PYEONGTAEK, South Korea -- Nowadays when Kim Hoon strolls along the streams that run through his hometown, he notices clouds of vapor rising off the water's surface.
The streams flow between growing clusters of semiconductor factories in what not long ago was a quiet community of farmers growing cabbages and green onions. The plumes of frothy mist are created when hot wastewater from the chip plants comes into contact with the cold of the stream.
