Korean Life Research Articles

India, Korea and Buddhism

India and Korea share a long-standing cultural and religious connection through Buddhism. Buddhism originated in ancient India, where it was founded by Siddhartha Gautama, also known as the Buddha. It then spread to many parts of Asia, including Korea, through a combination of trade, missionary activity, and cultural exchange. The first recorded introduction of Buddhism to Korea was in the 4th century CE, when Chinese monks arrived in the country to spread Buddhist teachings. From that time on, Buddhism played a significant role in Korean culture and society, and has continued to be an important part of Korean life up to the present day. Indian Buddhist philosophy and teachings are rooted in the teachings of Buddha. Buddhism originated in India over 2,500 years ago and has since spread to other parts of the world.

조선시대 18세기 한글 간본문헌의 서체특징과 서예사적 의의

The subject of this study is the published Hangeul documents in the 18th century of the late Joseon Dynasty. Its purpose is to trace and inspect the process of change of Hangeul scripts in documents, reveal its aesthetic characteristics, and examine the value that can affect the creation of Hangeul calligraphy and modern Korean life. Among the Hangeul documents published by government offices and the private sector in the 18th century, I selected 60 types of Hangeul documents with excellent calligraphic scripts, high readability, and clear bibliographical information and studied them.
 The scripts of the published Hangeul documents in the 18th century are flexible in strokes and shapes and appear in various ways depending on the printing method, such as woodblock, wooden type, and metal type. In particular, Oryunhaengsildo(1797), which was printed in an organized wooden type, shows the settled appearance of Hangeul characters in the 18th century in terms of the balance and stability of calligraphic scripts. On the other hand, in terms of content, the published Hangeul documents in the 18th century reflect the trends and demands of the times in various ways, such as Yuneum Eonhae(the king’s word with Hangeul annotation), edification books, and foreign language learning books. The characteristics of the published Hangeul documents during this period and their significance in calligraphy history are as follows.
 1. In the early 18th century, Hangeul literature for edifying people was mainly published. In the later period, Hangeul literature on history, foreign languages, literature, and medicine reflecting changes throughout society, politics, and economy was published, and there was much of Hangeul literature related to foreign language education, such as Qing, Mongolian, Wae(Japanese), and Manchurian.
 2. The Hangeul documents in the 18th century printed by the king’s order mainly used Musinja(metal type cast in 1668). The appearance of the characters is long and rigid, but the woodblock print of the central government edition led by the state is close to the elegant handwriting. In the latter years, it begins to change into the manuscript form of court-style calligraphic scripts.
 3. Books on military science were published in the local government offices, and most medical books were published by the central government.
 4. I could find the characteristics of calligraphy history that the Dodum style(block print style of calligraphy) in the early days of Hangeul creation changed and settled down as the Batang style(manuscript style of calligraphy).

The lifetime burden following stroke: Long term impact of stroke on survival and quality of life.

The absolute burden of stroke in Korea is ever growing. Many studies have explored the outcomes of mortality, quality of life (QOL), and/or economic burden with limited periods of observation. Relatively few have addressed the lifetime outcomes that are estimated beyond the limited observation period of study samples. By combining QOL and the survival functions over a lifetime horizon, our aims were to estimate the quality-adjusted life expectancy (QALE) and loss-of-QALE of patients with ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke in South Korea, and to compare them between genders. The survival function of stroke patients (n = 13,994) was estimated by the Kaplan-Meier's method from the National Health Insurance Service-National Sample Cohort of Korea (2002-2015), and then extrapolated to lifetime through a rolling-over algorithm. The QOL measurements, assessed by EuroQol 5-dimension (EQ-5D) questionnaire, of stroke patients (n = 474) were extracted from the Korea Health Panel (KHP, 2008-2018) to estimate the QALE. All stroke patients were categorized by sex and two types of stroke: ischemic and hemorrhagic. Age-, sex-, and calendar year-matched referents were simulated from the Korean life tables to be integrated with the general population's QOL from the KHP to estimate the QALE of the referents. We calculated the loss-of-QALE by comparing the above two sets of QALE. The QALE and loss-of-QALE for ischemic stroke were 10.8 and 6.1 QALYs (quality-adjusted life years), respectively, and 14.0 and 9.0 QALYs for hemorrhagic stroke. The loss-of-QALE in men was 3.0 QALYs larger than that of women with hemorrhagic stroke (p < 0.05), while the difference for ischemic stroke was much smaller and statistically insignificant at 0.6 QALYs. The lifetime impact of stroke in Korea is large, especially for males who survived hemorrhagic stroke. Future studies assessing the lifetime needs for long-term care of stroke patients are warranted to quantify the burden of stroke from the societal perspective.

Communication with the Elderly Customers in the Digital Era: A Case of Video-Chat Service of a Korean Insurance Company

Objectives: BigTech companies have expanded into the financial sector and offer various services such as payments, lending, insurance, wealth management, and other financial products. However, elderly individuals may struggle to adapt to new technologies and digital financial services due to a lack of familiarity and experience with digital devices and online platforms. The purpose of this study was to examine the case of a Korean life insurance company that introduced video chat services to address the digital inclusion of elderly customers, the proportion of whom is increasing due to population aging in the wave of pandemic-accelerated digitalization. Methods: In this case study, we investigated the M Life insurance company’s successful introduction of video chat-based customer service to replace existing customer walk-in centers. Two series of customer satisfaction survey results are presented. In addition, based on the senior technology acceptance model (STAM) theory, we investigated the factors contributing to the success of video chat customer service and suggested directions of development. Results: In accordance with the STAM, personal characteristics such as self-efficacy, anxiety, and health deficiencies, as well as environmental supports including assistance and guidance, were key factors contributing to the successful adoption of and intention to use the video chat service among senior customers. Conclusions: Through video chat-based customer service, customers can enjoy the benefits of non-face-to-face, time-agnostic, and location-agnostic interaction. Additionally, the company benefits from improved human resource efficiency and employee satisfaction.

Distribution Systems and Efficiency of Life Insurers in Korea

This study investigates the technical efficiencies of all life insurance companies in Korea using data environment analysis (DEA) for the sample of 2006 – 2017. During the sample period studied, new life policy sales by cyber marketing and traditional face-to-face sales have significantly increased and sales by other distribution methods have parred or decreased. The estimates of average technical efficiency measures of Korean life insurers are about 18 percent higher than those of foreign life insurers. Among competing regression models, a random effects model is found to be an appropriate model and shows that cyber marketing and tele-marketing have a statistically significant positive impact on insurers’ efficiency, while there is a statistically significant negative relationship between the capital input and the efficiency. The findings of this suggest that insurers should strive to increase their operational efficiency by reevaluating and restructuring their distribution channels.

The Effects of Sport Life Skills and Life Skills Transfer on Student-Athletes and Coaches: An Application of Actor-Partner Interdependence Model (APIM)

PURPOSE This study examined the effect of sports life skills and life skills transfer of student-athletes and coaches, applying Actor-Partner Interdependence Model (APIM). METHODS Korean student-athletes and coaches from middle and high school sports teams participated in this study. There were 300 student-athletes (&lt;i&gt;M&lt;/i&gt;&lt;sub&gt;age&lt;/sub&gt;=15.44, &lt;i&gt;SD&lt;/i&gt;=1.64; male=218, female=82), with an average of 5.46 (&lt;i&gt;SD&lt;/i&gt;=2.40) years of athletic career. Meanwhile, 33 coaches were (&lt;i&gt;M&lt;/i&gt;&lt;sub&gt;age&lt;/sub&gt;=39.70, &lt;i&gt;SD&lt;/i&gt;=8.36; male=26, female=7), with an average of 13.52 years of coaching career (&lt;i&gt;SD&lt;/i&gt;=10.01). Measures included the Life Skills Scale for Student-Athletes (LSSSA; Jang et al., 2020) and Korean Life Skills Transfer Survey (KLSTS; Lim et al., 2018). Descriptive analysis, correlation, and APIM were undertaken by using the SPSS and AMOS programs. RESULTS First, the correlation between athletes’ and coaches’ life skills was not significant. Second, athletes’ life skills significantly affected their life skills transfer, similar to coaches’ life skills significantly affecting their life skills transfer. Fourth, coaches’ life skills did not significantly influence athletes’ life skills transfer, and the converse was not true either. CONCLUSIONS This study verified the effect of life skills development for two groups of athletes and coaches, on transfer in sports, and attempted statistical verification of whether it affects sports life skills and transfer between athletes and coaches. Although no statistically significant results were found in the partner effect, it is meaningful in that, it provided important implications for conducting a follow-up study on the relationship between athletes and coaches. In other words, it is expected to be a cornerstone for research on building a new model, along with investigating the interactive relations between athletes and coaches on life skills in the sports field.

Exploring Intergenerational Worship of Interdependence in a Korean American Context

Formed alongside the arrival of the first Korean immigrants in Hawaii in 1903, the Korean American Protestant Church has played a significant role in the social, political, and religious lives of Koreans in the United States. However today, membership is declining and the newer generations represent a smaller part of the movement leading the Korean American Protestant Church to review and reform its current respective practices of ministry in terms of language, teaching, preaching, worship, and theological orientation. This article focuses on the critical issues that the Korean American Protestant Church is facing and examines the current common practice of Korean American worship. Additionally, this article proposes theological and liturgical suggestions that could be utilized to help realize the goal of Korean American intergenerational worship. These suggestions are formed against the background of five notable characteristics of the Trinity—flexibility (innovation), communication (sharing and empathy), interconnection, ubiquity, and holistic artistry—which are essential to achieving intergenerational worship and its design. As a sample liturgy, worship combined with a meal invites children and young adults, born and raised in the United States, to participate in leadership roles with first-generation adults, which directly correlates with the aforementioned characteristics. As such, in essence, liturgies like these will lead worshippers to experience the embodied theology of intergenerational worship, based on a practical and theological concept of interdependence and awareness.

A Spirit of Resistance: A Comparative Study of William Wordsworth’s “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud” and Yu Chi-hwan’s “Daffodil”

This paper discusses two poems about daffodils and their respective ideas about poetry: one poem by British Romantic poet William Wordsworth (1770–1850) and one poem by twentieth-century Korean poet Yu Chi-hwan (1908–1967). Although scholars have performed comparative studies on Wordsworth and Korean poets including Kim Jeoung-hee, Kim So-wol, and Hwang Seok-woo, there is no research comparing Wordsworth and Yu. Thus, this study expands the field of comparative studies of Korean and British poets and enhances our understanding of British Romanticism and the Korean Life School. It argues that both poets used their poems as a medium for expressing resistance under repressive social atmospheres. On the one hand, presented in the preface to Lyrical Ballads, Wordsworth’s “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud” (1807) epitomizes his poetic principles by challenging conventional poetic practices to introduce his own approach. By using plain language and choosing daffodils as his subject matter, he demonstrates the possibility of composing a beautiful poem without following convention. On the other hand, Yu used his poem “Daffodil” (1939) to imply his resistance to the Japanese colonial government’s oppression. Given the likely difficulty explicitly expressing anti-Japanese sentiments and longing for independence, Yu describes the situations around the speaker and the daffodils, tacitly criticizing Japan’s brutal rule over Koreans. The poem’s focus on the resilient nature of the daffodil encourages both readers and himself not to give up hope for independence. This paper argues that despite their differences, Wordsworth and Yu both employ poetry in defiance against the things they object to.

문화콘텐츠로서 신동엽 作 &lt;석가탑&gt;의 기획 방향 연구

This paper propose the direction of planning cultural contents that allow cultural others. To this end, compared to play, novel, total theatre, and cultural park produced using the cultural archetype of Asanyeo, this paper examines the problems of space raised by Shin Dong-yeop’s Seoggatap . Chapter 2 examines the problems of spatial closure by analyzing mainstream cultural contents in consideration of the influence on the lives of Koreans. In order to prove that the division of space was reinforced and reproduced by supplementing the composition of art/love in addition to the traditional dichotomy of inside/outside, sacred/secular, the texts of the colonial era and cultural contents of the 21st century are analyzed. Chapter 3 analyzes the phantom of the Asanyeo appearing in the stage space of the Seoggatap and analyzes that Asanyeo's inheritance heir, Asadal declares at the end of the play to expand the dichotomously limited space by all divisions. Referring to this, it is suggested that the planners of Seoggatap can inherit the original plan to create an unprecedented work of art by inviting cultural others into the inner and outer spaces while considering the historically completed spatial closure.

한국 좀비 아포칼립스 서사의 시체정치: 자본, 국가, 인민의 재현 방식을 중심으로

This paper examines the aspects of capital, state, and people that provide content to the form constituting the Korean zombie apocalypse narrative. By doing so, we looked at the political unconscious of the necropolitics inherent in the Korean zombie narrative. First, through “Happy Apocalypse!”, we analyzed the nowness of the Korean zombie apocalypse genre. Second, through “Pale Horse”, we considered that today’s capital that zombificated people’s lives is a necronomy. Third, through “Kingdom” and “Asinjeon”, we analyzed the feature of a necropolis that necros the people’s bodies based on physical politics. Finally, through the previous works, we tried to pay attention to the aspects of the necro-people who resist capital-state governance while creating it. This paper attempted to prove that the Korean zombie apocalypse narrative is the dominant species of Korean popular culture that unconsciously represents the collective fear and hope inherent in the collective form of life of Koreans.

Postpartum Diet and the Lifestyle of Korean and Chinese Women: A Comparative Study

ObjectiveThe study investigated and compared postpartum diet and behaviors, nutrition education, and psychological health status among Korean and Chinese postpartum women (0–6 months after delivery).MethodsA total of 221 Korean mothers in Gyeonggi-do (South Korea) and 221 mothers in Jinhua (China) participated in the survey between November and December 2018, and the results were statistically analyzed using the SPSS Statistics 25.0 software.ResultsMany postpartum behaviors, such as postpartum diet pattern and care duration differed between Korean and Chinese mothers. The former showed a stronger desire for nutrition education compared with the latter (p < 0.001). Korean mothers' life and meal satisfaction, and contentment with their husband's support were all ~0.5 points higher compared with Chinese mothers, particularly regarding spousal support (p < 0.001). Postpartum depression stresses positively correlated with postpartum infant care stress and negatively correlated with life satisfaction. In addition, primipara mothers were more in need of infant care support and guidance concerning appropriate baby-feeding techniques compared with multipara mothers.ConclusionTraditional culture was a crucial factor that influenced the perceptions of postpartum women in South Korea and China. Culturally tailored nutrition education and exercise programs may benefit Korean and Chinese women after childbirth.

South Korean Millennials’ Military Service and Neoliberal Calculations

Abstract Mandatory military service has been an inescapable fact of life for young men in South Korea from the time of the Korean War. It continues to this day, despite the country’s neoliberal transformation that began following the Asian financial crisis of 1997 and the extension of the neoliberal values of market competition, individual freedom, and meritocracy into all facets of contemporary South Korean life; and despite the contradiction between an ideology of freedom and rational choices and an institution that obligates men to serve in the military or face imprisonment. Based on interviews with forty-five South Korean college students who had recently completed their military service, this study examines how the neoliberal ethos instilled in Korean millennials as they grew up in the twenty-first century guides their decisions and strategies regarding military service.

Predictors of health-related quality of life in Koreans with cardiovascular disease.

ObjectivesThis study aimed to identify the predictors of health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in Korean adults with cardiovascular disease (CVD).MethodsThis was a cross-sectional study with a stratified multistage probability sampling design. Data from the 2016 to 2019 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (n=32,379) were used. Among the participants aged 19 years or older (n=25,995), 1,081 patients with CVD were extracted after excluding those with missing data and those who had cancer. The participants’ HRQoL was measured using the three-level EuroQoL Group’s five-dimension questionnaire (EQ-5D) scale. Data were analyzed using the t-test, one-way analysis of variance, and general linear regression for complex samples.ResultsThe most potent predictors of HRQoL in Korean adults with CVD were limited activity (β=−0.103, p<0.001), poor perceived health (β=−0.089, p<0.001), depression (β=−0.065, p<0.01), low household income (β=−0.033, p<0.05), unemployment (β=−0.023, p<0.05), and older age (β=−0.002, p<0.01), which explained 37.2% of the variance.ConclusionComprehensive interventions that address both physical and mental factors and social systems that provide financial help need to be implemented to improve the HRQoL of Korean adults with CVD.

러시아 연해주 지역 한인의 근대 경험 – 1920~1930년대 한인의 토지분배와 집단화

The purpose of this study is to examine the socialist modern experience experienced by Koreans living in the Russian Far East while participating in the construction of a new society after the Russian Revolution. At the end of 1922, as the civil war ended in Primorsky Krai and socialist construction began, Koreans began to actively participate in socialist construction.<BR> Participated as a representative of the Korean American plenipotentiary under the Far East Revolutionary Committee and contributed to the establishment of a socialist system by participating in the Soviet Executive Committee on Korean issues. And every Korean village living in the Far East began to build a Korean soviet.<BR> The problems faced by Koreans in Primorsky Krai during the Soviet period were very numerous. Since most Koreans were farmers, the land issue was a very sensitive issue. However, as the number of Koreans immigrating to Primorsky Krai increased, the problem of acquiring Soviet citizenship also overlapped, making it difficult to solve the problem. The Soviet authorities implemented a policy of granting citizenship to those who lived and worked in Primorsky Krai for a certain period of time. In order to solve the land problem, the Soviet authorities gave priority to the peasants in the Primorsky Territory. Nevertheless, the peasants who were not granted land pursued a policy of emigrating to Khabarovsk and Amur.<BR> At the 15th Party Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in December 1927, the policy of rapid heavy industry and comprehensive agricultural collectivization was decided. This decision brought about a major change in the lives of Koreans in the Far East. So, by 1934, the overall collectivization rate of Koreans had reached 60-65%, and in the case of farmers, 75-80%.<BR> As such, in the 1920s and 1930s, when the Korean Peninsula was experiencing the dark history of the Japanese colonial period, Koreans in Primorsky Province experienced a new era, a new society, and a new modernity.

The Popular Novels of Colonial Chosun and the Fantasy of ‘Namyang’, Focused on The Golden Cave

The term “Namyang Archipelago” has been forgotten in Korea. Although the Namyang Islands were imbricated in the lives of Koreans during the colonial period, few Koreans know the term nowadays. During the colonial period, “Namyang Fever” was prevalent in Chosun. Namyang was thought of as an idealized land, but its natives were described as uncivilized barbarians. Such contradictory views are found in Kim Nae-sung’s adventure novel for boys The Golden Cave, published in 1937. This study examines the meaning of the obsession with Namyang in colonial Chosun, concentrating in particular on this novel.When the novel was published in 1937, Chosun was undergoing a mania for gold and a veritable gold rush. During this period, Kim Nae-seong was drawing readers’ attention to the Namyang Islands by describing them as the place where The Golden Cave is located. It was not that Kim Nae-seong wanted to encourage people to migrate to the Namyang Archipelago out of self-interest. All the children who go on adventures in the novel try to use the gold they have found in the public interest, through initiatives such as building an orphanage. They are aiming for a life that abandons the primacy of “one’s desire,” “one’s success,” and “one’s joy”, and think only of the public interest. This form of life meant 殉忠, “giving one’s life for the country,” which the Japanese Empire required of colonial Koreans during this period.

Effect of Oral Prosthesis Status on Factor Related Oral Health and Quality of Life (HINT-8) in Middle-aged Koreans: Using the 2019 Data from the KNHNES

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to determine the effect of oral prosthesis status on oral health-related factors and HINT-8 in middle-aged Koreans. Methods: The effects of oral health-related factors and quality of life were analyzed according to the state of oral prostheses in 2,241 people using the 2019 KNHNES. Results: The higher the condition of the prosthesis in the oral cavity, the worse the oral health status was perceived, and the problems with chewing and speaking were higher. As for the effect on quality of life, the more the oral prosthesis was, the more difficult it was to climb stairs, the pain increased, and the difficulty of memory increased. Conclusions: According to the above results, in order to improve the quality of life of middle-aged Koreans living in Korea, follow-up care through regular dental visits is necessary so that they can be well managed even after the oral prosthesis is installed.

Feasibility assessment of longevity swap for the Korean life annuity market

Feasibility assessment of longevity swap for the Korean life annuity market

A Study on the Korean Life Insurance Demand with Macroeconomic Environment Changes

본 연구는 생명보험 수요를 나타내는 생명보험 신계약가입금액과 KOSPI 종합주가지수, 실질 금리, 실업률, 산업생산지수 등 생명보험 수요에 영향을 미치는 다양한 거시경제변수들의 동태적인 관계를 추정하고 각 변수들과 생명보험 신계약가입금액의 장기 균형 관계를 실증적으로 분석하고자 한다. 특히, 국내 총소득 증가율이 정체되기 시작하는 2017년을 전후로 분석 기간을 나누어 위험자산인 주가지수와 대체 투자자산인 보험 수요 간 장기 상관관계를 집중적으로 분석하고 이들 관계에 어떤 변화가 발생하였는지를 중점적으로 살펴본다. 본 연구는 2003년부터 2020년 11월까지 월별 자료를 Pesaran and Shin(1999)이 제안한 ARDL 모형에 기반한 오차수정모형으로 추정하여 이들 변수 간의 장·단기 동적 관계를 분석한다. 또한, Pesaran et al.(2001)이 제안한 Bounds 검정을 통해 변수들의 I(0) 혹은 I(1) 여부와 관계없이 공적분 관계를 강건하게 검정하고 모형의 잔차에 대한 누적합 검정(CUSUM 검정과 CUSUMQ 검정)을 실시하여 모형의 안정성을 검정한다. 실증분석 결과는 다음과 같다. 첫째, 거시경제변수들과 생명보험 수요 사이에는 공적분 관계가 존재한다. 둘째, 전체 기간과 2017년 이전 자료의 경우 종합주가지수는 생명보험 수요와 정(+)의 관계가 있으며, 산업생산지수는 부(-)의 관계가 있다. 셋째, 2017년 이후에는 실질 금리가 생명보험 수요와 매우 뚜렷한 정(+)의 관계를 보이며 종합주가지수는 부(-)의 관계를 나타내는 것으로 바뀌었다. 본 연구의 검증 결과 생명보험 수요와 거시경제변수들 사이에는 장기 균형 관계가 존재하며, 2017년을 기점으로 국내 총소득 증가율이 정체되면서 소득 효과는 약해지고 위험자산인 주식과 대체 투자자산인 보험 사이에 대체 효과가 강해지고 있는 것으로 나타났다. 그리고 저금리 현상이 심화함에 따라 보험 소비자들의 실질 금리 변화에 대한 민감도가 높아진 것으로 분석되었다. 본 연구는 이러한 결과를 토대로 향후 연구과제로 기간별로 구조 변화를 추정할 수 있는 계량모형을 적용하여 이러한 변화를 고려한 장기 균형 관계를 추정할 수 있는 연구를 제안한다.

The Population and Jobs of Koreans Living in Taiwan during the Japanese Colonial Period

The Population and Jobs of Koreans Living in Taiwan during the Japanese Colonial Period

The Female Burden Visualized: Cinematic Representation of Women during Epidemics

The Female Burden Visualized: Cinematic Representation of Women during Epidemics