By Lee Jin-woo
Staff Reporter

A senior Indian engineer at Hyundai Heavy Industries in Ulsan has found his place at the office, praising the Korean work ethic.

``The thing I like most about Koreans is their discipline and dedication at work,’’ Prabhat K. Mukherjee said in an interview with The Korea Times.

He said the Asian culture of filial piety, to which Indians also are accustomed to, are seen here in Korea to a great extent.

``In the field of my work areas, such respect is greatly seen although I cannot vouch for other people who came as immigrants in other areas of work,’’ Mukherjee, 53, said.

He and his family have found new opportunities in Korea.

His wife, who used to teach at Hyundai Foreigner’s Kindergarten for around six years, is now a part-time professor teaching statistics at University of Ulsan.

In 2003, his daughter joined the prestigious Pohang Institute of Science and Technology as a doctoral student in the electronics lab, working in plasma display research field.

Regarding the future relationship between Korea and his native country, India, an emerging economic power in Asia, he expressed his disappointment with the ignorance of Koreans on India and its culture.

He hoped more economic cooperation will help people of both countries understand each country more and strengthen the countries’ relationship.

Hyundai hired him as a consultant in engineering in December 1997. Since then he has been working for the company as general manager of the mechanical engineering department, the offshore division.

Before coming to Korea, he worked for Engineers India Ltd., a leading engineering company in New Delhi, which specializes in engineering and design of offshore oil and gas platforms.

Mukherjee has been a columnist for The Korea Times for the last five years, contributing around 50 articles on various topics.

His articles have covered various topics that he experienced in this country. He has written about Korean society, old and new culture, food, history, environmental issues, traffic problems and his impression of scenes of rural life in Korea.

Contributing articles gave him a surprising presence in Korea, as he became the first Asian to receive honorary citizenship from the Ulsan city government in April last year for his articles and his contribution to Hyundai in many offshore oil and gas projects.

``My company even aired video footage of my interview via an internal broadcasting system of the firm,’’ Mukherjee told The Korea Times. ``I believe my company felt proud of the honor. I have also received a letter of appreciation from the Indian ambassador to Korea.’’

He has attended various meetings hosted by the city as a foreign monitor, and suggested various changes for foreign communities of the city and many other aspects of the city.

In April, he attended a preparatory gathering for the annual meeting of the International Whale Commission (IWC), which opened for a four-week run on May 27 in the city.

He said the friendly attitude of the Koreans in his office motivated him to start contributing articles to the English daily.

``When I was in India, I used to submit articles on various issues to leading Indian dailies. When I came to Korea, I started reading The Korea Times and saw that it encouraged readers to contribute articles,’’ he said.

``In 2000, I suddenly felt that I must write about my impressions of Korea and its people, because I was very much impressed by the friendly attitude of my co-workers as well as people that I met in the outside.’’

things@koreatimes.co.kr