Korean City Research Articles

A study on the digital restoration of an ancient city based on historic building information modeling of wooden architectural heritage: focusing on Suwon Hwaseong

This study describes the process of digitally reconstructing the ancient Korean city of Suwon Hwaseong in 3D utilizing Historic Building Information Modeling (HBIM) resources to accurately represent its wooden architectural heritage. Previous 3D reconstructions of cultural heritage have often prioritized appearance or remained partially disassembled. However, our reconstruction method offers a comprehensive representation of the appearance and the internal structure of wooden architectural heritage, which can be suitable for restoration maintenance. To ensure accuracy in digital restoration, we collected and utilized administrative records and historical materials, including the geography, fortress walls, folk houses, and Haenggung (the temporary palace of the Joseon Dynasty)—drawing from the archive of the Korean Cultural Heritage Service’s management records and the 1796 manuscript “Uigwe: Royal Protocols of the Hwaseong Fortress” which documents the construction of the ancient city of Suwon Hwaseong. Extensive architectural records were used to generate HBIM data, which digitized historical records, documents, and drawings to accurately represent the complex layout of the wooden architectural heritage. For the folk houses that lacked design records and the fortress walls that retained their original shape, we performed a digital restoration-based façade modeling. These elements of the ancient city of Suwon Hwaseong were assembled into a 3D model using Unreal Engine (version 5.1.1) to digitally reconstruct the city and enhance its visual representation. The digital restoration content, which utilizes visual effects and precise rendering from a game engine, can be used for the restoration, repair, and maintenance of both appearance and internal structures.

Localizing Human Rights: Modeling Human Rights Cities

In recent years, increasing numbers of cities have begun addressing global threats to human rights. By cultivating a local version of citizenship (city-zenship), cities foster a collective ethos shaped around universal principles of freedom, equality, and dignity, declaring themselves human rights cities. However, despite its varied manifestations, this label remains broad, accommodating a range of interpretations. This study distinguishes between two primary models, which I conceptualize as thin and thick human rights cities, and two nested sub-models. The models encompass the efforts of city-zens and local political actors to assimilate the human rights ethos within the city through both declarative and practical approaches. Subsequently, the typology is applied to characterize the South Korean city of Gwangju, renowned as a pioneering human rights city. Drawing on documents and interviews conducted in the city, I illustrate how the specific mechanisms via which a city engages with human rights can be classified into a model, facilitating comparison with other cities.

Fugitive Archives: Architecture, Police Photography, and Decolonial Futures

ABSTRACT This paper examines underexplored police photographs of Chinese migrants in Korea under Japanese colonial rule, with a focus on architectural spaces. In 1940, a secret anti-Japanese association known as Ildonghoe was established by a group of Chinese migrants in the Korean city of Incheon. Following the arrest of its members in 1943, Japanese colonial authorities documented with photographs locations and objects related to the organization’s activities. This investigation serendipitously created a photographic archive of architectural spaces in and around Incheon’s Chinatown, many of which have since disappeared. The paper sheds light upon these police photographs as an “accidental archive,” a repository of historical materials that gives rise to unintended outcomes with critical information about certain events, places, and moments. The paper pays particular attention to the peculiarity of police photographs as a form of happenstance yet significant documentation capturing historical moments that might otherwise remain elusive. Reading against the grain of colonial archives, this paper shows how the Ildonghoe photographs invite viewers to envision a different narrative of the racial relations forged under colonial rule and imagine decolonial futures that have yet to come.

High Prevalence and Risk Factors of Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders Among University Students in South Korea

Functional gastrointestinal disorders are common and have high prevalence in young adults. This study aimed to identify the prevalence and risk factors of functional gastrointestinal disorders in university students. A cross-sectional study was conducted in January 2021 at two universities in a South Korean city and included 493 participants. The Rome IV criteria (for functional dyspepsia and irritable bowel syndrome) and the Korean gastroesophageal reflux disease questionnaire (for gastroesophageal reflux disease) were used to define each disease. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and multivariate logistic regression. Gastroesophageal reflux disease, functional dyspepsia, and irritable bowel syndrome prevalence was 18.5%, 7.5%, and 6.5%, respectively, in university students. In multivariate analysis, school year (fourth) (odds ratio [95% confidence interval] = 2.27 [0.25, 0.78]), underlying disease (odds ratio [95% confidence interval] = 2.92 [1.42, 6.04]), physical activity less than once weekly (odds ratio [95% confidence interval] = 4.84 [1.04, 22.45]), very irregular meals (odds ratio [95% confidence interval] = 4.02 [1.54, 10.49]), overeating more than 5 times weekly (odds ratio [95% confidence interval] = 3.37 [1.19, 9.56]), and academic stress (odds ratio [95% confidence interval] = 1.02 [1.01, 1.03]) were risk factors for functional gastrointestinal disorders. Our findings indicate that a comprehensive management program focusing on eating habits and psychological factors is needed to reduce the prevalence of functional gastrointestinal disorders in university students.

The importance of urbanization in the process of shaping the “ubiquitous city” on the example of Songdo International Business District, South Korea

Both the smart city and U-city concepts were created as a response to the challenges related to the increasing level of urbanization and the further development of the latest technologies. These so-called smart cities are designed to use information and communication technologies (ICTs) to improve operational efficiency, make information available to the public, provide better government services and increase the overall level of well-being of citizens. In this article the author will analyze the development of the “smart city” concept, and then present her conclusions and observations based on the example of the South Korean city of Songdo, which is currently one of the most progressive business centers of the ubiquitous city type. Subsequently she will answer two main research questions: 1. What distinguishes a ubiquitous city from a standard smart city project? 2. What are the obstacles, challenges, and incentives for further development in the implementation of the above concept in South Korea? Two main research methods will be used in the article – a comparative method, helpful in identifying visible links between similar phenomena and entities, and a content analysis method, based on a literature review on the topics covered in the work, including issues related to the city of Songdo.

한국의 도시브랜드 슬로건의 언어적 특성에 관한 연구

The study aims to analyze the development and linguistic aspects of Korean city brand slogans, addressing issues and proposing solutions for the improvement of these slogans. By examining 90 city brand slogans, including Seoul's, the research highlights the changes observed over the past 30 years. Despite an increase in Korean slogans, foreign language slogans persist, and semantic expressions often involve ineffective implicit meanings and unfamiliar neologisms. To enhance the effectiveness of city brand slogans, the study recommends minimizing frequent changes, ensuring accurate comprehension, and prioritizing the use of the Korean language to showcase its unique beauty. The hope is for the emergence of enduring city brand slogans, akin to the iconic “I Love New York (I ♥NY).”

Improved Air Quality Forecasting-Based on Machine Learning and Multivariate Regression Techniques

Hourly-based improved prediction of present air quality state (PM10, PM2.5, and NO2) with 15 input independent variables (3 hours\' earlier PM, gas and meteorological data of a Korean city affected by 2 days\' earlier PM and gas data of Beijing city in the Yellow Dust route was performed using Machine Learning (ANN-Tanh) and Multivariate Regression techniques. ANN-tanh model of multilayer perception (MLP) structure with a feed-forward input data and backpropagation training process for error calculation with 15 nodes in a single hidden layer was adopted to calculate present urban air quality. Root mean square error (RMSE) and the coefficient of determination (R2; Pearson R) evaluated the performance ability of the model between the predicted and measured values before, during, and after the Yellow Sand event at the Korean coastal city. Multivariate regression technique was also used to predict the urban air quality with the same input data. The prediction accuracies of the two models were compared before, during, and after the Yellow Dust period and regardless of the event, Pearson R correlation coefficients using the ANN-tanh model (multivariate regression model) were quite high as 0.935 (0.961), 0.943 (0.948) and 0. 947 (0.920) for PM10, 0.942 (0.909), 0.969 (0.977) and 0.938 (0.947) for PM2.5, and 0.925 (0.860), 0.853 (0.875) and 0.886 (0.903) for NO2, respectively. Their prediction ability overall was quite excellent, showing a slightly higher R in the ANN-Tanh. Their hourly distributions of predicted and measured values of 3 outputs were drawn to compare their model performance.

Considering urban regeneration policy support: Perceived collaborative governance in cultural heritage-led regeneration projects of Korea

Can public engagement and collaborative governance contribute to policy support? In this study, we evaluate how perceived collaborative governance influences policy support in the context of urban regeneration projects. Focusing on the South Korean city of Mokpo, with its cultural heritage-led neighborhood regeneration areas, our work examines residents’ perceptions of urban regeneration policies and collaborative governance using a survey research design. Our results suggest that satisfaction with aspects of urban regeneration policy attributes, those of an economic nature, significantly influence policy support. Further, higher levels of perceived collaborative governance, which includes community engagement in the regeneration process, also significantly impact regeneration policy support.

Collaborative governance and conflict management in cultural heritage-led regeneration projects: The case of urban Korea

Cultural heritage-led regeneration projects can give rise to multi-faceted conflicts that limit private rights through (re)development activities in the process of conserving community assets. Collaborative governance can be useful as a means of managing these conflicts. Our work sheds light on how collaborative governance can be applicable to conflict management involving ongoing cultural heritage-led regeneration projects within the South Korean city of Mokpo. Using a document-based analysis, qualitative interviews, and an inductive approach, our study addressed the conflict stage and management throughout the regeneration process. Our findings imply that public and private actors' motivations were contingent upon institutions. Additional results suggest that collaborative governance and stakeholders’ interactions can play crucial roles in managing conflicts.

Leveraging network analysis to determine sex differences in factors associated with frailty among older adults living alone

BackgroundFrailty is a complex geriatric syndrome typically characterized by multiple underlying etiological factors. We determined the contributing factors, by sex, using a network analysis.MethodsThe study sample consisted of a cross-sectional cohort of community-dwelling older adults aged ≥ 65 years living alone in a Korean city (N = 1,037). Frailty was assessed via the Korean Frailty Index. Participants were assessed for sociodemographic, health-related, mental and cognitive, and social characteristics. Mixed graphical models including all variables were estimated using the R-package mgm discretely by sex. We also used the Walktrap cluster algorithm to identify differences in the network structure in terms of connectivity around frailty between the sex groups for further insights.ResultsIn both the networks for males and females, frailty correlated most strongly with nutritional status, presence of complex chronic disease, and self-efficacy, and exhibited proximity to decreased sleep quality and loneliness. However, frailty showed an association with suicidal ideation and the number of falls per year only in males, whereas it showed an association with functional disabilities only in females. The overall network connectivity around frailty was stronger with dense interactions (more edges) in the network for females than for males.ConclusionsThe results signify the need for sex-group customized multi-domain assessments and interventions for the prevention and improvement of frailty among community-dwelling older adults.

A Structural Model for Aggression in Middle School Students in Korea: Based on Ajzen's Theory of Planned Behavior.

(1) Purpose: The purpose of this study was to construct a hypothetical model for the variables that can explain aggression in middle school students in order to promote mental health and the growth and development of middle school students in Korea. Through this model, we tried to confirm the structural relationship between the variables and their influence. (2) Methods: The subjects of this study were middle school students in the Korean city of D, and the data collection period was from July to September 2016. The data were collected from the final 310 completed copies of the questionnaire, excluding 23 copies with insufficient data. SPSS 26.0 and AMOS 26.0 were used for data analysis. (3) Results: The fit indices of the final model (GFI = 0.88, AGFI = 0.84, IFI = 0.95, CFI = 0.95, SRMR = 0.06, and RMSEA = 0.07) met the acceptable levels. The variables that affected middle school students' aggression were parenting behavior and aggression regulation intention, and together, their explanatory power for aggression was 50.5%. Perceived behavioral control was the most influential variable for aggression regulation intention. (4) Conclusions: The results of this study will be used as a basis for studying aggression and developing aggression control training programs with the aim of reducing aggression in middle school students.

ТРАДИЦІЙНЕ ЖИТЛО НЕПРИВІЛЕЙОВАНИХ ПРОШАРКІВ КОРЕЙСЬКОГО СУСПІЛЬСТВА НА МЕЖІ XIX–XX СТОЛІТТЯ (ЗА СВІДЧЕННЯМИ ІНОЗЕМЦІВ)

Until the middle of the 19th century, the world of the Far East was almost unknown to Westerners. Travelers, missionaries, diplomats and writers from Europe and America, exploring the world of the Far East, inevitably came across buildings radically different from European views about architecture. Curved tiled and straw roofs, paper walls and high fences forming a labyrinth of city streets – all this greeted foreigners who visited Korea at the turn of the XIX–XX centuries. On the eve of the annexation of Korea in 1910, states from different parts of the world fought for hegemony over the territory of the peninsula, primarily the Japanese and Russian empires. When the world monarchies fought for influence on the Korean peninsula, elements of Western architecture, such as brick temples, high buildings, asphalt streets, etc., came to Korea. However, the effects of Westernization remained too weak to change the traditional landscape of the Korean city fundamentally in the late Victorian era. Traditional Korean «hanoks» were widespread on the territory of the Korean peninsula from the rise of the Joseon dynasty (end of the XIV century) to the post-war modernization of Korea in the second half of the XX century. We find many descriptions of this type of housing in the works of Western authors of the late XIX and early XX centuries, such as the American writer Louise Jordan Miln, the British researcher Isabella Bird, the American missionary Homer Hulbert, and the Russian Orientalist Dmitriy Pozdneev. In this article, we investigated the hetero image of traditional Korean architecture of the underprivileged part of the Korean population in the works of Western authors at the turn of the XIX–XX centuries. Also, we analyzed the image of traditional Korean architecture through the point of view of travelers from Europe and the USA.

지역사회 공동체의식이 건강 및 삶에 미치는 긍정적 효과

Objectives: The aim of the study is to examine the relationship between citizens’ ‘sense of community’ and ‘health and quality of life’ in a Korean city that has both, rural and urban communities. Methods: We analyzed the survey data from “Citizen Opinions for Healthy City Nonsan” conducted in 2020. The survey used a self-reported questionnaire and the data of 1,181 participants were collected through quota sampling among aged over 19 from 15 administrative communities based in Nonsan-si Chungcheongnam-do. We measured the “sense of community” by using the Sense of Community Index, and “health and quality of life” with the WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire. We conducted the correlation and multiple regression analyses to examine the relationship between citizens’ ‘sense of community’ and ‘health and quality of life’. Results: We found that citizens’ sense of community had direct positive effects on all domains of health and quality of life. Conclusion: This study affirms the importance of sense of community in promoting community health and quality of life and suggests that more efforts to actively heighten the sense of community should be made in developing community health programs and policies at the local level.

The Unsettled Church and State: The Case of Shincheonji and Covid-19 in South Korea

In February of 2020, news outlets around the world ran stories about how a new millenarian Christian church called The Shincheonji Church of Jesus was at the center of an outbreak of Covid-19 in the South Korean city of Daegu. The South Korean public demanded that the Shincheonji Church of Jesus (hereon referred to as Shincheonji) be held accountable for this public health crisis. Politicians and church leaders swiftly condemned the church and vowed to punish its leaders. Before the church’s connections to South Korea’s Covid-19 epidemic, Shincheonji had been a source of anxiety within South Korea, particularly in the Protestant community. In this paper, I approach the Covid-19 epidemic as an entry point to identify and examine one of these anxieties. By discussing the anxiety about Shincheonji’s success as a millenarian Christian movement, I will demonstrate how Shincheonji is an unsettling force to the South Korean state and its Protestant community.

Examining the Effects of Physical Environment and Structural Characteristics on the Spatial Patterns of Crime in Daegu, South Korea

The current study examines the relationship between the features of physical and social environments and neighborhood crime in a large Korean city. We utilized the 112 Crime Calls Data from May 1, 2018 to April 30, 2019, aggregated at the ¼-mile egohood level. We estimated a series of negative binomial regression models to test the effects of social and physical environmental features on crime rates. Furthermore, we examine potential moderating effects between the measures of physical and social environments. The results indicate that incorporating the physical and social environmental features based on the theoretical framework of criminal opportunities and social disorganization can be useful for understanding the spatial patterns of crime in Korean context.

Development and evaluation of a pediatric nursing competency-building program for nursing students in South Korea: a quasi-experimental study.

PurposeThe present study aimed to develop and examine the effectiveness of a pediatric nursing competency-building program for nursing students.MethodsThis was a quasi-experimental study with a nonequivalent control group pretest-posttest design conducted between October and December 2021. The participants included 40 nursing students (20 each in the experimental and control groups) at a university in a South Korean city. The pediatric nursing competency-building program integrated problem-based learning and simulation into clinical field practice. The experimental group participated in the program, while the control group did not. Data were analyzed using the x2 test, the independent t-test, and repeated-measures analysis of variance.ResultsPediatric nursing competency and clinical performance showed a greater increase in the experimental group than in the control group. However, the change in problem-solving ability in the experimental group was not significantly different from that in the control group.ConclusionThe pediatric nursing competency-building program effectively improved students' pediatric nursing competency and clinical performance.

Reconciling the Conservation of Cultural Heritage with Rural Development

Reconciling the Conservation of Cultural Heritage with Rural Development

Optimization of Solar/Fuel Cell Hybrid Energy System Using the Combinatorial Dynamic Encoding Algorithm for Searches (cDEAS)

This study proposes a computational design method for determining a hybrid power system’s sizing and ratio values that combines the national electric, solar cell, and fuel cell power sources. The inequality constraints associated with the ranges of power storage exchange and the stored energy are reflected as penalty functions in the overall cost function to be minimized. Using the energy hub model and the actual data for the solar cell power and the load of the residential sector in one Korean city for one hundred days, we optimize the ratio of fuel cell energy and solar cell energy to 0.46:0.54 through our proposed approach. We achieve an average cost-reduction effect of 19.35% compared to the cases in which the fuel-cell energy ratio is set from 0.1 to 0.9 in 0.1 steps. To optimize the sizing and the ratio of fuel-cell energy in the hybrid power system, we propose the modified version of the univariate dynamic encoding algorithm for searches (uDEAS) as a novel optimization method. The proposed novel approaches can be applied directly to any place to optimize an energy hub system model comprising three power sources, i.e., solar power, fuel cell, and power utility.

Understanding the Intensity of Land-Use and Land-Cover Changes in the Context of Postcolonial and Socialist Transformation in Kaesong, North Korea

This study examines the land-use and land-cover changes (LUCCs) in Kaesong, a North Korean city, and the area adjacent to the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). An intensity analysis—a framework decomposing LUCCs into interval, category, and transition levels—is applied to the land-cover maps of 1916, 1951, and 2015 to understand the importance of the historical period and associated land regimes (imperialism and socialism) in shaping LUCCs. The five land-cover classes—Built, Agriculture, Forest, Water, and Others—were analyzed among the two historical periods from Imperial Japan’s colonization (1910–1945) and the South–North division since the Korean War (1953–present). The results show that, at the interval level, the colonial period LUCCs were more intensive than the division period. However, >50% of the study area underwent changes during each period. At the category level, river channel modifications were the most intensive, followed by deforestation. In terms of transition, consistent intensity trends from Others to Built and Agriculture were observed across both land regimes. In conclusion, the LUCCs were more intensive under Japanese imperialism than the North Korean socialist regime, but the economic and geographic factors were not substantially affected by such land regimes. These underlying forces may be more significant fundamental drivers of LUCCs than land regimes themselves.

지역사회 건강증진을 위한 시민들의 지역사회 공동체의식과 지역사회 전반적 특성에 관한 인식 및 지역사회 문제 인지정도와의 관련성

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between citizens’ perception of community qualities, awareness of community issues, and their sense of community in a Korean city having both rural and urban communities. Methods: We analyzed the 2020 survey data, “Citizen Opinions for Healthy City Nonsan”. The survey was based on responses to a self-reported questionnaire, collected through quota sampling from 1,118 community participants aged over 19 in 15 administrative communities of Nonsan-si, Chungcheongnam-do in Korea. We measured “Sense of Community” by using the Sense of Community Index, and “Perception of Community Qualities” and “Awareness of Community Issues” by using 5-point Likert scales. We conducted correlation and multiple regression analyses to examine the relationship between citizens’ perception of community qualities, awareness of community issues, and their sense of community. Results: We found that citizens’ perception of community qualities and awareness of community issues were associated with, and had a positive impact on their sense of community. Conclusion: We can heighten the sense of community to facilitate community participation for promoting community health through efforts that build the qualities of healthy communities and cities and by increasing community awareness of issues related to health and surrounding environments.