Cold weather, good Korean food and magical lights: Korean flight crew experiences Yellowknife
CBC
A group of South Korean aerospace workers who are in Yellowknife to conduct cold weather testing on a helicopter were happy to discover something familiar north of 60.
About 40 Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) employees are spending about two months testing how a light armed helicopter holds up in extreme cold temperatures.
Strict company policies around COVID-19 mean the pilots, engineers and support staff are unable to explore the city.
But they've been able to enjoy a couple Yellowknife staples, including the restaurant Korea House.
"It's much better than some Korean restaurants back in Korea," said Jaehyung Park, an assistant manager on the light armed helicopter program.
Phil Moon Son, who runs Korea House, said he was "very proud" to hear such a positive response to his food.
He said he hopes the workers can come back soon and that the N.W.T. continues to host projects like this.
Although the employees have been limited to mainly their hotel and their airport hangar, Park said he did get to see the north's iconic light show: the Aurora Borealis.
"It was really awesome. I'd never seen those lights in my life — it was like something magical," he said.
Park saw the northern lights from the hotel window, but said if he ever returns to Yellowknife he'd like to go to Aurora Village to experience them out in nature.
The recent cold snap may have been hard on some vehicles, but it was ideal for the Korean helicopter that arrived in December.
"The temperature is the temperature we wanted," Park said, adding with a laugh that it has been an adjustment for him and his colleagues.
"This is not the temperature we normally get in Korea."
Stu Impett is the vice president of fixed base of operations for Det'on Cho Logistics, who is in charge of taking care of the visiting workers.
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