Changes In South Korea Research Articles

Assessment of the Spatial Invasion Risk of Intentionally Introduced Alien Plant Species (IIAPS) under Environmental Change in South Korea.

Simple SummaryThe spatial distribution and invasion risk of 10 intentionally introduced alien plant species (IIAPS) in South Korea were predicted from a species distribution model via a maximum entropy modeling approach. According to the model predictions, future environmental changes are likely to enlarge the range of the spatial distribution of all studied IIAPS in South Korea except Medicago sativa. We classified the IIAPS into three categories based on their spatial distribution and potential to spread; this revealed that four species (Coreopsis lanceolate, Eragrostis curvula, Ageratina altissima, and Lolium perenne) have the highest potential for invasion. Moreover, we classified invasion risk into three categories, low, moderate, and high, and estimated the area in each category. We found that, under current conditions, much of the country is at low risk (47.96%) of invasion, but by 2050 >54% of the country’s total area will be at high risk of invasion by IIAPS. Serious invasion of IIAPS into cropland, pastures, and forests results in the loss of native biodiversity and damage to the national economy. Therefore, immediate action is required to control and manage IIAPS in South Korea.Predicting the regions at risk of invasion from IIAPS is an integral horizon-scanning activity that plays a crucial role in preventing, controlling, and eradicating invasive species. Here, we quantify the spatial distribution area and invasion risk of IIAPS using a species distribution model under different levels of environmental change in South Korea. From the model predictions, the current average spatial extent of the 10 IIAPS is 33,948 km2, and the individual spatial extents are estimated to change by −7% to 150% by 2050 and by −9% to 156% by 2070. The spatial invasion risk assessment shows that, currently, moderate-to-high invasion risk is limited to coastal areas and densely populated metropolitan cities (e.g., Seoul, Busan, and Gwangju), but that the area with this level of risk is expected to spread toward the central and northern regions of the country in the future, covering 86.21% of the total area of the country by 2070. These results demonstrate that the risk of invasion by IIAPS is estimated to enlarge across the whole country under future environmental changes. The modeling system provided in this study may contribute to the initial control and strategic management of IIAPS to maintain the dynamic ecosystems of South Korea.

Outdoor thermal stress changes in South Korea: Increasing inter-annual variability induced by different trends of heat and cold stresses

Changes of thermal environment can lead to unfavorable impacts such as a decrease of thermal stratification, increase of energy consumption, and increase of thermal health risk. Investigating changes in outdoor thermal environments can provide meaningful information for addressing economic and social issues and related challenges. In this study, thermal environment changes in South Korea were investigated using a nonstationary two-component Gaussian mixture model (NSGMM) for air temperature and two thermal comfort indices. For this, the perceived temperature (PT) and universal thermal climate index (UTCI) were employed as the thermal comfort index. Thermal comfort indices were computed using observed meteorological data at 26 weather stations for 37 years in South Korea. Meanwhile, trends of thermal comforts in the warm and cool seasons were simultaneously modeled by the NSGMM. The results indicate significant increasing trends in thermal comfort indices for South Korea. The increasing trends in thermal comfort indices both the warm and cool seasons were detected while the magnitudes of the trends are significantly different. This difference between the magnitude of trends led to an increase in mean and inter-annual variability of thermal comfort indices based on PT, while an increase of mean and decrease of inter-annual variability were observed based on the UTCI. Moreover, the annual proportion of the category referring to days in comfort based on the results of PT has decreased due to the different trends of thermal comfort indices in the warm and cool seasons. This decrease may lead to an increase of thermal health risk that is larger than what would be expected from the results considering the increasing trend of the annual mean temperature in South Korea. From this result, it can be inferred that the thermal health risk in South Korea may be more adverse than what we originally expected from the current temperature trend.

Editors’ Introduction: Socio-Cultural and Political Changes in South Korea through a Discursive Lens

Editors’ Introduction: Socio-Cultural and Political Changes in South Korea through a Discursive Lens

Predicting Impacts of Climate Change on Northward Range Expansion of Invasive Weeds in South Korea.

Predicting the distribution of invasive weeds under climate change is important for the early identification of areas that are susceptible to invasion and for the adoption of the best preventive measures. Here, we predicted the habitat suitability of 16 invasive weeds in response to climate change and land cover changes in South Korea using a maximum entropy modeling approach. Based on the predictions of the model, climate change is likely to increase habitat suitability. Currently, the area of moderately suitable and highly suitable habitats is estimated to be 8877.46 km2, and 990.29 km2, respectively, and these areas are expected to increase up to 496.52% by 2050 and 1439.65% by 2070 under the representative concentration pathways 4.5 scenario across the country. Although habitat suitability was estimated to be highest in the southern regions (<36° latitude), the central and northern regions are also predicted to have substantial increases in suitable habitat areas. Our study revealed that climate change would exacerbate the threat of northward weed invasions by shifting the climatic barriers of invasive weeds from the southern region. Thus, it is essential to initiate control and management strategies in the southern region to prevent further invasions into new areas.

Association of Long Working Hours With Marital Status Changes in South Korea: A Cohort Study.

This study investigated the relationship between long working hours and the incidence of divorce or separation among Korean female and male workers. A cohort study was conducted in 125,108 Korean workers, married at baseline, who attended health examinations between 2012 and 2017 and had been followed annually or biennially until December 31, 2018. The weekly working hours and marital status changes were measured using self-administered questionnaires. This study was performed using sex stratification. In a multivariable-adjusted model, by comparing working hours->52 hours/week with 35 to 40 hours/week-the hazard ratios (95% confidence intervals) for incidents of divorce or separation were 1.60 (1.03-2.49) and 0.86 (0.66-1.12) in females and males, respectively. This study showed that long working hours could contribute to marital status changes in Korean female workers.

Potential Distribution of Amphibians with Different Habitat Characteristics in Response to Climate Change in South Korea

Simple SummaryAmphibian species are one of one of the groups most vulnerable to climate change according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Limited research has been conducted investigating the effects of climate change on amphibian species in South Korea. In our study, we aimed to predict the impacts of climate change on the distribution of 16 of the 18 species of amphibians currently reported in South Korea. Altogether, 30,281 occurrence points, six bioclimatic variables, and one environmental variable (altitude) were used in modeling. Moreover, we classified 16 Korean amphibians into three groups based on their habitat characteristics: wetland amphibians (Group 1), migrating amphibians (Group 2), and forest-dwelling amphibians (Group 3). Altitude has been predicted to be a major factor in present amphibian distributions in South Korea. In general, our results show that the seven species in Group 1 should be the most resistant to climate change. The five migrating amphibians (Group 2) should decline with preferred habitat reductions. The forest-dwelling amphibian species (Group 3) are the most vulnerable to climate change and their protection requires the immediate implementation of conservation strategies. We will continue to refine our model as it evolves into a useful tool for our endeavor to preserve South Korea’s amphibians as climate change progresses.Amphibian species are highly vulnerable to climate change with significant species decline and extinction predicted worldwide. However, there are very limited studies on amphibians in South Korea. Here, we assessed the potential impacts of climate change on different habitat groups (wetland amphibians, Group 1; migrating amphibians, Group 2; and forest-dwelling amphibians, Group 3) under future climate change and land cover change in South Korea using a maximum entropy modelling approach. Our study revealed that all amphibians would suffer substantial loss of suitable habitats in the future, except Lithobates catesbeianus, Kaloula borealis, and Karsenia koreana. Similarly, species richness for Groups 2 and 3 will decline by 2030, 2050, and 2080. Currently, amphibian species are widely distributed across the country; however, in future, suitable habitats for amphibians would be concentrated along the Baekdudaegan Mountain Range and the southeastern region. Among the three groups, Group 3 amphibians are predicted to be the most vulnerable to climate change; therefore, immediate conservation action is needed to protect them. We expect this study could provide crucial baseline information required for the government to design climate change mitigation strategies for indigenous amphibians.

Medical education adaptation in South Korea during the COVID-19 pandemic

Introduction: We describe the circumstances and adaptations in the South Korean medical education during the COVID-19 pandemic and discuss areas in need of improvement in preparation of a worsening situation or for similar future public health crises. Methods: Literature reviews, focusing on research papers about medical educational changes in South Korea during the COVID-19 pandemic were performed. Selective data collected from a nationwide online survey by the Korean Association of Medical Colleges on the status of curricular changes in medical schools during the COVID-19 was presented. Results: All lectures have moved online, but clinical students continued their hospital placements during the pandemic, except for the first 3-5 weeks during the first surge in 2020. Initial technical naivety of the faculty and lack of technical resources were short-lived and the medical students settled well showing a much higher than expected student satisfaction level over online education. Practical skills sessions which benefit most from onsite hands-on experiences such as anatomy dissection, were delivered through a blended approach in some medical school. Student evaluation is the area of least change, mainly due to the students’ lack of trust in online assessments. Conclusion: South Korea' underwent major changes in medical education brought upon COVID-19 and the readiness of the technology adoption has been much increased. Student evaluation is the area of least transformation. Adoption of a programmatic assessment system should be considered to enhance not only learning but also improve trust among stakeholders of medical schools.

The Secularisation Thesis Recast: Christianity in Modern China and South Korea

Abstract Steve Bruce’s and Karel Dobbelaere’s secularisation theses – that industrialisation, urbanisation, societalisation, and rationalisation erode religion on macro-, meso- and micro-levels – can be challenged by reference to the growth and vitality of Christianity in China and South Korea. Christianity propelled economic growth and political change in South Korea at the end of the twentieth century, and has recognised potential in China. Religious institutions play critical roles in contemporary South Korean and Chinese communities. Although in an economically dynamic age permeated by scientific thinking, Christianity thrives in the private sphere in China. The plateauing of the growth rate of South Korean Christianity in recent decades coincides with widespread stability and prosperity in the country, which may have reduced the psychological and practical needs for religion. Thus, the Secularisation Thesis ought to be recast: social stability and prosperity better explain religious decline than industrialisation, urbanisation, societalisation, and rationalisation.

Human-Perceived Temperature Changes in South Korea and Their Association with Atmospheric Circulation Patterns

AbstractThis study investigates the spatiotemporal characteristics of human-perceived temperature (HPT) data, which describe the joint effects of temperature and humidity on the human body, and examines the related large-scale atmospheric circulation patterns for the summer season (July–August) in South Korea using trend and composite analyses. The increasing trend of HPT was stronger than that of the maximum, mean, and minimum temperatures during 1981–2018. There was an abrupt change in HPT between 1981–2009 and 2010–18, which is likely caused by the northward upper-level subtropical jet, strengthened downward motion, anomalous anticyclones around South Korea, and increased sea surface temperature over the western North Pacific Ocean, which are related to the enhancement and western expansion of the western North Pacific subtropical high (WNPSH). These results highlight the importance of the activity of the WNPSH in the variability of HPT in South Korea. When the western edge of the WNPSH is located in the northwest, a positive geopotential height anomaly at 500 hPa is centered over South Korea, which is associated with high temperatures and low relative humidity. The southwestern extension of the WNPSH modifies the wind circulation pattern and brings warm and moist air from the West (Yellow) Sea along the ridge line of the WNPSH. Eventually, it leads to extreme HPT, associated with high relative humidity and temperature over South Korea, particularly in the southern part of the country. Therefore, we concluded that monitoring and predicting the location of WNPSH and understanding the mechanism and factors influencing the movement of WNPSH under global warming are necessary for predicting and coping with extreme HPT.

Družbena mobilizacija na lokalni ravni in preobrazba mest v Južni Koreji

Za Južno Korejo sta bila v preteklosti značilna hiter gospodarski in urbani razvoj, ki so ju spodbujali intervencionistična država in špekulativni trgi. Javnost je bila iz odločanja večinoma izključena. Na preobrazbo južnokorejskih mest so poleg tega vplivale obsežne rušitve revnih sosesk in nasilne deložacije prebivalcev. Tako so se na lokalni ravni pojavile različne oblike družbene mobilizacije, katerih cilj je bil zaščititi interese prebivalcev in lokalnih skupnosti ter uveljaviti njihovo skupno pravico do mesta. Članek obravnava razvoj skupnostnega gibanja na območju Geumho-Haengdang-Hawangsimni v Seulu kot primeru družbene mobilizacije na lokalni ravni. Kvalitativna študija primera temelji na longitudinalni analizi vzrokov za nastanek, ciljev, organiziranosti in delovanja skupnostnega gibanja, s čimer želimo celoviteje razumeti pomen družbene mobilizacije na lokalni ravni za preobrazbo južnokorejskih mest. Izsledki študije kažejo, da je skupnostno gibanje pomembno vplivalo na krepitev skupnostnega povezovanja in s tem na preobrazbo mesta na različnih ravneh. Poleg tega študija opozarja na protisloven položaj skupnostnih gibanj v razmerju do države, saj morajo za uresničitev svojih ciljev z njo dejavno sodelovati, a hkrati ohraniti svojo finančno, organizacijsko in politično samostojnost. Skupnostno gibanje na območju Geumho-Haengdang-Hawangsimni v Seulu je bilo pri tem razmeroma uspešno, zaradi česar lahko predstavlja zgled samostojnega in dolgoročno vzdržnega skupnostnega povezovanja v mestih.

Predicting the potential distribution of the subalpine broad-leaved tree species, Betula ermanii Cham. under climate change in South Korea

Predicting the potential distribution of the subalpine broad-leaved tree species, Betula ermanii Cham. under climate change in South Korea

지자체 기후변화 대응을 위한 지역별 기후변화의 특성분석: 장기 관측자료를 중심으로

We investigated regional climate changes in South Korea over the last 40 years (1980 ~ 2019). The country was divided into 10 areas of Seoul, Gyeonggi, Gangwon, Chungbuk, Chungnam, Jeonbuk, Jeonnam, Gyeongbuk, Gyeongnam, and Jeju. We used the regional climate data (daily temperature and precipitation) measured by Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) at 61 sites. There has been an annual average temperature increase of 1.4℃ for the last 40 years in Korea, with a range of +1.0℃ (Jeonnam) ~ +1.8℃ (Gangwon). The increases in annual minimum and maximum temperatures were even larger; the increase in annual maximum temperature was as high as 2.2℃ over a broad range of trends (+0.2℃ (Jeonnam) ~ +5.6℃ (Gyeonggi)). The change of annual total precipitation was not clear, but the southern part of Korea showed an increasing trend (Jeju(+206.4 mm/40years)), and the central part of Korea showed a decreasing trend (Chungnam (-119.6mm/40years)). The trend of annual temperature variability was negative in central Korea (Gyeonggi (-4.2℃/40 years)) and positive in southern Korea (Gyeongnam (+1.0℃ /40years)). The changes in the trends of monthly temperature variabilitiy differed by season; March (Gangwon (+0.1℃/40years) ~ Seoul (+3.6℃/40years)) and August (Jeju (-0.9℃/40 years) ~ Chungbuk (+2.9℃/40 years)) showed increasing trends due to the greater increase in maximum monthly temperatures. In comparison, September (Gyeongnam (-0.6℃/40 years) ~ Jeju (-3.5℃/40years)) and December (Seoul (+0.2℃/40 years) ~ Jeonbuk (-4.4℃/40 years)) showed decreasing trends due to the greater increase in minimum monthly temperatures. Those changes might cause different seasonal health impacts. Warming trends were noted in climate extreme indices over the last 40 years. For example, there was an almost one-month increase in the number of summer days (Tmax ≥ 25℃) in Seoul and 15-day increase in the number of tropical nights (Tmin ≥ 25℃) in Jeju. There was a similar decrease (14 days) in cold days (Tmin ≤ -12℃) in Gangwon. Our results show that regional differences in climate change over the last 40 years should be considered for establishing and implementing regional climate change adaptation policies.

Northward Range Expansion of Southern Butterflies According to Climate Change in South Korea

Climate change is one of the most influential factors on the range expansion of southern species into northern regions, which has been studied among insects, fish, birds and plants extensively in Europe and North America. However, in South Korea, few studies on the northward range expansion of insects, particularly butterflies, have been conducted. Therefore, we selected eight species of southern butterflies and calculated the potential species richness values and their range expansion in different provinces of Korea under two climate change scenarios (RCP 4.5 and RCP 8.5) using the maximum entropy (MaxEnt) modeling approach. Based on these model predictions, areas of suitable habitat, species richness, and species expansion of southern butterflies are expected to increase in provinces in the northern regions ( >36°N latitude), particularly in Chungcheongbuk, Gyeonggi, Gangwon, Incheon, and Seoul. In comparison to the current rate of habitat expansion, those in 2030, 2050, and 2080 were estimated to be 51.07 ~ 209.26%, 74.23 ~ 264.15%, and 62.32 ~ 858.95% higher, respectively. Our study revealed that southern butterflies are susceptible to climate change and that the northern habitat margin of southern butterflies is shifting northward.

Immigrants’ Attitude towards the Immigration Policy Change in South Korea

Immigrants’ Attitude towards the Immigration Policy Change in South Korea

Throwing Off the Corset: A Contemporary History of the Beauty Resistance Movement in South Korea

The tal-corset movement, a beauty resistance campaign, swept South Korea’s feminist sce-ne in 2018 and became a phenomenon bringing about unprecedented social changes in South Korea. This article explains sociocultural contexts to South Korea’s tal-corset move-ment through group interviews and examination of online materials. It documents the contemporary history of the development of the movement from a feminist perspective. Findings show that movement participants see beauty practice as social oppression imposed on women’s bodies and appearances and the marker of women’s low social status. The new wave of an online feminist movement that emerged in 2015 created women-only communities that enabled South Korean women to share their personal experiences as women and to reach the conclusion that in order to reject femininity and sexual objectifi-cation of women, they needed to take off the corset collectively. Awareness was manifested by encouraging other women to reject beauty practice and display their own tal-corset prac-tice online and offline. This article argues that tal-corset movement is a feminist political movement that aims to eradicate femininity as social oppression. Female solidarity and connectedness played an essential role in forming the rationale and the tactics of the movement.

Prediction of Plant Phenological Shift under Climate Change in South Korea

Information on the phenological shift of plants can be used to detect climate change and predict changes in the ecosystem. In this study, the changes in first flowering dates (FFDs) of the plum tree (Prunus mume), Korean forsythia (Forsythia koreana), Korean rosebay (Rhododendron mucronulatum), cherry tree (Prunus yedoensis), and peach tree (Prunus persica) in Korea during 1920–2019 were investigated. In addition, the changes in the climatic factors (temperature and precipitation) and their relationship with the FFDs were analyzed. The changes in the temperature and precipitation during the January–February–March period and the phenological shifts of all research species during 1920–2019 indicate that warm and dry spring weather advances the FFDs. Moreover, the temperature has a greater impact on this phenological shift than precipitation. Earlier flowering species are more likely to advance their FFDs than later flowering species. Hence, the temporal asynchrony among plant species will become worse with climate change. In addition, the FFDs in 2100 were predicted based on representative concentration pathway (RCP) scenarios. The difference between the predicted FFDs of the RCP 4.5 and RCP 6.0 for 2100 was significant; the effectiveness of greenhouse gas policies will presumably determine the degree of the plant phenological shift in the future. Furthermore, we presented the predicted FFDs for 2100.

Future drought analysis using SPI and EDDI to consider climate change in South Korea

Abstract Prediction of drought is important for efficient water management, as the occurrence of droughts affects large areas over a long period. According to various climate change scenarios, it is reported that in the future, Korea's climate is likely to increase in temperature with increasing rainfall. This increase in temperature will have a big impact on evapotranspiration. The occurrence of drought begins mainly with two causes: lack of rainfall or an increase in evapotranspiration. Therefore, in this study, the impact of climate change on future droughts is revealed through the Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) and the Evaporative Demand Drought Index (EDDI). These two drought indices with different characteristics are used to examine the trend of future drought, and a drought Severity-Duration-Frequency (SDF) curve was derived to quantitatively analyze the depth of future drought. Future droughts are projected by applying future climate data generated from various climate models.

The Impact of Foreign SO2 Emissions on Aerosol Direct Radiative Effects in South Korea

This study examined the impact of foreign SO2 emission changes on the aerosol direct radiative effects (ADRE) in South Korea. Simulations that applied basic emissions (BASE) and simulations that applied reduced SO2 emissions from foreign sources (R_FSO2) were performed, respectively, using the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF)-Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) two-way coupled model. In addition, the difference between the two experimental results was calculated (i.e., R_FSO2 minus BASE) to quantitatively identify the impact of foreign SO2 emission reduction. The reduction in foreign SO2 emissions caused a decrease in the concentration of SO2 flowing in from overseas to South Korea. As a result, a clear decrease in SO42− concentration was shown mainly in the southwest coast of South Korea. The difference in PM2.5 concentration in South Korea according to the foreign SO2 emission reduction did not correspond to the difference in SO42− concentration; it was determined in a complex way by the changes in SO42− concentration caused by SO2 concentration changes, and the subsequent series of changes in NO3− and NH4+ concentrations. The differences in SO42− and PM2.5 concentrations caused by the foreign SO2 reduction also affected the ADRE changes in South Korea. The distribution of ADRE difference between the two experiments was not consistent with the distribution of PM2.5 concentration difference, but it was very similar to the distribution of SO42− concentration difference. These results imply that the ADRE of South Korea is not simply proportional to PM2.5 concentration and may be determined by concentration changes of SO42−.

Potential Distribution of Goldenrod (Solidago altissima L.) during Climate Change in South Korea

Predictions of suitable habitat areas within a specific region can provide important information to assist in the management of invasive plants. Here, we predict the current and future potential distribution of Solidago altissima (tall goldenrod) in South Korea using climatic and topographic variables and anthropogenic activities. We adopt four single models (the generalized linear model, generalized additive model, random forest, and an artificial neural network) and a weighted ensemble model for the projection based on 515 field survey points. The results showed that suitable areas for S. altissima were mainly concentrated in the southwest regions of South Korea, where temperatures are higher than in other regions, especially in the winter season. Solar radiation and Topographic Wetness Index (TWI) were also positively associated with the occurrence of S. altissima. Anthropogenic effects and distances from rivers were found to be relatively less important variables. Based on six selected explanatory variables, suitable habitat areas for S. altissima have expanded remarkably with climate changes. This range expansion is likely to be stronger northward in west coastal areas. For the SSP585 scenario, our model predicted that suitable habitat areas increased from 16,255 km2 (16.2% of South Korea) to 44,551 km2 (44.4%) approximately over the past thirty years. Our results show that S. altissima is highly likely to expand into non-forest areas such as roadsides, waterfront areas, and abandoned urban areas. We propose that, based on our projection maps, S. altissima should be removed from its current margin areas first rather than from old central population areas.

The effect of delaying school start time on adolescents’ time use and health: evidence from a policy change in South Korea

ABSTRACT This paper examines how delaying school start time to 9 o’clock affected the time use and health of secondary-school students in South Korea. To identify the causal effects of delaying school start time, we used a difference-in-differences methodology with two nationally representative datasets to take advantage of a unique natural experiment in South Korea. We found that the policy led students to sleep 16.1 min more on weekdays and 7.6 min less a day over the weekend, increasing sleep satisfaction among the affected students. Furthermore, the policy contributed to increased growth and improved mental health. However, the effects of the policy were not uniform across subgroups. In terms of time use, students from the highest socioeconomic group increased their sleep duration most. In contrast, students from the middle and lowest socioeconomic categories increased their use of electronic devices and decreased their study time compared to students from the highest socioeconomic group. We provide evidence that these behavioural differences by socioeconomic group could be related to the degree of parental monitoring and available economic resources.