Cities In South Korea Research Articles

The Regional Uneven Development and the State Intervention to Reshape the Spatial Hierarchy

The central question in this study concerns the way in which the state intervention is strong enough to reverse the tide of regional uneven development that has been intentionally created by the state. To answer the question, we conduct a case study of the Innovation Cities in South Korea. We use the K-means Cluster Analysis and a Two-way Analysis of Variance with well-defined three indices on regional economic competitiveness. The results reveal that the development of Innovation Cities does not have a desirable impact on converging the regional disparity between core and periphery regions. At best, the regional gap has not widened. The outcomes also imply that the trickle-down effects have not been observed during the time-period of study. The findings suggest that policymakers carefully consider diverse full-factors toward periphery regions with consideration of the regional heterogeneity rather than focusing on the homogeneous approach.

Epidemiological Characteristics of Paediatric Eye Injuries in a Large Metropolitan City in South Korea: A Multicentre, Prospective Study

ABSTRACT Purpose The aim of this study was to identify the epidemiological characteristics of paediatric eye injury in a large metropolitan city based on age group and sex. Methods This prospective, multicentre, observational study used data extracted from the eye injury registry for tertiary teaching hospitals in Daegu, South Korea, between August 2016 and July 2018. Children aged < 16 years were classified as infants, pre-schoolers, school children, and adolescents based on their age group. Results This study included 502 patients; most eye injuries occurred among boys (n = 349, 69.5%) and school children (n = 168, 33.5%). Unstructured play (n = 268, 53.4%) was the most common cause of eye injury, followed by sports (n = 69, 13.7%) and home activities (n = 52, 10.4%). Among adolescent boys, eye injuries were mostly caused by sports activities (n = 49, 37.7%), including soccer and basketball. Only 1 out of 69 children wore protective eyewear during sports activities. Eye injuries occurred most often in school (n = 63, 41.2%) during adolescence and at home (n = 270, 53.8%) in most other age groups. Conclusion Eye injuries were more common in boys. Boys and girls had relatively higher proportion of eye injuries during sports and home activities, respectively. In infants to school children, eye injuries mainly occurred at home and by unstructured play, whereas in adolescents, they mostly occurred at school and during sports activities. To prevent eye injuries sustained during sports in adolescents, wearing personal protective equipment during high-risk exercise in schools or sports facilities is recommended.

Comparison of Building Simulation Methods for Modeling Apartment Balconies

The purpose of this study is to compare the load calculation results by a model using the air changes per hour (ACH) method and a model using an airflow network (AFN) and to ascertain what causes the difference between the two models. In the basic case study, the difference in the heat transfer distribution of the model in the interior space was investigated. The most significant difference between the two models is the heat transfer that results from infiltration. Parameter analysis was performed to investigate the relationship between the difference and the environmental variables. The result shows that the greater the difference is between the air temperature inside the balcony and the outdoor air temperature, and the greater the air flows from the balcony to the residential area, and the greater the heating and cooling load difference occurs. The analysis using the actual weather files of five domestic cities in South Korea rather than a virtual case shows that the differences are not so obvious when the wind blows at a constant speed throughout the year, but are dominant when the wind does not blow during the night and is stronger alongside the occurrence of sunlight during the day.

Machine-assessed tar yield marketing on cigarette packages from two cities in South Korea.

INTRODUCTIONSouth Koreans continue to smoke at high rates. Tobacco manufacturers have a history of branding cigarettes with misleading descriptors including the introduction of low or ultra-low tar brand variants. The government bans traditional misleading descriptors (low, mild) but requires the presence of machine-assessed tar yields on cigarette packages. Literature suggests the presence of quantitative constituents can be misleading for smokers. We analyzed the machine-assessed tar value branding and the presence of additional branding that highlight tar levels on South Korean cigarette packs.METHODSIn August 2018, we analyzed 178 unique cigarette packs purchased in Seoul and Busan, South Korea using a systematic protocol. Cigarette packs were coded for tar levels and classified as ultra-low, low, mid, and high tar. The presence of misleading descriptors and any additional branding relating to tar or potentially indicating strength were also coded.RESULTSMachine-assessed tar yields ranged from 0.1 to 8 mg. Cigarettes with a 1 mg machine-assessed tar yield accounted for 38% of all packs purchased. A majority (80%) of packs with tar values <3 mg had additional marketing present on the pack that highlighted tar yields, compared to 45% for packs with tar values 3 mg or greater. Many (85%) of the 1 mg packs and all of the 0.1 and 0.5 mg packs had additional marketing present that referenced tar levels.CONCLUSIONSThese findings suggest that tobacco manufacturers are highlighting and reinforcing the tar yields of lower tar cigarettes by the deliberate use of tar level branding. These actions have the potential to mislead South Korean consumers that some cigarettes are less harmful than others. Strengthening of tobacco packaging regulations to prohibit references to tar yields on packs are needed to further protect consumers.

Different Characteristics of PM2.5 Measured in Downtown and Suburban Areas of a Medium-Sized City in South Korea

Chuncheon, a medium-sized city in South Korea, frequently shows high PM2.5 concentrations despite scarce anthropogenic emission sources. To identify factors increasing PM2.5 concentrations, PM2.5 and its major chemical components were concurrently measured at two different sites, namely, downtown and suburban areas. The average PM2.5 concentrations at the two sites were similar, but the daily and monthly variations in PM2.5 and its components were significantly larger at the suburban site. NH4+ was significantly higher at the suburban site than at the downtown site, whereas organic carbon (OC) showed the opposite trend. Several PM2.5 samples showed an abrupt increase during winter at the suburban site, along with an increase in the amount of OC, NH4+, and K+, and the correlations between water-soluble OC, K+, and NH4+ were considerably strong, implying that local biomass burning in the suburban site was an important source of high PM2.5 episodes. Secondary OC (SOC) concentration was generally lower at the suburban site than at the downtown site, but its contribution to OC increased during winter with an increase in relative humidity, indicating the significance of heterogeneous SOC formation reactions at the suburban site. These results indicate that relevant local measures can be put into place to alleviate the occurrence of high PM2.5 concentration episodes even in medium-sized residential cities where medium-and long-range transport is anticipated to be significant.

An Analysis of the Effects of Development-Restricted Areas on Land Price Using Spatial Analysis

The purpose of this study was to estimate the effects of development-restricted areas (DRAs) on land price. The study area used was Goyang city in South Korea, where DRAs occupy a large proportion of the city’s administrative area. To examine the economic impact of the DRA, this study estimated log-linear regression models and calculated the difference between the land price determined within the DRA and the land price of the developed areas within buffers created by using a geographic information system (GIS). The results showed that a designation of DRA decreased land price, and that there was a large difference in the land price between the inner and the outer DRA, with a difference of USD 871/m2 in the average land price of the study area. These results serve as a reference for policymakers regarding land use in metropolitan areas in the future.

PENGEMBANGAN EKONOMI KREATIF SEBAGAI PARADIPLOMASI KOTA METROPOLITAN SEOUL

Seoul Metropolitan City is one of the metropolitan cities in South Korea, which able to perceive its interest with self-government in international activities. Seoul Metropolitan City government has implemented paradiplomacy to develop its creative economy which is limited to aspects of music, drama, and fashion. This article uses qualitative methods with literature studies to support the required data. This article also seeks to describe the paradiplomacy carried out by the Seoul Metropolitan City government with self-government in a unitary state with a literature review covering transgovernmentalism, foreign relations, paradiplomacy, and creative economy. Besides, the authors also argue that the Seoul Metropolitan City government could optimize its potential with policies or actions taken by the Seoul Metropolitan City government on the aspects of music, drama, and fashion towards the global public.

A comparative study on changes in the use of heat-not-burn tobacco products based on whether apartment buildings have designated non-smoking areas.

INTRODUCTIONSince 2016, multi-family housing developments in South Korea can designate public areas such as staircases, elevator, corridors, and underground parking lots as non-smoking areas if at least half of the households residing in the development agree. This study investigated whether there were changes in the use of heat-not-burn tobacco products (HnB) based on whether non-smoking areas were introduced in multi-family housing developments.METHODSAn online survey of 1200 apartment residents (599 men and 601 women) in seven metropolitan cities in South Korea was conducted from 10 to 18 October 2018.RESULTSAmong the 1200 people who completed the survey, 493 were smokers (351 men and 142 women), of whom 287 (195 men and 92 women) were currently using HnB. In total, 51.5% (n=148) of the HnB users reported that their smoking frequency inside (n=75) or outside (n=73) the apartment building increased after using HnB, whereas the smoking frequency of 27.5% (n=79) decreased and that of 20.9% (n=6) remained unchanged. Of the HnB users, 25.4% (n=73) were currently living in non-smoking apartments, of whom 39.7% reported that the smoking frequency outside the apartment building increased. On the other hand, of 214 people who did not currently reside in non-smoking apartments, 30.4% reported that the smoking frequency in the apartment increased.CONCLUSIONSFor smokers to quit smoking, the expansion of non-smoking areas should be accompanied by the facilitation of a smoke-free atmosphere and a smoking-cessation service for smokers.

Estimation of Heat-Attributable Mortality Using the Cross-Validated Best Temperature Metric in Switzerland and South Korea.

This study presents a novel method for estimating the heat-attributable fractions (HAF) based on the cross-validated best temperature metric. We analyzed the association of eight temperature metrics (mean, maximum, minimum temperature, maximum temperature during daytime, minimum temperature during nighttime, and mean, maximum, and minimum apparent temperature) with mortality and performed the cross-validation method to select the best model in selected cities of Switzerland and South Korea from May to September of 1995–2015. It was observed that HAF estimated using different metrics varied by 2.69–4.09% in eight cities of Switzerland and by 0.61–0.90% in six cities of South Korea. Based on the cross-validation method, mean temperature was estimated to be the best metric, and it revealed that the HAF of Switzerland and South Korea were 3.29% and 0.72%, respectively. Furthermore, estimates of HAF were improved by selecting the best city-specific model for each city, that is, 3.34% for Switzerland and 0.78% for South Korea. To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first to observe the uncertainty of HAF estimation originated from the selection of temperature metric and to present the HAF estimation based on the cross-validation method.

Cyberbullying, student nurses' ethical awareness and the Covid-19 pandemic.

The global COVID-19 pandemic has increased cyber communication, causing nursing students' clinical practice to be held in cyberspace. Thus, it is essential to ensure that nursing students develop comprehensive cyber ethics awareness. Moreover, cyberbullying is becoming more widespread and is an increasingly relevant new concept. This study aimed to assess the experiences of cyberbullying among nursing students during clinical practice and determine the effects of cyberbullying victimization and cyber environments on their cyber ethics awareness. Data for this descriptive cross-sectional study were collected in July 2020 using a self-reported questionnaire and analyzed using hierarchical regression. The study included data from 291 nursing students with more than 6 months of clinical experience who were enrolled in two nursing universities in two cities in South Korea. This study was conducted after obtaining approval from the Institutional Review Board of G University. Written, informed consent was obtained from all participants. Cyberbullying victimization experiences during clinical practice were few. The most common cyberbullies of work- and person-related cyberbullying were nurses and classmates, respectively. Cyber ethics awareness was affected by cyber anonymity and the perceived seriousness of cyberbullying; cyberbullying related to clinical practices was a new factor that significantly affected cyber ethics awareness. Hospitals and nursing universities should develop a multi-dimensional, comprehensive, and effective nursing intervention education program to be integrated into the nursing curriculum to enhance cyber ethics awareness and reduce cyberbullying of nursing students.

Short-term exposure to air pollution and hospital admission for heart failure among older adults in metropolitan cities: a time-series study.

We aimed to investigate the association between air pollution concentration levels and hospital admissions for heart failure (HF) among older adults in metropolitan cities in South Korea. We used hospital admission data of 1.8 million older adults in seven metropolitan cities from 2008 to 2016, derived from the National Health Insurance Service of South Korea. Daily HF admission data were linked to air pollutants concentrations for the respective dates, including particulate matter less than 2.5μm in size (PM2.5), 10 μm (PM10), sulfur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), carbon monoxide (CO), and ozone. We estimated the association between air pollutants and daily HF admissions using quasi-Poisson generalized additive models for each city. During the study period, 142,490 hospital admissions for HF were noted. Increases of 10μg/m3 of PM2.5 and PM10, and 10ppb of SO2, NO2, and CO were associated with an increased risk of HF admission by 0.93% ([95% confidence intervals 0.51-1.36], 0.55% [0.31-0.80], 6.04% [2.15-10.08], 1.10% [0.38-1.82], and 0.05% [0.01-0.09]), respectively, on the same day. Increases in mean exposure to PM2.5, PM10, and SO2 for 8days from the concurrent day were also significantly associated with HF admissions. During the warm season, the risk of HF admissions increased shortly after an increase in PM2.5, whereas prolonged effects were observed during the cold season. Our study suggests the adverse effects of air pollution on HF. Moreover, the evidence of seasonality may help tailor protection guidelines for older adults.

Factors Affecting Nursing Students' Practice of Medical Information Protection.

Infringement of personal medical information can lead to psychological, social, and economic damages; legal repercussions; information abuse; and invasion of patients' privacy. This study identified the effects of nursing students' ethical inclination, knowledge, and perception on their medical information protection practice. Participants were third- and fourth-year students of one nursing college in a city in South Korea. Participants' perception of the importance of medical information protection was correlated with their practice of medical information protection (r = 0.62, P < .001), and their ethical inclination toward idealism was correlated with perceived need to protect medical information (r = 0.18, P = .049). The perception of the need for medical information protection was a significant predictor of the practice of medical information protection (R2 = 0.39, P < .001). Findings suggested that nursing students' perception of medical information protection affected their practice of information protection. Therefore, measures to improve nursing students' perception of the importance of medical information protection might be useful to improve their practice of information protection in clinical settings. There is an urgent need to identify the barriers to the practice of medical information protection, and ongoing training on medical information protection should be included in nursing courses.

Health literacy and diabetes self-care activities: The mediating effect of knowledge and patient activation.

An association between health literacy and health outcomes has been widely reported in the literature. However, models exploring the links between health literacy and the outcomes of health literacy need further testing. The purpose of this study was to examine the pathways of health literacy on diabetes self-care activities amongst patients with Type 2 diabetes. A cross-sectional survey using secondary data analysis was conducted on 155 patients with Type 2 diabetes recruited from the diabetes clinics of two university hospitals in a metropolitan city in South Korea. Structural equation modelling analysis using bootstrapping was carried out using the AMOS software. Health literacy had no significant direct effect on diabetes self-care activities. Rather, health literacy had a significant indirect effect on diabetes self-care activities mediated through diabetes knowledge and patient activation. These findings indicate that interventions intended to improve self-care activity amongst older adults with low health literacy should include strategies to enhance patients' knowledge, as well as their activation for diabetes self-care.

Clustering of South Korean Adolescents' Health-Related Behaviors by Gender: Using a Latent Class Analysis.

Background: Health-related behaviors during adolescence could influence adolescents’ health outcomes, leading to either advantageous or deteriorative conditions. Clustering of adolescents’ health-related behaviors by gender identifies the target groups for intervention and informs the strategies to be implemented for behavioral changes. Methods: Data from 1807 adolescents in grades 7 and 10 in a city in South Korea were used. Health-related behaviors including eating habits, physical activity, hand washing, brushing teeth, drinking alcohol, smoking, and Internet use were examined. Latent class analysis (LCA) was used to identify subgroups of adolescents with regard to their health-related behaviors. Results: A four-class model was the most adequate grouping classification across genders: adolescents with (1) healthy behaviors, (2) neither health-promoting nor health-risk behaviors, (3) good hygiene behaviors, and (4) unhealthy behaviors. The majority of both male and female adolescents were classified into the healthy group. Male adolescents belonging to the healthy group were more likely to engage in vigorous physical activities, while vigorous physical activity was not important for female adolescents. The smallest group was the unhealthy group, regardless of gender; however, the proportion of boys in the unhealthy group was almost twice that of girls. Only female adolescents engaged in excessive Internet use, especially the group with neither health-promoting nor health-risk behaviors. Conclusion: To improve adolescents’ health-related behaviors, it would be more effective to develop tailored interventions considering the behavioral profiles of the target groups.

Inter- and intra-city comparisons of PM2.5 concentration changes under COVID-19\xa0social distancing in seven major cities of South Korea

The COVID-19 pandemic has prompted governments around the world to impose mitigation strategies of unprecedented scales, typically involving some form of restrictions on social activities and transportation. The South Korean government has been recommending a collection of guidelines now known as social distancing, leading to reduced human activities. This study analyzes changes in the concentrations of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) during the 30-day periods before and since the start of social distancing on 29 February 2020 using measurement data from air quality monitoring stations at various locations of the seven major cities of South Korea, namely, Seoul, Busan, Incheon, Daegu, Daejeon, Gwangju, and Ulsan. All seven cities experienced decreased levels of PM2.5 concentration by up to 25% and smaller fluctuations during the period of social distancing. Inter-city comparisons show that the PM2.5 concentration changes are positively correlated with the city-wide PM2.5 emission fractions for mobile sources and negatively correlated with the city-wide PM2.5 emission fractions for combustion and industrial process sources. In addition, the meteorological influences favorable for transboundary pollutant transport have weakened during the period under COVID-19 social distancing. Intra-city comparisons show that decreases in the intra-city variability of PM2.5 concentration were larger in coastal cities than in inland cities. Comparisons between the inter- and intra-city variabilities in the PM2.5 concentration changes under social distancing highlight the importance of taking into account intra-city variabilities in addition to inter-city variabilities.

A Structural Model of Life Satisfaction for Middle Aged or Older People Living Alone

Purpose This study aimed to construct and test a hypothetical model of the life satisfaction of middle-aged and older people living alone.<br/> Methods Data were collected from 214 participants in one city of South Korea from the 20th to 31st of March 2019. The assessment tools included laughter, dependency, loneliness, depression, and life satisfaction. Data were analyzed using the SPSS 25.0 and AMOS 26.0 programs.<br/> Results The modified model was a good fit for the data. The model fit indices were x2=44.51 (p<.05), the Comparative Fit Index (CFI)=.97, Tucker-Lewis Index (TLI)=.96, and Root Mean Square Error of Approximation (RMSEA)=.06. Depression was directly influenced by dependency (β=.14, p=.005), laugh (β=-.28, p=.002), and loneliness (β=.48, p<.001). Loneliness mediated the relations among laugh, dependency, and depression. Loneliness (β=-.34, p<.001), and depression (β=-.39, p<.001) had direct effects on life satisfaction.<br/> Conclusion These results suggest that the level of laughter and dependency is highly associated with negative emotions such as loneliness and depression in middle-aged and older people living alone. Depression and loneliness decreased life satisfaction. Nursing interventions are needed to alleviative negative emotions and increase life satisfaction by building a meticulous monitoring and supportive system that considers individual subjects. Key Words: Aged, Life, Models, Structural

Development of Children’s Perspective-Taking and Empathy through Bullying-Themed Books and Role-Playing

ABSTRACT This study examines how reading bullying-themed children’s picture books and role-playing based on these books help young children develop perspective-taking abilities and empathy as well as understanding of bullying. Twenty-one 5-year-old children enrolled in a Flower Garden childcare center located in a metropolitan city in South Korea participated in this study, as well as their teacher Ms. Min. Over the course of six weeks, six role-playing activities based on the bully-themed picture books were implemented according to the following four steps: (1) story reading and discussion, (2) planning for role-playing, (3) role-playing, and (4) reflection. Findings showed that children initially did not convey much empathy toward victims of bullying. As the book readings and role-playing progressed, however, children considered different perspectives, made connections with their own experiences, and expressed sympathy. They used various vocalization, facial expressions, and physical movements to express their feelings during the role-playing activities. Furthermore, they offered their own ideas about what actions should be taken to solve bullying issues.

Statistical Road-Traffic Noise Mapping Based on Elementary Urban Forms in Two Cities of South Korea

Statistical models that can generate a road-traffic noise map for a city or area where only elementary urban design factors are determined, and where no concrete urban morphology, including buildings and roads, is given, can provide basic but essential information for developing a quiet and sustainable city. Long-term cost-effective measures for a quiet urban area can be considered at early city planning stages by using the statistical road-traffic noise map. An artificial neural network (ANN) and an ordinary least squares (OLS) model were developed by utilizing data on urban form indicators, based on a 3D urban model and road-traffic noise levels from a normal noise map of city A (Gwangju). The developed ANN and OLS models were applied to city B (Cheongju), and the resultant statistical noise map of city B was compared to an existing normal road-traffic noise map of city B. The urban form indicators that showed multi-collinearity were excluded by the OLS model, and among the remaining urban forms, road-related urban form indicators such as traffic volume and road area density were found to be important variables to predict the road-traffic noise level and to design a quiet city. Comparisons of the statistical ANN and OLS noise maps with the normal noise map showed that the OLS model tends to under-estimate road-traffic noise levels, and the ANN model tends to over-estimate them.

Development of the business feasibility evaluation model for a profitable P2P electricity trading by estimating the optimal trading price

For the market participants (i.e., energy consumers and prosumers) in a microgrid to acquire profits via trading surplus electricity, it is essential to determine an appropriate trading price of electricity. Therefore, this study developed a business feasibility evaluation model to predict the optimal trading price of electricity that maximizes the profits of both the market participants participating in the Peer-to-Peer (P2P) electricity trading, by reflecting the structure of electricity market in South Korea. The residential areas located in the seven metropolitan cities in South Korea (Seoul, Incheon, Daejeon, Daegu, Ulsan, Busan, and Gwangju) were selected for the model application. The main findings from the model application are as follows. First, the annual electricity generation of the solar photovoltaic (PV) panel was highest in Daegu (5,541 kWh) and lowest in Seoul (3,569 kWh). In addition, the electricity generation was generally shown to be higher in spring (March–May) and relatively lower in summer and winter. Second, the estimated annual maximum profit of the energy prosumer was highest in Daegu (US$995.5) and lowest in Seoul (US$638.1). Furthermore, it was determined to be beneficial to the energy prosumers to reduce their self-use rate to the extent possible. By using the developed business feasibility evaluation model, decision makers, including specialists and non-specialists, can determine the optimal trading price of electricity and whether to participate in the market of P2P electricity trading.

Stress on Frontline Employees from Customer Aggression in the Restaurant Industry: The Moderating Effect of Empowerment

In service industries such as restaurants, abusive customer (jay-customer) behaviors may evoke emotional exhaustion and burnout in frontline employees, threatening job satisfaction as well as sustainable management in the hospitality industry. Therefore, there is a need to identify whether (and to what degree) such customer behaviors stress frontline employees enough to affect their mental health, which may lead to employee turnover. To understand jay-customer behaviors in a restaurant setting, this study investigated the factors of jay-customer behaviors that induce job stress and decrease job satisfaction. Additionally, the moderating effect of empowerment was tested to see whether employee empowerment decreases the stress caused by jay-customer behaviors. Data collected from 302 restaurant employees from several cities in South Korea were analyzed using exploratory factor analysis and structural equation modeling. The study results demonstrate that three types of jay-customer behaviors (verbal abuse, physical abuse, and sexual harassment) are directly related to frontline employees’ job stress, which in turn, reduces job satisfaction. A moderating effect of empowerment on the relationship between verbal abuse and job stress is found. The results of this study suggest a conceptual model for understanding the process in which jay-customers negatively influence the frontline employees, threatening employee well-being, and they provide valuable implications for the restaurant industry, which can help develop strategies to improve employee welfare and provide better customer management.