Conditions In Korea Research Articles

Socioeconomic inequality in health-related quality of life among Korean adults with chronic disease: an analysis of the Korean Community Health Survey.

Health-related quality of life is crucial for people dealing with chronic illness. This study investigated the quality of life in individuals with 5 common chronic conditions in Korea. We also analyzed socioeconomic factors such as education, income, occupation, and urbanization to identify determinants of inequality. Using 2016 Korea Community Health Survey data, we examined individuals aged 30 or older with chronic diseases (diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, hyperlipidemia, arthritis) using the EuroQol 5-Dimension 3 Level tool. We analyzed the associations between socioeconomic factors (education, income, occupation, urbanization) and quality of life using descriptive statistics and regression analysis. Inequality indices (relative inequality index, absolute inequality index) were used to measure inequality in quality of life. Individuals with higher income levels showed a 1.95-fold higher likelihood of a better quality of life than those with the lowest income. The lowest income group had higher odds of mobility (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 2.2), self-care (aOR, 2.1), activity limitations (aOR, 2.4), pain/discomfort (aOR, 1.8), and anxiety/depression (aOR, 2.3). Educational disparities included a 3-fold increase in mobility and daily activity problems for those with elementary or lower education. Well-educated participants had a 1.94 times higher quality of life, with smaller differences in anxiety/depression and self-management. The income gap accounted for 14.1% of variance in quality-of-life disparities. Addressing socioeconomic disparities in the quality of life for individuals with chronic diseases necessitates tailored interventions and targeted health policies. This research informs policymakers in developing focused initiatives to alleviate health inequities. It emphasizes the importance of mental health support and ensuring affordable, accessible healthcare services.

The Regulatory Standards of Extraordinary Circumstances in Carriage of Passengers by Air: An Analysis of EU law and Implications for Korea

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to review the statutory framework and Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) case law concerning the extraordinary circumstances under EC 261/2004 Regulation (the Regulation). This paper also conducts an examination of the compensation liability system of air carriers within the context of Korean aviation transportation laws.
 Design/Methodology/Approach - This paper studies the scopes, application, and requirements of the extraordinary circumstances in EC 261/2004 Regulation by analyzing cases of CJEU. It seeks to conduct a detailed analysis of extraordinary circumstances in the Korean Aviation Business Act, and contains a comparative analysis between the Regulation and the stance of Korean law.
 Findings - This paper confirms that previous CJEU cases have taken a stringent and passive stance in recognizing extraordinary circumstances that exempt carriers from compensation liability. Also, it presents some critical views against CJEU perspectives and offers several implications for Korean law in its conclusion.
 Research Implications - This paper sheds light on legal issues surrounding applications of the extraordinary circumstances in EC 261/2004 Regulation via case law review. In conclusion, it emphasizes the need for amending the Regulation by explicitly specifying the criteria for the application of extraordinary circumstances to better ensure the appropriate fulfillment of air passenger rights protection. This suggests that it is essential to establish uniform legal standards for procedures related to compensation for air passengers in cases of denied boarding, flight cancellation, or flight delays, rather than solely relying on the flight compensation terms and conditions in Korea.

Clinical Features and Risk Factors of Post-COVID-19 Condition in Korea.

Numerous studies have explored the causes and spread of outbreaks, yet there is a lack of research on post-coronavirus disease 2019 condition (PCC) in Korea. The goal of this study was to identify the various types of PCC and associated factors in discharged patients and to provide directions for the ongoing health management of confirmed patients. A telephone survey was conducted among 680 coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients diagnosed between July 7, 2021 and August 26, 2021, in Dangjin, Chungnam, Korea. A descriptive analysis of characteristics, univariate analysis, and regression were performed using data from basic epidemiological surveys conducted at the time of diagnosis and post-discharge questionnaires. Of the 585 patients who responded, 159 (27.2%) developed PCC. Of the 211 patients with no initial symptoms, 27 (12.8%) developed PCC, versus 132 (35.3%) of the 374 patients with initial symptoms. Among the initial symptoms, fever or chills, cough or sputum, loss of smell, and sore throat were associated with PCC. Compared to patients with less than 10 days of hospitalization, those with a hospitalization period of 21 days to 30 days (odds ratio [OR], 2.3; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.0 to 5.2) and 31 days or more (OR, 5.8; 95% CI, 1.9 to 18.1) had a higher risk of PCC. More than a quarter of COVID-19 patients, including those who had no initial symptoms, experienced PCC in Korea. People with the initial symptoms of fever, chills, and respiratory symptoms and those who had prolonged hospital stays had a high risk of PCC.

Analysis of the Response Characteristics of Smoke and Carbon Monoxide in Non-Fire Conditions

This study confirms the applicability of cross-detection by analyzing the response characteristics of smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, to reduce non-firm alarms. Based on the results of previous studies, various scenarios reflecting non-fire conditions in Korea were selected, to conduct experiments to confirm the change in carbon monoxide concentration and the response of smoke detectors based on the measurement location. Although carbon monoxide was detected earlier than the smoke near the heating source, the smoke detector reacted earlier than the carbon monoxide meter as the distance from the heating source increased. The measured concentration of carbon monoxide was much lower than the concentration generated in the case of a fire, thus confirming the applicability of carbon monoxide cross-sensing for non-fire detection.

Interrelationships Among Environmental Regulations, Technological Innovations, and Productivity in South Korea

Because environmental policies have increasingly become stricter in response to relevant challenges, policymakers are now paying more attention to regulations that affect productivity. Focusing on conditions in Korea, this study used the Granger causality test to investigate causal relationships between environmental regulations, technological innovation, and productivity. The main results indicate that productivity is influenced by (1) technological innovation and (2) the innovation results from strengthened environmental regulations in separate sectors (i.e., manufacturing and non-manufacturing). These findings highlight some policy implications. As the environmental protection expenditure increases due to environmental regulations, the government and companies increase the number of R&D workers and spend more on technological innovation. Meanwhile, a suitable circumstance must be established to generate product and process innovations. The government and companies should make investments to construct this circumstance in response to environmental regulations. Finally, because regulations and innovations change productivity slowly, it is important to engage in long-term environmental policy projects.

Hydraulic and Numerical Tests on Wave Overtopping for Vertical Seawall with Relatively Shallow and Steep Sloped Water Depth

In Korea, the hydraulic model tests for measuring the wave overtopping have been almost conducted with no bottom slope or single slope condition in Korea. In this study, the bottom seabed for the coastal road area was fabricated at the wave flume and the wave overtopping was measured. The overtopping rate was also measured with the numerical modelling by OLAFoam. The measuring data were compared with EurOtop manual. It could be known the the influence of the foreslope in front of the vertical wall was significant and the these effects should be concerned when designing the coastal structures. And also it could be known that OLAFoam could be used to predict the wave overtopping rate for the complex bottom topography.

A data-driven analytical roadmap to a sustainable 2030 in South Korea based on optimal renewable microgrids

Combined technological, economic, sociological, and environmental (TESE) models can play a unique role in leveraging renewable energies and supporting sustainable development. Yet, a multi-aspect TESE model has never been used in Korea to adapt to climate change through sustainable energy policies. This comprehensive TESE study addresses several sustainability challenges in the Korean energy sector. First, demand electricity is predicted using four deep and stacked neural networks to develop a smart demand-based model. Second, optimal hybrid renewable microgrids (HRMGs) are simulated at 17 sites to evaluate five renewable energy sources in three scenarios. Third, hybrid assessment results are clustered using a K-means algorithm to generate hybrid renewable energy maps for South Korea. Fourth, the TESE model is analyzed with more than 13 variables using a cascading multi-criteria decision-making approach to prorate a budget and develop a prioritized roadmap for a sustainable 2030 in Korea. Fifth, a stochastic linear mathematical model is developed to propose a sustainable energy policy that considers the water-energy-carbon nexus. The results show that a convolutional neural network can efficiently predict sequential demand electricity (R2 = 98.79%), with respective biogas, solar, hydrostatic, wind, and hydrokinetic energy fractions of 45.7%, 34.5%, 14%, 5.78%, and 0.01% under optimal conditions in Korea. The present free market-based policies are recommended to be revised in favor of domestic production of renewable energy facilities if new jobs can be created for more than $7500 each, and the carbon penalty cost can be kept below $83/ton CO2-eq in Korea.

Performance Evaluation of PVT Air Collector Coupled with a Triangular Block in Actual Climate Conditions in Korea

This study experimentally investigated the performance of a PVT air collector coupled with a triangular block. The triangular block, newly suggested by the authors, is a triangular-shaped obstacle and was inserted at the bottom of the PVT air collector to enhance the heat transfer performance of the collector. The experiment was carried out in actual climate conditions in Korea with two air mass flow rate conditions: 0.03606 kg/m2 s and 0.06948 kg/m2 s. Results show the average values of electrical efficiency of the collector during the test period to be 16.15% and 16.43% for each air mass flow rate, while thermal efficiencies were 28.83% and 38.36%, respectively. The average values of total energy efficiencies were found to be 44.99% and 54.79%, respectively. The results show that air mass flow rate has a large impact on thermal and total energy efficiency, while it has a small impact on electrical efficiency. Furthermore, it was confirmed that the PVT air collector coupled with a triangular block can enhance the utilization of solar energy since the thermal performance was higher than that of the collector without a triangular block.

Comparative analysis and countermeasures of power system open phase conditions in Korea’s standard nuclear power plants

Open Phase Condition (OPC) is a failure in which one (or two) of the three-phases of the power system is maintained open, and the OPC of the nuclear power plant (NPP) may cause station blackout (SBO) and pose a great risk to the integrity of the reactor core. Recently, OPCs have occurred in power systems at NPPs around the world, but many problems have been reported that failures are not detected by the current protection systems. Accordingly, the NPPs in Korea, which have a power system similar to that of overseas NPPs, also need to review the risks to OPCs. In this paper, the occurrence of OPCs was simulated for Korea’s standard NPPs using ETAP, and the current protective relays were analyzed and compared for each scenario. In addition, based on these analysis results, countermeasures against OPCs are proposed in order to secure reactor core integrity. It is considered that this paper can be used as a technical background material necessary for improving the on/off-site power protection system of NPPs and establishing related detailed regulatory guidelines in the future.

Monitoring clinical exposure index and deviation index for dose optimization based on national diagnostic reference level: Focusing on general radiography of extremities.

The International Electrotechnical Commission established the concept of the exposure index (EI), target exposure index (EIT) and deviation index (DI). Some studies have conducted to utilize the EI as a patient dose monitoring tool in the digital radiography (DR) system. To establish the appropriate clinical EIT, this study aims to introduce the diagnostic reference level (DRL) for general radiography and confirm the usefulness of clinical EI and DI. The relationship between entrance surface dose (ESD) and clinical EI is obtained by exposure under the national radiography conditions of Korea for 7 extremity examinations. The EI value when the ESD is the DRL is set as the clinical EIT, and the change of DI is then checked. The clinical EI has proportional relationship with ESD and is affected by the beam quality. When the clinical EIT is not adjusted according to the revision of DRLs, there is a difference of up to 2.03 in the DI value and may cause an evaluation error of up to 1.6 times for patient dose. If the clinical EIT is periodically managed according to the environment of medical institution, the appropriate patient dose and image exposure can be managed based on the clinical EI, EIT, and DI.

외기노출 난방배관의 단열두께에 대한 기준 및 열에너지 손실량 비교

This study compared the standard of insulation thickness and the amount of energy loss of heating pipes exposed to outdoor air, and the research results were as follows. 1) Results on a comparison between ‘the Korean Construction Specification - Mechanical Insulation (KCS 312005:2021)’ and ‘the 2021 International Energy Conservation Code’, showed that the standard for thermal conductivity test temperature conditions in Korea needed to be improved. In addition, it was necessary to increase the thickness standard according to the installation location of the pipe. 2) Underground parking lot ambient temperature of the pipe was 3.1℃, and the outside temperature was 1.5℃. This value was much lower than that of the KCS standard temperature (30℃), and it was found that a lot of heat loss occurred. 3) Results on a comparison of the amount of energy loss according to the ambient temperature showed that when the field measurement temperature (3.1℃) was applied the amount of energy loss increased by 234% than when the KCS reference temperature (30℃) was applied.

Development of a Design Catalog for Bonded Concrete Overlay Pavements Considering the Regional Characteristics of Korea

The design of overlay pavement in Korea, using the American empirical method, does not consider the unique Korean climate, pavement material, and traffic conditions. Therefore, in this study, a mechanistic–empirical design catalog for bonded concrete overlays (BCO) that are appropriate for Korean pavement conditions was developed. First, the thickness of the new pavement slab was determined through the Korean pavement design method, which uses a mechanistic–empirical design program according to the traffic volume of the region with the worst climatic conditions in Korea. Then, finite element analysis models of new jointed concrete and BCO pavements were developed to determine the BCO thickness by adjusting it until the stress–strength ratio of an existing slab of BCO pavement was equal to that of a new concrete pavement slab. By repeating this procedure, a design catalog was developed for the sustainable management of concrete pavement according to the traffic volume, elastic modulus, and thickness of the existing slab after milling. The appropriateness of the BCO thickness predicted by the design catalog was verified by comparing it with that predicted by other design methods.

Review and Improvement Direction of the Riprap Design Standard for Fill Dams in Korea

Since domestic reservoirs are mainly soil-fill dams, slope protection measures are necessary to prevent erosion, weathering, and wave-induced loss of soil, and riprap is the most common slope protection method. Although design standards for riprap at fill dams are provided in National Design Standard of Korea, they use out-of-date criteria based largely on overseas standards that may not be applicable to the Korean context. This study aimed to identify problems with the current design standards by comparing them with overseas standards, and to suggest directions for improving Korean standards through investigations of existing embankments. The review found that domestic design standards restrict the quality and maximum particle size of stone used for riprap. Much of the design criteria are based on past surveys of the performance record for fill dams conducted by the US Army Corps of Engineers. So this can be unsuitable for changes in modern technology and environmental conditions in Korea. More recent design trends suggest riprap size using an experimental formula, which is numerically different from the data presented in domestic design standards, and this may lead to unstable and uneconomic dams. In addition, various factors such as the shape, weight, and gradation of the riprap can also have a strong influence on riprap stability. The results of the survey show that current condition of the riprap protection is different from the domestic design standard, but it is judged that the stability is satisfied with the overseas design standards. In the field survey, 12 sites were selected in consideration of regional distribution. The results of the survey show that current condition of the riprap protection is different from the domestic design standard, but it is judged that the stability is satisfied with the overseas design standards.

Agricultural nitrogen and phosphorus balances of Korea and Japan: Highest nutrient surplus among OECD member countries

Excessive nutrient balance is a very crucial issue for environmental hazards. The constant addition of high-amounts of nutrient sources in agricultural production generates negative environmental conditions in Korea and Japan yet to be resolved. Therefore, it is obligatory to comprehend the nutrient (nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P)) balance that is assessed by the difference between nutrient input and output in the soil surface in Korea and Japan. Among 34 Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries, Korea and Japan had the highest N and P balances and thus both countries are primarily responsible for severe environmental pollution via nutrient release. The cultivable land area in both countries has constantly decreased during 1990–2017 at approximately 20 and 15% in Korea and Japan, respectively. Even N and P use efficiency sharply decreased with increasing N and P balance in both targeted countries. Japanese P balance, Korean N and P balances were decreased after the mid-1990s whereas, Japanese N balance almost unchanged for the last 28 years. Unlike chemical fertilizer input, Korean manure input level significantly increased from 78 kg N ha−1 in 1990 to 157 kg N ha−1 in 2017. Japanese manure input level was higher than that of chemical fertilizer without any big change for the last 28 years. The lion share of high N and P balance in both countries could generate from manure inputs, therefore, the number of livestock and their produced debris need to be used with more cautious for the reduction of national N and P surpluses at a benchmark level. These findings ensure to make a more environment friendly policy that can further reduce nutrient balance as well as improve soil health.

Environmental risk assessment of glufosinate-resistant soybean by pollen-mediated gene flow under field conditions in the region of the genetic origin

Pollen-mediated gene flow of genetically modified crops to their wild relatives can facilitate the spread of transgenes into the ecosystem and alter the fitness of the consequential progeny. A two-year field study was conducted to quantify the gene flow from glufosinate-ammonium resistant (GR) soybean (Glycinemax) to its wild relative, wild soybean (G. soja), and assess the potential weed risk of hybrids resulting from the gene flow during their entire life cycle under field conditions in Korea, where wild soybean is the natural inhabitant. Pollen-mediated gene flow from GR soybeans to wild soybeans ranged from 0.292% (mixed planting) to 0.027% at 8 m distance. The log-logistic model described the gene flow rate with increasing distance from GR soybean to wild soybean; the estimated effective isolation distance for 0.01% gene flow between GR and wild soybeans was 37.7 m. The F1 and F2 hybrids exhibited the intermediate characteristics of their parental soybeans in their vegetative and reproductive stages. Canopy height and stem length of hybrids were close to those of wild soybean, which shows an indeterminate growth; the numbers of flowers, pods, and seeds per hybrid plant were close to those of wild soybean and significantly higher than those of GR soybean. Seed longevity of F2 hybrid plants was also intermediate but significantly greater than that of GR soybean due to high seed dormancy. Our results suggest that transgenes of the GR soybean might disperse into wild populations and persist in the agroecosystem of the genetic origin regions due to the pollen-mediated gene flow and the relatively high fitness of the hybrid progeny.

Sustainable Design Alternatives and Energy Efficiency for Public Rental Housing in Korea

The orientation and shape of a building can influence energy efficiency in both heating and cooling mechanisms. Given the climatic conditions of Korea, many people are concerned about housing orientation and prefer south-oriented locations. As such, many housing complexes consist of a series of long narrow units that are south-facing. The purpose of this study is to investigate design alternatives for the layout of a building complex, size of households, width to depth ratios of floorplans, and design and type of façade; to examine energy efficiency using energy simulation programs; and to suggest diverse design alternatives for public rental housing, as well as energy-efficient options. The alternative housing units, which are more square-shaped than the typical long and rectangular type, resulted in higher energy costs. Simulation results show that as the solar radiation load increases or the window area increases due to plan alteration, there is simultaneously a significant increase and decrease in the cooling and heating loads, respectively. The performance of the suggested layout alteration greatly increased the heating load and slightly decreased the cooling load with similar total energy costs.

A Study on the Korean Interest Rate Spread Prediction Model Using the US Interest Rate Spread : SVR-Ensemble (RNN, LSTM, GRU) Model based

Interest rate spreads indicate the conditions of the economy and serve as an indicator of the recession. The purpose of this study is to predict Korea's interest rate spreads using US data with long-term continuity. To this end, 27 US economic data were used, and the entire data was reduced to 5 dimensions through principal component analysis to build a dataset necessary for prediction. In the prediction model of this study, three RNN models (BasicRNN, LSTM, and GRU) predict the US interest rate spread and use the predicted results in the SVR ensemble model to predict the Korean interest rate spread. The SVR ensemble model predicted Korea's interest rate spread as RMSE 0.0658, which showed more accurate predictive power than the general ensemble model predicted as RMSE 0.0905, and showed excellent performance in terms of tendency to respond to fluctuations. In addition, improved prediction performance was confirmed through period division according to policy changes. This study presented a new way to predict interest rates and yielded better results. We predict that if you use refined data that represents the global economic situation through follow-up studies, you will be able to show higher interest rate predictions and predict economic conditions in Korea as well as other countries.

Korean Suicide Protest as Anomic Response to Labour Disempowerment

The article argues that the growth of worker protest suicide in the 2000s in South Korea is relatedto current neo-liberal political-economic conditions in Korea, including: 1) the growing crisis facingincreasingly irregular and part-time workers, and 2) the construction of an anti-labour legal regimegiving Korean workers few legal options for collective engagement in workplace actions. Legalobstacles facing labour activists include both business and state actors increasingly usingcompensation lawsuits and provisional seizure tactics to seize the assets of unions and strikingworkers. As the Korean labour movement finds itself increasingly marginalised by the cripplinganti-labour legal innovations of the last two decades, labour resistance has increasingly manifestedin extreme forms of individualistic protests, such as worker suicide. Though products of anomicdespair, these suicides retain the capacity to inspire collective labour action and to leverage change.KEYWORDS: labour movement; protest suicide; provisional seizure; neo-liberalism; Korea

Literature Review of Empowerment Intervention Studies for Patients with Chronic Physical Health Conditions in Korea

Literature Review of Empowerment Intervention Studies for Patients with Chronic Physical Health Conditions in Korea

Establishment of honeybee brood studies under semi-field conditions in Korea

Establishment of honeybee brood studies under semi-field conditions in Korea