Naval and ocean engineering boasts a massive industrial scale and plays a pivotal role in the national economy. In this blog post, we will explore the current status and future growth potential of naval and ocean engineering.
The Department of Naval and Ocean Engineering. This term is likely unfamiliar to many. While most people know that Korea is a leading shipbuilding nation, few are aware that there is actually a department dedicated to naval and ocean engineering. In fact, such departments exist at only five universities in the country. To gain a deeper understanding of this field, it is important to recognize that naval and ocean engineering involves much more than simply building ships. This field covers the entire lifecycle of a ship—from design and production to operation and maintenance—and integrates various academic disciplines such as physics, mechanics, electrical engineering, and materials science throughout the process. This interdisciplinary approach is what makes Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering so compelling.
As the name implies, a key distinguishing feature of the Department of Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering is its direct connection to the shipbuilding industry. In other words, the discipline is clearly linked to a specific industry. However, the department’s scope extends far beyond simply designing and building ships. For example, it also involves highly complex tasks such as the design of offshore structures, which is closely related to the development of cutting-edge technologies like offshore wind turbines and marine plants. Another major characteristic of the Department of Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering that I would like to emphasize is its sheer scale. To put it in perspective, imagine the Empire State Building (443 meters) lying horizontally on the water. Ships of that size are being built at Korean shipyards at a rate of well over 100 per year. Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering is the very discipline that underpins this.
The container ship recently launched by Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering is the world’s largest, with a capacity of 18,000 TEU (1 TEU equals one 20-foot container). With a hull length of 400 meters and a width of 59 meters, its deck area is equivalent to four soccer fields combined. It is a ship capable of carrying 18,000 containers—each 6 meters long and 2.5 meters high—all at once. Just as its scale is immense, its price far exceeds the imagination of the average person. High-value-added vessels, such as drill ships that float on the ocean and drill down to a depth of 3,165 meters, or FPSOs (Floating Production, Storage, and Offloading units)—floating refineries that perform all operations from refining to storing, transporting, and unloading deep-sea crude oil—can cost anywhere from approximately 600 billion won to over 2.5 trillion won per unit. Recently, just as the world has become increasingly focused on energy, the offshore plant sector—which develops subsea resources—now accounts for 75% of orders in the shipbuilding industry. This scale and complexity clearly demonstrate why naval architecture and ocean engineering is so important and why experts in this field are in such high demand.
It is precisely because of this immense scale, coupled with the need for safety and precision, that the discipline of naval architecture and ocean engineering is essential. Since ships travel on the ocean, research on fluids—including waves—is crucial. In particular, research on waves is a defining characteristic of naval and ocean engineering that distinguishes it from other fields. This includes studying the impact of waves on ships and the flow of fluids as the ship moves. Because this research directly affects a ship’s fuel efficiency and safety, it is an essential consideration in the ship design process. Designing a ship that minimizes resistance and maximizes stability is a highly challenging task in itself. In addition, there are numerous other fields, such as ship control, noise, and research on overall production.
Actually, the reason I ended up majoring in Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering was purely by chance. To be honest, I never thought from a young age that I would pursue this field. Most students in Korea spend their elementary, middle, and high school years worrying about which university to attend, but they rarely think deeply about the path they should take. I was one of those students. Then, during my senior year of high school, I happened to learn that a Department of Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering existed, and that’s how I ended up enrolling. However, now that I’m actually here, I keep thinking that this is truly a great department. It offers both economic viability and future potential, and given its large scale, there is a wide variety of fields and careers to choose from within it.
Since choosing the Department of Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering, I’ve had many opportunities to reflect deeply on its importance and future prospects. For instance, after graduating from this department, I’ll have opportunities to work in various fields, including not only ship design but also marine energy development, offshore structure design, and deep-sea exploration technology development. In particular, due to global climate change, eco-friendly ship design and the marine renewable energy sector are becoming increasingly important. My dream is to grow into an expert who leads these changes.
Among the many paths available, I want to study both Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering and Chemical Engineering. It is undeniably true that South Korea is a world leader in the shipbuilding industry. Furthermore, the fact that petroleum products—not semiconductors, displays, or mobile phones—are among the top export items in Korea demonstrates the strength of the petroleum industry. However, those who major solely in Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering or Chemical Engineering often lack understanding of each other’s fields. Therefore, I believe that studying these two fields simultaneously will create a bridge between them, resulting in significant synergy. Moreover, as mentioned earlier, given the global community’s sustained interest in energy resources, competition in the global petroleum market is bound to intensify.
Against this backdrop, I believe that the business of drilling for crude oil on the seabed will experience a tremendous boom as time goes on. This is an area that requires the convergence of naval architecture and chemical engineering, offering great potential to create new opportunities. By doing so, I hope to contribute to further solidifying the position that our predecessors have established for South Korea as the world leader in the shipbuilding industry. I also believe it is my role to ensure that the students following in my footsteps can build a foundation that will allow them to advance even further in the future. My ultimate goal is to contribute, even in a small way, to South Korean society through my efforts in the field of Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering.
