kim had grown fascinated with POSCO, even before he finished high school. Having grown up in a 12-person family in a small home, he was always a tinkerer, often taking apart radios or other electronic devices. With such a large family, he had to go to a vocational high school, where he first learned about electronics and machinery, and thanks to his inquisitive nature he excelled in his studies.

Back in the 1970s in Korea, there was a popular TV series titled Blooming Corners of Korea, which featured the wife of a POSCO employee who played a significant character. The drama even had scenes that were filmed in front of POSCO’s main gate. Because of that, Kim says he grew more aware of POSCO and began thinking about one day working there. More importantly, with his interest in electricity and machines, he thought the company made a great fit.

His dreams soon came true. On January 20, 1978, he started work at POSCO, just two days after graduating high school. At first he found the transition very difficult. Even though he had studied mechanical and electrical subjects in high school, the real-world field conditions at POSCO were very challenging.

POSCO was a very different company back then, just starting its dramatic growth into one of the world’s leading steel companies, and working conditions could be difficult. However, Kim was fortunate to work under Huicheol Choi, the manager of equipment repairs and a legendary mentor from that period. Choi would teach workers mathematics in the mornings, as well as electrical engineering and practical subjects.

“I remember that first day, he took out his electrical engineering book, and in his thick southern accent he said ‘I still study every day. I want you to study every day’,” Kim recalls. He says he took that advice to heart and vowed to always keep learning.

Learning Through Adversity

Sometimes learning came from terrible circumstances. In December 1980, POSCO suffered an infamous accident in one of its old ironworks. There was a major fire, but Kim discovered that his team was unprepared to deal with it properly. It took around-the-clock work for 20 days before the ironworks was able to restart.

“When the sooty, silent plant finally restarted, the noise of the equipment resuming operations was genuinely touching,” he says. “The sound of working equipment for a repair technician is the most pleasing sound there is.”

Following that accident, he grew obsessed with gaining field experience and real-world know-how. “I followed my seniors everywhere, learning all I could. Electrical fires, transformer damage, main motor breakdowns—I wanted to know everything,” he says. “I wanted experience solving all types of problems, big and small.”

Since then, safety has been a major concern for Master Kim, in particular preventative maintenance. Fixing broken equipment is important, but it is even more vital to ensure everything is working properly to avoid accidents and dangerous situations from beginning.

“I feel that POSCO’s maintenance and restoration processes are the best in the world,” Kim says. “Technicians should always feel a duty to give 100 percent, to ensure everything is well maintained.”

Awarded ‘Master’ in Recognition of a Lifetime of Service

Kim’s lifetime of dedication to safety and maintenance of electrical equipment at POSCO led to his being honored at a POSCO Master of Korea. In addition to his many technical certifications, Master Kim has also been awarded for seven outstanding proposals and three registered patents over the years, along with honors by the president and head of ironworks. In fact, his co-workers like to say, “Sungnam Kim exists wherever there is equipment.”

Throughout his interview, two words repeatedly came up: curiosity and passion. Even while a child, those were the traits that most defined him. And those are the traits that underlie the best of the best field technicians. Approaching his work with that vibrant spirit helps Master Kim stay young at heart.

Furthermore, for Master Kim, building knowledge isn’t just about learning. It is also about passing along that knowledge. “There’s a divide between the knowledge of someone with 20 years’ experience and someone with just one or two years. And advances in technology are not enough to bridge that divide.”

In the end, the goal is about more than just techniques and equipment. It’s about really knowing the entire operations, as thoroughly as a doctor understands the human body. “A technician should be a doctor for the equipment, listening carefully and regularly checking its status,” he says. “I want the next generation of engineers at POSCO to think past the details and look at the big picture, so they can all be true masters.”

After 38 years in electrical equipment maintenance, Sungnam Kim knows the big picture like few others. As a POSCO Master of Korea, we look forward to learning from him how to see that bigger picture, too.

Meet the Newest POSCO Masters of Korea

‘The Equipment Never Lies’: POSCO Master of Korea Chajin Kim

Never Afraid of Failure: POSCO Master of Korea Seungcheol Shin

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For this envisioned high-tech future to become a reality, however, civilizations must first study how we can help our planet sustain life for a longer period of time. After all, if we strip away all the natural resources and destroy the earth’s ecosystem, there will not be a place for humanity to reside, let alone advance its technology.

With many scientific theories stating that the earth will one day become uninhabitable, it is crucial to make as many preservation efforts as possible.

Why “Sustainability” is an Important Concept

Though sustainability has numerous definitions, when discussing the future, the term most often refers to maintaining the planet so that upcoming generations can utilize it.

According to the resolution of the UN’s World Summit on Social Development, the three pillars of sustainable development—economic development, social development and environmental protection—should be interdependent and mutually reinforce one another. These three components can exist only if there is a balance among them. For example, there is no need for a commercial fishing industry if there isn’t an ocean.

In other words, it is crucial to utilize sustainable materials that help reduce our ecological footprint to meet the needs of the environmental pillar of sustainability. Stainless steel is one such material, thanks to its closed-loop production and reuse system.

Reduce, Reuse and Recycle

Stainless steel is a commonly used metal alloy known for its corrosion resistance and recyclability. Its various types and metallic compositions also make it useful in many industries such as construction, healthcare, food and beverage and household products, among others, serving widely applicable purposes. Its ubiquitous usage helps play an important role in creating a sustainable future.

As a readily available and relatively durable resource, stainless steel is not only ideal for manufacturing many different goods and architectural components, but is also environmentally friendly. Though stainless steel has a long lifespan to begin with, it is theoretically 100 percent recyclable, even at the end of its life cycle. Just about any stainless steel object contains an average recycled content of approximately 60 percent!

Because of its high reuse and recycle rate, stainless steel impacts the planet very minimally in terms of initial production and reproduction. In fact, recycled stainless steel doesn’t go through any degradation and stays in a sustainable, closed-loop.

Perhaps in the future, we will all eat food that is stored in stainless steel refrigerators with stainless steel spoons, in skyscrapers built with stainless steel.

Live Long and Prosper

To truly “live long and prosper” (in the famous words of Spock), we must devise a viable plan to develop a sustainable future for both present and next generations. To do so, humans must utilize existing resources such as stainless steel in the least detrimental way possible.

Although common use of starships like the Enterprise might be a bit more futuristic than what the creators of the Star Trek series originally imagined, there is definitely hope for significant technical developments to be made in due time. As long as our planet survives, that is.

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The blades wielded by the Game of Thrones characters have become synonymous with the show itself, and hardcore fans across the world pay a lot of money to get their hands on replicas of the iconic swords, which each have their own special characteristics and names, like Blackfyre, Dark Sister and Longclaw. But, what makes these weapons so extraordinary?

A Mythical, Magical Metal  

The secret behind the swords’ superiority is the material of which they were forged: Valyrian steel. This mythical alloy, manufactured in the ancient empire of the Valyrians, is noted to be exceptionally sharp and tremendously strong, yet lightweight, making it an ideal metal for a sword. Its rippled patterns make it distinctive from other metals, and because of these properties, the steel is quite scarce and very expensive. Yet what makes Valyrian steel swords most unique and powerful is the fact that they are forged with magic spells and dragonfire in a sword making process that was all but lost over the ages.

While the fictitious alloy was more than likely the result of imaginative thinking than the consultation of chemistry books, George R. R. Martin, author of the A Song of Ice and Fire novel series on which the show is based, drew inspiration from real-life ancient weaponry, more specifically Damascus steel, to dream up the material.

Real-life Inspiration

Similar to its imaginary predecessor, Damascus steel, which originated in South India before the Common Era, was primarily used to make long-bladed weapons which were reputed to be tough, shatter-resistant and able to be honed to a sharp, resilient edge.

Additionally, the blades possessed the distinctive rippled patterns which resembled flowing water. It is said that Islamic knights would look at these patterns before a battle to be reminded of the flowing waters of the rivers of paradise, and be reassured that should they fall, their place in paradise would be secured.

Of course, there were no fire-breathing dragons or wizardry involved in the forgery of these blades, and the metal’s properties weren’t as ideal as those of Valyrian steel. The material did give rise to a number of legends, however.

It was believed that a blade made of Damascus steel could effortlessly cut through a rifle barrel, or cut in half a silk scarf falling across the blade. Some even say that Damascus steel swords were the strongest blades used in the Crusades. Whether there is any truth to these legends or not, the swords were undoubtedly extraordinary for their time.

Also like Valyrian steel, the original method of production of Damascus steel was eventually lost, and the manufacturing of the patterned swords ceased around 1750.

Although Damascus steel blades may be long gone, these intricate swords have been reincarnated, albeit fictitiously, and can continue to be admired, thanks to the Game of Thrones series, which airs on Sundays at 9PM Eastern Standard Time on HBO.

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