Korean Community Research Articles

The association between depressive symptoms with fear of falling and cognitive decline in older adults in the Korean community: An analysis of the Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging (KLoSA), 2006–2020

ObjectivesThis study aimed to investigate the effects of fear of falling (FOF) on cognitive decline in older adults in the Korean community, depending on the presence of accompanying depressive symptoms. MethodsA total of 6263 individuals were included in the final analysis. Based on their baseline evaluation results for depressive symptoms and FOF, the subjects were divided into four groups: “normal control” (NC, n = 3783), “depression only” (Dep-only, n = 291), “fear of falling only” (FOF-only, n = 1755), and “depression with fear of falling” (Dep-FOF, n = 434). Cognitive decline was defined as a loss of more than three points in the K-MMSE score in participants with at least two years of follow-up. We examined the association between FOF accompanied by depressive symptoms and cognitive decline using a multivariate Cox proportional hazard model. ResultsCognitive decline occurred in 76.3%, 68.5%, 63.9%, and 56.4% of the Dep-FOF, FOF-only, Dep-only, and NC groups, respectively. Our findings suggest that individuals with FOF do not always have cognitive decline (HR = 1.03, 95% CI = 0.95–1.12, P = 0.43) compared to individuals without FOF. Furthermore, depressive symptoms with FOF are associated with a higher risk of cognitive decline (HR = 1.23, 95% CI = 1.08–1.41, P = 0.002) in community-dwelling older adults in Korea. ConclusionHealthcare providers should be attentive to community-dwelling older adults who experience both depressive symptoms and FOF because our findings suggest that this unique combination increases the risk of cognitive decline.

Developing a nomogram for predicting depression in diabetic patients after COVID-19 using machine learning.

This study identified major risk factors for depression in community diabetic patients using machine learning techniques and developed predictive models for predicting the high-risk group for depression in diabetic patients based on multiple risk factors. This study analyzed 26,829 adults living in the community who were diagnosed with diabetes by a doctor. The prevalence of a depressive disorder was the dependent variable in this study. This study developed a model for predicting diabetic depression using multiple logistic regression, which corrected all confounding factors in order to identify the relationship (influence) of predictive factors for diabetic depression by entering the top nine variables with high importance, which were identified in CatBoost. The prevalence of depression was 22.4% (n = 6,001). This study calculated the importance of factors related to depression in diabetic patients living in South Korean community using CatBoost to find that the top nine variables with high importance were gender, smoking status, changes in drinking before and after the COVID-19 pandemic, changes in smoking before and after the COVID-19 pandemic, subjective health, concern about economic loss due to the COVID-19 pandemic, changes in sleeping hours due to the COVID-19 pandemic, economic activity, and the number of people you can ask for help in a disaster situation such as COVID-19 infection. It is necessary to identify the high-risk group for diabetes and depression at an early stage, while considering multiple risk factors, and to seek a personalized psychological support system at the primary medical level, which can improve their mental health.

The association between alcohol drinking and subjective salty taste preference based on Korean Community Health Survey data

The association between alcohol drinking and subjective salty taste preference based on Korean Community Health Survey data

Awareness and related factors of depressive symptoms in breastfeeding people in South Korea: a survey-based cross-sectional study

ObjectivesThis study identifies depressive symptoms and the factors that could explain its presence in breastfeeding people.DesignThis study is a cross-sectional study from national survey data.Setting and participantsData were derived from...

Key factors for sustainable operation of smart rural communities in aging societies: Voices of Korean community leaders

The purpose of this study is to identify the success factors for achieving sustainable operation of smart rural communities. Smart rural communities, enabled by smart technology, are regarded as a potential solution to the challenges posed by aging populations in Korea. However, the sustainable operation of smart rural communities is complex, as a variety of factors should be addressed. To address issues of aging problems in rural communities, this study proposes a priority factor for smart rural community service by applying an analytical hierarchy process (AHP) method and in-depth interviews. The AHP model was designed based on a socio-technical system, and an AHP survey was conducted with community leaders who have experience in smart rural community projects. This study proposes a total of 4 criteria and 16 factors along with their corresponding priorities. The results indicate that the local culture is the most important for a sustainable smart rural community compared to other factors. Specifically, factors such as empathy of rural residents, stable financial support, and the presence of smart technology professionals and technical staff are critical for achieving successful smart rural communities for the elderly people. This study found that the cultural and human aspects are more critical for the sustainable operation of smart rural communities than technology infrastructure. The findings of this study provide valuable insights to other countries similar to Korea facing aging problems in rural areas planning to introduce smart rural communities.

Association between maternal emotional maltreatment history and children's problem behaviors: The mediating role of mothers' mentalization and emotion socialization.

A mothers' emotional maltreatment (EM) history may influence her mentalizing capacity, which is the capacity to reflect on one's and other's mental state and emotion socialization, which would affect her children's problem behaviors. However, no study has examined the mediating role of a mothers' mentalization and emotion socialization on the relationship between the maternal EM history and problem behaviors in their children. Through a structural equation modeling (SEM) analysis, this study aimed to investigate the mediating effect of a mothers' mentalization and emotion socialization on the relationship between maternal EM history and problem behaviors in their children. In particular, this study aimed to identify the distinct roles of two types of mentalization impairments (hypermentalization and hypomentalization) and two dimensions of emotion socialization (nonsupportive reactions and lack of supportive response to a child's negative emotions). In a Korean community, 661 mothers with children aged 7-12 years old completed the Korean versions of the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire, Reflective Functioning Questionnaire, Coping with Children's Negative Emotions Scale, and Child Behavior Checklist. The SEM analysis indicated that maternal mentalization and emotion socialization partially mediated the association between maternal self-reported EM history and maternal reports of children's problem behaviors. In particular, the indirect effect of maternal EM on problem behaviors in their children through hypomentalization and nonsupportive reactions was significant. The findings of this study suggest that a mother's hypomentalization and nonsupportive reactions might be a way in which a mothers' EM history leads to problem behaviors in their children. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

The Presentation of the Korean Self with Everyday Food: Negotiating “Koreanness” through Kimchi Diplomacy in Contemporary Japan

Abstract: This study explores domestic cultural diplomacy efforts to brand “Koreaness” using kimchi as a medium of civic movement for minority awareness and intercultural dialogue in Japan. Amid current global consumption trends, popular Korean dishes, including kimchi, have become diffused among the many other international dishes appropriated in Japan. Once negatively regarded in Japan as immigrants’ food that symbolized ethnic Koreans’ marginalization, many now consider kimchi to be a comfort food. Although some Korean residents perceive kimchi’s popularity in Japan as a sign of reduced skepticism toward and gradual acceptance of Koreanness and Korean residents in Japanese society, many Koreans approach kimchi as a medium through which they express their Koreanness and negotiate their position as an ethnic minority in relation to Japan’s “homogeneous” national identity. Discussions surrounding the production and consumption of kimchi in Japan reveal the delicate negotiations at play in the Korean minority’s assertion of proper Koreanness in Japan. Based on ethnographic work conducted among Korean communities in western Japan, this study investigates the performative and preservation efforts that the Korean community undertakes to sustain their ethnicity while becoming an increasingly integral part of Japanese society.

The association between depression and non-compliance with COVID-19 preventive behaviors in South Korean older adults stratified by sex.

This study evaluated the association between depression and non-compliance with COVID-19 preventive behaviors among community-dwelling South Korean older adults. We utilized the 2020 Korean Community Health Survey-a community-based nationwide survey. A score of 10 points or higher on the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 was defined as depression. Non-compliance with COVID-19 preventive behaviors was assessed on the following three behaviors: washing hands, wearing masks, and watching distance. We also included socio-demographic characteristics, health behaviors, and COVID-19-related characteristics as covariates. Multiple logistic regression analyses were performed, and all statistical analyses were stratified by sex. The 70,693 participants included 29,736 men and 40,957 women. Notably, 2.3% of men and 4.2% of women had depression. Non-compliance with washing hands was significantly higher in men than women (1.3% vs. 0.9%), whereas no significant differences were observed in wearing masks and watching distance. The adjusted logistic regression analysis showed that depression was positively associated with non-compliance with washing hands and watching distance in both sexes. The association between depression and non-compliance with wearing masks was significant only in women. There was an association between depression and non-compliance with COVID-19 preventive behaviors in South Korean older adults. This signifies that health providers need to reduce depression to improve compliance with preventive behaviors in older adults.

Self-Reported Reasons for Activity Limitations According to Age and Sex in Community-Dwelling Stroke Survivors.

We examined self-reported reasons for activity limitations among Korean community-dwelling stroke survivors, focusing on age and sex differences. Data from 1547 stroke survivors who participated in the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey were analysed. The study outcomes were the self-reported reasons for activity limitations, encompassing general medical factors and stroke-related problems. These reasons were compared by age (<65 vs. ≥65 years) and sex using a complex-sample chi-square test. Stroke survivors reported different musculoskeletal, medical, and neurological problems as reasons for activity limitations, which differed by age and sex. Older stroke survivors reported more problems related to dementia, memory loss, auditory problems, back or neck problems, arthritis, or leg pain than younger survivors. Women reported more psychiatric problems, headaches or dizziness, back or neck problems, arthritis, gastrointestinal problems, and dental or oral problems than men. Older and female stroke survivors reported a higher mean number of reasons for activity limitations compared to younger and male survivors. Thus, a tailored approach considering age and sex is necessary to help stroke survivors with activity limitations in the Korean community. This study highlights the importance of considering demographic factors when designing interventions to improve their quality of life.

Advances on pentraxin 3 in osteoporosis and fracture healing

Pentaxin 3 (PTX3), as a multifunctional glycoprotein, plays an important role in regulating inflammatory response, promoting tissue repair, inducing ectopic calcification and maintaining bone homeostasis. The effect of PTX3 on bone mineral density (BMD) may be affected by many factors. In PTX3 knockout mice and osteoporosis (OP) patients, the deletion of PTX3 will lead to decrease of BMD. In Korean community "Dong-gu study", it was found that plasma PTX3 was negatively correlated with BMD of femoral neck in male elderly patients. In terms of bone related cells, PTX3 plays an important role in maintaining the phenotype and function of osteoblasts (OB) in OP state;for osteoclast (OC), PTX3 in inflammatory state could stimulate nuclear factor κ receptor activator of nuclear factor-κB ligand (RANKL) production and its combination with TNF-stimulated gene 6(TSG-6) could improve activity of osteoclasts and promote bone resorption;for mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), PTX3 could promote osteogenic differentiation of MSCs through PI3K/Akt signaling pathway. In recent years, the role of PTX3 as a new bone metabolism regulator in OP and fracture healing has been gradually concerned by scholars. In OP patients, PTX3 regulates bone mass mainly by promoting bone regeneration. In the process of fracture healing, PTX3 promotes fracture healing by coordinating bone regeneration and bone resorption to maintain bone homeostasis. In view of the above biological characteristics, PTX3 is expected to become a new target for the diagnosis and treatment of OP and other age-related bone diseases and fracture healing.

Communal Mourning and Contemporary Elegy in Korean Poetry

Abstract An extended period of public mourning followed the 2014 Sewol Ferry disaster, one of South Korea’s largest maritime disasters which resulted in over three hundred passenger deaths. This article examines leading contemporary South Korean poet Kim Hyesoon’s narration of collective trauma in her elegy for the dead, Chugŭmŭi chasajŏn (Autobiography of Death, 2016). Drawing on the oral tradition, particularly the songs of female shamans, Kim facilitates a radical empathy with which her speaker enters the physical bodies of the dead and invokes their spirits. Kim’s polyvocal speaker traverses historical memory to excavate these deaths: Autobiography of Death connects the recent loss of life involved in the sinking of the Sewol Ferry with the structural injustice experienced by dissidents who were killed during South Korea’s democratization movement. I argue that Kim places her elegy in the public sphere by engaging the embodied memory of individuals to voice the transhistorical grief of the Korean community.

Relationship between functional limitations due to subjective cognitive decline and falling focusing exercise intensity: Results from the Korean Community Health Survey.

To explore the association between functional limitation due to subjective cognitive decline (SCD) and falling by focusing on exercise intensity in the Korean population aged 45 years and older. The 2019 Korean Community Health Survey (KCHS) was used to analyze 35,387 people by applying individual weights imposed from the raw data. To analyze the association between functional limitation due to SCD and falling in the Korean population aged 45 years and older, weighted logistic regression analysis and weighted zero-inflated Poisson regression analysis were used. In both the middle-aged group and the older adult group, the functional limitation due to SCD had a higher fall experience rate and more falls than the non-functional limitation due to SCD group. Additionally, the middle-aged group and the moderate or vigorous physical exercise (MVPE) group had a higher fall experience rate and number of falls than the non-MVPE group; however, the older adult group walking regularly and performing MVPE had a lower fall experience rate and number of falls than the non-exercise group. Active participation in exercise is encouraged and should lead to fewer falls in older adults. Furthermore, a group with functional limitations due to SCD should be provided with exercise guidelines and a community program and facilities that enable regular participation should be developed.

Predictors of social isolation in older adults from South Korean community: Analyzing the 2018 and 2020 Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging (KLoSA)

Objectives: Based on Berkman’s social integration theory, this study compared the degree of social isolation among older adults before and after COVID-19 and investigated the predictors of social isolation experienced by community-dwelling older adults. Method: Data from 2018 and 2020 Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging (KLoSA; N=3,947) were analyzed using chi-square test, independent t-test, and multiple logistic regression analysis. Results: The prevalence of social isolation was 22.1% and 22.3% in 2018 and 2020, respectively, which suggests no significant difference despite the COVID-19 pandemic. After controlling other variables, results showed that low socio-economic status, irregular contact with children, poor subjective health status, and poor instrumental activities of daily living were associated with social isolation. Additionally, the risk of social isolation was high among individuals living in urban areas, living alone, having depressive symptoms and experiencing cognitive decline. Conclusion: The results demonstrate that the predictors of older adults’ social isolation before and after the COVID-19 pandemic were similar. Therefore, it is necessary for older adults to prevent and intervene their social isolation, whose predictors should be considered in both health and social welfare policies. Further longitudinal studies are required to compare data of longer periods before and after the COVID-19 pandemic.

문화예술교육으로서 국악교육의 의미와 발전 방향

This study examined the current status and significance of Gugak social culture and arts education, presented the aesthetic value and meaning of Gugak, and sought the vision and prospects for the development of Gugak education. Gugak culture and arts education enhances the quality of life and creativity to develop social practice through art, restores the everydayness of art and forms a creative cultural community, and develops Korean identity and community through performing arts education. Gugak education is divided into Korean traditional music experience and Korean traditional music learning, and more fundamentally, it aims at reflection on humans and insight into the times. Gugak culture and arts education aims to cultivate culture and arts teachers as creative talents, implement convergent art education that revitalizes cultural diversity, and customize education that reflects regional specificity. It promotes creativity, artistic sensibility, cognitive problem-solving skills, collaboration, and communication skills based on the digital environment. Beneficiaries of Gugak culture and arts education will be able to develop their lives creatively by wisely coping with new era changes that emphasize creativity and innovation in thinking.

Culturally Competent Approaches for Neuropsychological Assessment for Differential Diagnosis of Dementia of Korean-Speaking Patients in the United States

To serve the over 1.82 million people of Korean descent who reside in the United States, we assembled a core and supplemental battery of culturally and linguistically appropriate neuropsychological measures for differential diagnosis of dementia for Korean-speaking patients. Test instruments in Korean were identified through systematic searches of PubMed and Google Scholar, US-based website searches in Korean, and in consultation with Korean-speaking cultural brokers, residing in the United States and Korea. A battery assessing cognitive domains and mood was assembled using core measures developed specifically for Korean-speaking individuals within the United States and supplemental English measures that can be administered using translated instructions and English normative data. The rationale for test selection and clinical utility, including strengths and limitations of the proposed measures, is presented. Additionally, a case illustration using the proposed battery is included. Given the large and aging population of Korean-speaking residents in the United States, it is imperative to utilize appropriately designed and normed instruments to provide culturally competent assessments to better serve the Korean community.

Patient Health Questionnaire-9, Body Mass Index, Household Income According to Sleep Duration: Findings From a Community Health Survey

Background and Objective Research on the relationship between sleep duration and Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), body mass index (BMI), and income in South Korea was scarce. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between sleep duration and the PHQ-9, BMI, and household income.Methods We used data from the Korean Community Health Survey (KCHS) conducted by the Korean Center for Disease Control and Prevention in 2018 which included a total of 228340 participants from across the country. We divided the participants into four groups based on their sleep duration and used one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) to compare the mean values of PHQ-9, BMI, and household income among the groups.Results A total of 227899 respondents were included in the study. Based on a one-way ANOVA, the mean PHQ-9 score tended to increase as sleep duration decreased. However, the group with a sleep duration of 9 hours or more had an exceptionally higher mean PHQ-9 score than the group with a sleep duration of 7 to 9 hours. The BMI score generally decreased as the sleep duration increased. Additionally, the group with a sleep duration of 5 to 7 hours and 7 to 9 hours had higher household income than the group with a sleep duration of 5 hours or less or 9 hours or more.Conclusions This study demonstrated the association between sleep duration and PHQ-9, BMI, and household income. Sleep duration was found to be a factor influencing PHQ-9, BMI, and household income.

Associations of dual use of tobacco cigarettes and e-cigarettes, sleep duration, physical activity and depressive symptoms among middle-aged and older Korean adults.

There is limited evidence of the association between dual tobacco-e-cigarette use and health-related variables in Korea. Thus, this study aimed to investigate the associations between types of cigarette smoking, sleep duration, physical activity and depressive symptoms among Korean adults. A cross-sectional study design using the 2019 Korean Community Health Survey. The study subjects consisted of 179,004 adults older than 40 years from a total of 229,099 individuals. Self-reported general characteristics, smoking history, sleep duration, physical activity and depressive symptoms were analysed. In multinomial logistic regression, dual users of tobacco cigarettes and e-cigarettes were more likely to have sleep duration of less than 7h per day and to report both mild and moderate-to-severe depressive symptoms than non-smokers. Single use of either cigarettes or e-cigarettes increased the risk of short sleep duration and moderate-to-severe depressive symptoms.

KSL international students’ perceptions of the linguistic resources and activities in and out of the classroom

Objectives This study explored Korean as a Second Language (KSL) students’ perceptions of the linguistic resources and activities in and outside the classroom. Methods Drawing on a sociocultural view of language learning and an ecological perspective, this paper presents the stories of five second language (L2) international students, who were enrolled in an undergraduate or graduate program. Using a qualitative case study method, this researcher analyzed data collected from interviews, a written questionnaire, students’ self-report, and other documents. The experiences of the focal students were compared and contrasted with each other and verified through additional perspectives, including the instructor and the leader of a campus extra-curricular club. Results The focal L2 students reported varying levels of marginalization in class due to language barriers. The research findings show that the participation of L2 international students in and outside the classroom is influenced by both the nature of the curriculum and resources and the students' own agency and learning beliefs. The study suggests that the focal L2 students took initiative by creating a Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) outside of class to resolve linguistic problems they encountered in class. Conclusions Despite appearing as inexperienced language learners on the periphery, the focal international students demonstrated agency by employing diverse language learning strategies and channels. Additionally, some KSL students assumed expert and mediator roles and made significant contributions to local Korean communities.

Asian American Spies: How Asian Americans Helped Win the Allied Victory, by Brian Masaru Hayashi

Brian Hayashi has written a consistently informative and often frustrating study of Asian Americans and their wartime service with the Office of Strategic Services (OSS). While Hayashi’s deft writing makes his monograph read like an espionage thriller, it is no mere adventure tale as it offers a detailed examination of the OSS, Asian American communities, and the fluid nature of loyalty, especially in wartime. Here, in examining how loyalty is developed and understood by multiple communities, Hayashi excels, and his work eclipses even that of Masayo Umezawa Duus’s Unlikely Liberators (2006). These strengths notwithstanding, the book does not, as the subtitle promises, tell the story of how Asian Americans helped win the war; instead, it often leads readers down a winding path to a disappointing historical dead end. Hayashi begins with a thorough review of the historiography of the OSS and uses Chinese, English, Japanese and Korean language sources to bring to life the work of heretofore historically marginalised Asian American agents serving both stateside and overseas. Chapters One and Two examine the creation of the Office of Strategic Services, its basic structure and the functions of its various sections, as well as how the OSS became, by the standards of wartime America, ‘an ethnically and racially inclusive organization’ (p. 17). Here, Hayashi does an outstanding job of guiding readers through the labyrinthine process that William Donovan, head of the OSS, and others followed to identify and recruit agents from Chinese, Japanese, and Korean communities. These chapters offer a solid look at figures such as Donovan and Cornelius Vander Starr, whose wartime business, C.V. Starr and Company, grew into today’s multinational finance and insurance corporation, American International Group. These chapters also produce some highly useful and unexpected nuggets of information as, for example, when Hayashi concludes that Japan’s rapid conquest of British Burma and Malaya resulted in part from the Secret Intelligence Service’s preoccupation with ‘suppressing nationalist movements within their empire’ (p. 20). Equally impressive is his coverage of COMINTERN recruitment within the Asian American community and the contribution of Japanese leftists to the Allied victory.

Xchange and cooperation between Korea and Kazakhstan to overcome Covid-19 (Focusing on Newspaper articles from 『Hаnin Shinmun』 and 『Kore Ilbo』 in 2020-21 years)

During the past 2020-21, COVID-19 has had a profound impact on our lives to the extent of changing the paradigm of life. In this paper, I paid attention to the exchange and cooperation between Kazakhstan and Korea to overcome COVID-19 in 2020-21. In other words, I looked at how COVID-19 affected exchanges and cooperation between Kazakhstan and Korea during that period. In other words, what types of exchanges and cooperation took place, and whether exchanges and cooperation decreased or increased compared to the previous period. To see specific examples of exchange and cooperation between Kazakhstan and Korea to overcome COVID-19, I used articles from 『Hanin Shinmun』 (The Korean Newspaper), the representative weekly magazine of the korean community from Republic of Korea in Kazakhstan, and 『Kore Ilbo』, the representative weekly magazine of the Koryein community(ethnic korean from Kazakhstan). In the article search process, I preferentially included articles that directly show the mutual exchange and cooperation between Kazakhstan and Korea related to COVID-19. In addition, although not related to COVID-19, I also included articles showing general mutual exchanges and cooperation showing the relationship between Kazakhstan and Korea at that time in the scope of the study. This study is meaningful not only in terms of exchange and cooperation to overcome COVID-19, but also in that it can help identify the actual mutual relationship between the two countries. &nbsp