"Beoseul Sweat" on New Year's Day...a molten iron furnace

[Anchor]
On New Year's Day, there will be many people who left home for work as usual.

Employees of POSCO Pohang Steelworks, which makes iron, the root of our industry, also welcomed the new year by extracting hot metal.

There is a reporter on the scene.

Reporter Hwang Bo Hye-kyung, please tell us the first morning scene of the new year.

[Journalist]
You'll see a red metal coming out of the furnace behind me.

This is Pohang Steel Mill's 2nd furnace.

The metal, which reaches 1,500℃, is boiling nonstop 365 days a year.

Employees wrapped all over in silver thermal suits are guarding the furnace as usual.

Pohang Steelworks has been pumping out molten metal for more than 50 years since 1973.

Since 2017, artificial intelligence has been introduced to transform into a smart furnace.

Previously, if humans had to measure the composition of iron ore and coal, which are the raw materials for iron, and the temperature inside the furnace,

Cameras and sensors are now replacing this task and turning it into data.

This reduced quality deviations and increased daily metal production by 240 tons from the previous one.

Pohang Steelworks alone produces 14 million tons of steel products a year.

Iron is also called the 'rice of industry' because it is used throughout our lives and industries, from smartphones to satellites.

However, the steel industry is being hit hard by the downturn in the domestic construction industry and China's offensive on cheap steel products.

In the end, Pohang Steelworks also stopped operating two factories last year.

Despite this crisis, the steel industry is a strong support for our economy as the root of the manufacturing industry.

I hope this year will be a year for our companies to overcome difficulties and take a leap forward like the flame of a furnace here that does not go out.

So far, I'm YTN Hwang Bo Hye-kyung in Pohang Steelworks' 2nd furnace.

a photographer for
; Yoon So-jung