Sioux Falls Business Journal

Rotary group tours Korea

By Caroline Lalley

Tuesday, 19 June 2007

Taking a month off from work can be a scheduling challenge, but Kyle Quanbeck highly recommends it. He recently spent four weeks in Daegu, Korea, on a Rotary group-study exchange trip.

From left are David Feuerstein and Kyle Quanbeck, both of Sioux Falls, a tour guide, Jessica Walters of Vermillion and Kate Campbell of Sioux Falls. In front is Doug Rohde of Denison, Iowa. (submitted photo)

He was one of four nonmembers led by Rotary member Catherine Campbell of Sioux Falls. During their stay, from March 26 to April 22, the group made tourist stops related to ruling dynasties, Buddhism and Confucianism, as well as visits to large and small businesses, Quanbeck said. That included Hyundai ship and car manufacturing operations and local Rotary members’ businesses, including a fruit distribution center and several restaurants.
“I was just very impressed by the Korean society,” said Quanbeck, project manager in the Wells Fargo student loans group. “Whether an executive or worker, there was an innate sense of pride in their work. They enjoy going to work every day. They aren’t looking at the clock or concerned about their wage.”
He has tried to apply that to his own life.

Kate Campbell, Kyle Quanbeck, David Feuerstein, Doug Rohde and Jessica Walters in Daegu, Korea, this spring. (submitted photo)

“I just try to at least factor that into my mentality,” Quanbeck said. “It’s not about the almighty dollar. At the end of the day, a job well done is something to be proud of no matter what you did.”
Next, the group will be sharing its experience through presentations to local Rotary chapters.
Rotary International funds the group-study exchanges as a cultural and vocational opportunity for professional men and women between the ages of 25 and 40.
Campbell said Rotary International sponsors the trips in the name of world peace and understanding.
“Rotary was so generous that everything from airfare to lodging was taken care of,” Quanbeck said. Much of the lodging was in various homes.

Members of the regional Rotary work-study exchange group visit a Korean member's fruit distribution plant in Daegu, Korea. (submitted photo)

The next trip is an exchange with Brazil. That country’s travelers will be here this fall, and the regional district’s group will go to Brazil in spring 2008. An announcement will be made in the fall for those interested in participating.

David Feuerstein, Kate Campbell, Kyle Quanbeck, Jessica Walters and Doug Rhode tour Korea. (submitted photo)

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