Metropolitan City In South Korea Research Articles

Simultaneous comparison of the chemical composition and attributable source of PM2.5 during 2014–2018 in major metropolitan cities in South Korea: impacts of policy interventions

Abstract Ambient fine particulate matter (PM2.5) is one of the most concerning pollutants, characterized by its diverse chemical composition. Although various studies have revealed PM2.5 chemical components, there is limited knowledge on how to reduce PM2.5 concentrations through administrative policies focusing on source management. We compared PM2.5 compositional characteristics and performed source apportionment using the positive matrix factorization in four metropolitan cities (Seoul, Daejeon, Gwangju, and Ulsan) in South Korea from 2014 to 2018. The annual average of PM2.5 concentrations exceeded the annual national ambient air quality standard of 15 μg m−3 in all areas while secondary inorganic aerosols constituted the largest fraction of PM2.5. This implies that secondary formation from gaseous precursors in the atmosphere was the main factor contributing to ambient PM2.5. However, the concentrations of PM2.5 constituents varied significantly across cities, suggesting that PM2.5 is a heterogeneous pollutant considerably influenced by region-specific conditions. In line with the chemical composition, secondary nitrate, secondary sulfate, and mobile-related sources were found to be significant contributors of PM2.5. Additionally, the extent of contribution from each source varied across the study regions. We also evaluated the impacts of policy interventions by comparing the PM2.5 composition and source apportionment before and after the policies for improving air quality. Intensive programs focused on the vehicle sector in Seoul led to a considerable decrease in the concentrations of carbonaceous compounds and mobile-related sources. In addition, strengthened regulations on coal-fired power plants (CFPPs) since 2016 have influenced the contributions of coal combustion sources in two cities adjacent to the west coastal area, where approximately half of the CFPPs of the country are densely distributed. Overall, the study’s findings indicate that region-specific PM2.5 chemical constituents and source contributions should be considered for establishing PM2.5-related policies, considering the high heterogeneity of PM2.5.

Impact of the restraint decision tree for physical restraint use in South Korean neurointensive care units.

Nurses in neurointensive care units (NCUs) commonly use physical restraint (PR) to prevent adverse events like unplanned removal of devices (URDs) or falls. However, PR use should be based on evidenced decisions as it has drawbacks. Unfortunately, there is a lack of research-based PR protocol to support decision-making for nurses, especially for neurocritical patients. This study developed a restraint decision tree for neurocritical patients (RDT-N) to assist nurses in making PR decisions. We assessed its effectiveness in reducing PR use and adverse events. This study employed a baseline and post-intervention test design at a NCU with 19 beds and 45 nurses in a tertiary hospital in a metropolitan city in South Korea. Two-hundred and thirty-seven adult patients were admitted during the study period. During the intervention, nurses were trained on the RDT-N. PR use and adverse events between the baseline and post-intervention periods were compared. Post-intervention, total number of restrained patients decreased (20.7%-16.3%; χ2 = 7.68, p = .006), and the average number of PR applied per restrained patient decreased (2.42-1.71; t = 5.74, p < .001). The most frequently used PR type changed from extremity cuff to mitten (χ2 = 397.62, p < .001). No falls occurred during the study periods. On the other hand, URDs at baseline were 18.67 cases per 1000 patient days in the high-risk group and 5.78 cases per 1000 patient days in the moderate-risk group; however, no URD cases were reported post-intervention. The RDT-N effectively reduced PR use and adverse events. Its application can enhance patient-centred care based on individual condition and potential risks in NCUs. Nurses can use the RDT-N to assess the need for PR in caring for neurocritical patients, reducing PR use and adverse events.

Causative Activities and Prognostic Factors of Open-Globe Injury: A Registry-Based City-Wide Multicentre Study

ABSTRACT Purpose Traumatic globe injury is classified into closed-globe and open-globe injury (OGI); OGI leads to a worse prognosis. We aimed to identify causative activities and prognostic factors of OGI in a metropolitan city in South Korea. Methods This retrospective observational study used a prospective eye-injury registry conducted in Daegu, South Korea, between 1 August 2016 and 31 July 2021. We identified epidemiology and visual outcomes of OGI at four tertiary hospitals. Those with the best visual acuity lower than counting fingers at the 6-month follow-up were considered to have poor visual outcome. Results Of 9,208 patients with eye injuries, 282 had OGI. Most OGI patients were male (261, 92.6%), with the largest proportion in their 50s (76, 27.0%). The most frequent causative activity was mowing (59, 20.9%), and poor visual outcome was most seen in assault (7, 87.5%) and sports activity (9, 81.8%). Hammering, metal work, and sports activity were prevalent in those under 30, and mowing was most prevalent in those in their 50s (16, 21.1%) and 60s (29, 40.3%). In the multivariable logistic regression analysis, OGI related to traffic accident and sports activity were presented poor prognosis (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 13.259, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.202–146.205 for traffic accident; aOR 6.801, 95% CI 1.064–43.487 for sports activity). Conclusion We need to develop advanced vehicle safety equipment, implement public education promoting seat belt usage and hazards of OGI, establish eye protection standards for key causal activities, and provide eye protection equipment for sports activities and mowing.

How does air pollution affect floating population in metropolitan city: embedding-based approach

AbstractRecently, the air pollution has been seriously regarded in the urban environment. Particularly, the substantial relationship between the air pollution and the daily movements of citizens has not been sufficiently investigated yet. This study attempts to empirically identify the patterns of air pollution using association rule mining from Seoul, the metropolitan city in South Korea. As a result, 214 patterns on air pollution are discovered, and those are embedded into vectors based on Doc2Vec technique. Then, this paper further examines how the movement of citizens reacts to the discovered patterns of air pollution by deploying the linear regression on the floating population with emphasis on the walk-traffic. Specifically, the walk-traffic is categorized into 14 categories by gender and age group, and the effects of air pollution patterns on each subgroup walk traffic were analyzed. Findings of this paper provide the empirical evidences on the estimated air pollution sensitivity by generation and gender to researchers and practitioners. This paper has the contribution on newly proposing the methodological framework for further managing the air pollution in the urban environment. Graphical abstract

Residential mobility according to health status in South Korea's largest metropolitan city during the COVID-19 pandemic using generalized estimating equations for longitudinal data

This study examines whether residential mobility differed according to health status in Seoul, the largest metropolitan city in South Korea, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, people who moved had better health status in the baseline year than those who did not. However, during the pandemic, the residential mobility of people with poor health status increased, particularly in 2019–2020. This pattern appeared to be driven by the 55–74 age group. The effect of health status on residential mobility was not attenuated, even after adjusting for covariates at multiple levels.

Atmosphere particulate matter and respiratory diseases during COVID-19 in Korea

We aimed to examine the impact of COVID-19 non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) on the relationship between air pollutants and hospital admissions for respiratory and non-respiratory diseases in six metropolitan cities in South Korea. This study compared the associations between particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5) and hospital admission for respiratory and non-respiratory diseases before (2016–2019) and during (2020) the implementation of COVID-19 NPIs by using distributed lag non-linear models. In the Pre-COVID-19 period, the association between PM10 and admission risk for asthma and COPD showed an inverted U-shaped pattern. For PM2.5, S-shaped and inverted U-shaped changes were observed in asthma and COPD, respectively. Extremely high and low levels of PM10 and extremely low levels of PM2.5 significantly decreased the risk of admission for asthma and COPD. In the Post-COVID-19 outbreak period, the overall cumulative relationship between PM10 and PM2.5 and respiratory diseases and the effects of extreme levels of PM10 and PM2.5 on respiratory diseases were completely changed. For non-respiratory diseases, PM10 and PM2.5 were statistically insignificant for admission risk during both periods. Our study may provide evidence that implementing NPIs and reducing PM10 and PM2.5 exposure during the COVID-19 pandemic has contributed to reducing hospital admissions for environment-based respiratory diseases.

CNN 기반 위성 이미지를 활용한 북한의 도시 인구추정

North Korea does not officially disclose population data through formal procedures. However, information related to North Korea's population can be verified through KOSTAT or internet searches. Nevertheless, these data are based on population surveys conducted with the support of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in 1993 and 2008, and are known to be of questionable reliability. In this study, as an initial attempt to estimate the current population of North Korea, we utilized daytime satellite images from 2023 to estimate the populations of Pyongyang and Kaesong at the grid level. The research resulted in the development of a gridded population estimation model based on a Convolutional Neural Network (CNN). The model was trained on CNN using data from South Korea and aimed to be applied to North Korea. It employed the VGG16 model, a representative algorithm of CNN, for transfer learning. To account for seasonal differences in the images from daytime satellite data, a U-net was used for image adjustment. Furthermore, neighboring effects were incorporated to enhance the model's performance. The model fitting results indicated that the populations of the four major metropolitan cities in South Korea were estimated without significant differences from actual populations. The populations of Pyongyang and Kaesong in North Korea were also estimated to be similar to the 2008 census data, demonstrating satisfactory results.

The Effect of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Suicide Attempts and Self-Harm in Teenagers and Young Adults: An Analysis of Regional Emergency Medical Center Data of a Metropolitan City in South Korea

IntroductionThe COVID-19 pandemic has had a wide-ranging impact on economic and social phenomena worldwide, particularly affecting mental health. However, these impacts have varied significantly across countries. Previous studies have shown that the groups more vulnerable to mental health problems also differ across countries and societies(Gunnel et al. Lancet Psy 2020; 7(6) 468-471, Pirkis et al. Lancet Psy 2021; 8(7) 579-588, Nomura et al. Psy Res 2021; 295 113622). Therefore, by examining changes in self-harm and suicide attempts, which constitute mental health emergencies, at the community level, we can explore the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on the deterioration of mental health in various age groups within the region and identify the groups most vulnerable to mental health problems.ObjectivesThe aim of this study is to examine the relationship between the COVID-19 pandemic and changes in the number of emergency room visits due to suicide attempts or self-harm in teenagers and young adults in Incheon, a metropolitan city in the capital area of South Korea.Methods We conducted a retrospective data analysis on the medical records of patients who visited the regional emergency center of Incheon Medical Institution from January 2018 to December 2022 due to suicide attempts or self-harm. As our statistical method, we employed interrupted time series analysis to determine whether the COVID-19 pandemic has a statistically significant correlation with the trend changes in the number of emergency room visits related to suicide attempts or self-harm. This study was approved by the Institutional Review Board of Gil Medical Center, Gachon University of Korea(IRB approval number GFIRB2022-335).Results The data of 4,030 subjects(35.8% male; n=1,443) who visited the regional emergency center during the study period were analyzed. A total of 556 (13.79%) of the study participants were minors under the age of 19, and a total of 1,789 (44.39%) were young adults aged 20-39. The analysis revealed an increasing trend in the number of emergency room visits due to elevated suicidality in teenagers and young adults (20-39 years old) following the COVID-19 pandemic(figure 1 &amp; figure 2).Image:Image 2:ConclusionsWhile suicide attempts and visits to the emergency room due to self-harm increased both before and after COVID-19, it is noteworthy that past suicide attempts are the most significant risk factor for future suicide attempts. Therefore, the data on vulnerable groups presented in this study can be instrumental for effective prevention and follow-up management of suicide attempts within the field of community psychiatry.Disclosure of InterestNone Declared

Job crafting, positive psychological capital, and social support as predictors of job embeddedness on among clinical nurses- a structural model design

BackgroundThis study establishes the relationships among role conflict, positive psychological capital, social support, job crafting, and job embeddedness among clinical nurses. The results are expected to provide a basis for efficient human resource management in hospitals.MethodsConsidering a 15% dropout rate, we distributed 300 copies of our questionnaire, of which 290 were returned. We used 260 responses in the final analysis after excluding 40 responses that were incomplete or showed an identical pattern in the item responses. Participants were clinical nurses with less than one year of experience in general and tertiary general hospitals in G province and D metropolitan city in South Korea. A structured questionnaire was administered from January 10 to February 28, 2022. The collected data were analyzed using SPSS 26.0 and AMOS 26.0. We assessed the statistical significance using the bootstrapping method.ResultsThe direct and total effects (both β = 0.806, p =.007) of positive psychological capital on job crafting were significant. The direct and total effects (both β = 0.451, p =.004) of social support on job crafting were significant. The direct (γ = 0.292, p =.055), indirect (γ = -. 671, p =.003), and total (γ = − 0.379, p =.008) effects of role conflict on job crafting were significant. The direct (γ = − 0.382, p =.007), indirect (γ = − 0.208 p =.003), and total (γ = − 0.589, p =.006) effects of role conflict on job embeddedness were significant. The direct and total (both β = 0.548, p =.005) effects of job crafting on job embeddedness were significant.ConclusionsNurses’ job embeddedness is directly influenced by their job crafting, which is shaped by high levels of positive psychological capital and social support. When job crafting takes place, role conflict increases, and if job crafting becomes difficult because of severe role conflict, job embeddedness decreases. Therefore, to increase job embeddedness among clinical nurses, hospitals must implement support systems and programs to increase job autonomy, and positive psychological capital to promote job crafting.

Relationship between perceived enjoyment, exercise commitment and behavioral intention among adolescents participating in "School Sport Club".

This study aimed to examine ways to improve the quality of physical activity (PA) to address social problems related to obesity and being overweight among adolescents, through an educational approach. In this regard, the current study identified associations between factors that lead to sustained PA participation among middle school students participating in school sports club activities, and derived academic implications that can be incorporated into future school education programs. The researchers explored the relationship between perceived enjoyment, exercise commitment, and behavioral intention in middle school sports club participants. The subjects of the study were selected as middle school students who had participated in school sports clubs for more than 6 months. Using convenience sampling, 350 datasets were collected from middle school students living in metropolitan cities in South Korea. Finally, 336 datasets were used for the final analysis after eliminating 14 questionnaires that were judged to be incorrectly indicated or incomplete. Frequency analysis, exploratory factor analysis, and reliability verification (Cronbach's α) were conducted. The findings were as follows: first, among the sub-factors of perceived enjoyment, the following were found to have a positive relationship with cognitive commitment: daily escape (β = 0.259), competitive victory (β = 0.228), interpersonal relationships (β = 0.204), and physical fitness (β = 0.119). Furthermore, among the sub-factors of perceived fun, physical health (β = 0.330), daily escape (β = 0.205), interpersonal relationships (β = 0.307), and competitive victory (β = 0.228) had positive relationships with behavioral commitment. Second, among the sub-factors of perceived enjoyment, physical health (β = 0.423), interpersonal relations (β = 0.139), and daily escape (β = 0.138) were found to have a positive association with behavioral intention. On the other hand, there was no significant relationship between competitive winning (β = 0.071) and behavioral intention. Third, behavioral commitment (β = 0.237) and cognitive commitment (β = 0.183) were confirmed to have a significant positive relationship with behavioral intention. These findings highlight that middle school students' perceived enjoyment from participating in school sports clubs is a positive factor leading to increased immersion in sports activities and a sufficient basis for continuing sports activities. Furthermore, class organization, environmental factors, and appropriate instructional content for school sports club activities are essential for exercise commitment.

Relationships among self-esteem, ego-resilience, and caregiver burden among families of children with hematologic and oncologic disease: A cross-sectional study

BackgroundPediatric hematology and oncology disease is a physically and emotionally demanding health condition for families. High self-esteem and ego-resilience among caregivers, which have recently gained increased recognition, might help ease caregiver burdens. Few studies, however, have simultaneously investigated the relationships between self-esteem, ego-resilience, and caregiver burden among caregivers of children with hematologic and oncologic disease. ObjectiveThe purpose of this study is to investigate the relationships between caregiver burden, self-esteem, and ego-resilience and examine whether ego-resilience plays a role in mediating the relationship between self-esteem and caregiver burden among family caregivers of children with hematologic and oncologic disease. DesignDescriptive correlational study. SettingThe outpatient clinic of the department of pediatric hematology and oncology at a flagship university hospital in a metropolitan city in South Korea. ParticipantsThe sample comprised 109 primary family caregivers of children with hematologic and oncologic disease. Convenience sampling method was used. MethodsThe participants completed the Ego-Resiliency Scale, Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, and Family Burden Questionnaire. One-way analysis of variance, independent t-tests, and correlation analyses were conducted using IBM SPSS 25.0. The mediating effect of ego-resilience was estimated using the PROCESS macro and bootstrap method in SPSS. ResultsCaregiver burden showed significant negative associations with self-esteem and ego-resilience, with moderate effect sizes (r = −.391 and −0.361, respectively, p = .001). Ego-resilience mediated the relationship between self-esteem and caregiver burden (b = −0.019; 95 % bias-corrected bootstrap confidence interval −0.035 and −0.001). ConclusionsSelf-esteem and ego-resilience may lessen caregiver burden among families of children with hematologic and oncologic disease, and self-esteem of caregivers tends to promote their ego-resilience. Therefore, self-esteem and ego-resilience should be improved among family caregivers to reduce their caregiver burden.

Changes in the concept of time among North Korean refugees: A socio-cultural perspective.

Refugees from diverse socio-cultural backgrounds and geopolitical locations face temporal challenges during their transition, yet more research needs to be conducted to understand their time conception in the host society. This study explores how North Korean refugees from remote rural areas in North Korea and China adjusted their time conception in a metropolitan city in South Korea. Data were collected through a pilot study (January-March 2017) and ethnographic fieldwork (February-July 2018), entailing semi-structured interviews, informal conversations, and field notes. Vygotsky's psychological tool and Ricoeur's interpretive approach were employed to solicit the mediation of time conception through organizational activities and narrative meanings. The analysis reveals themes that challenge refugees' time conception reflecting North Korean values and daily activities-Kimilsungism, collectivism, and task-oriented attitude-and the changes in time conception on the sense of the self. Refugees' learning in time conception is a holistic spiritual, social, and personal process.

Health justice and economic segregation in climate risks: Tracing vulnerability and readiness progress

Climate vulnerability can make urban space unhealthy and accentuate existing health (in)justice and (economic) segregation. Drawing on the vulnerability-readiness nexus and measuring health justice (i.e., health poverty, health distribution, and health access) and economic segregation (through indices), we strive to investigate the plausible pathways of the two constructs at the heat risks. Our work, focusing on metropolitan cities in South Korea, addresses the role of heat vulnerability and readiness nexus regarding health justice and economic segregation through correlational analysis and a time-trend comparative approach between 2011 and 2015 (as five year-long effects). Our results show that potential positive links exist between health poverty as a component of health justice and economic segregation. Moreover, climate readiness, as opposed to vulnerability, plays a crucial role in reducing economic segregation in the context of health justice and heat risks.

Non-linear impacts of COVID-19 pandemic on human mobility: Lessons from its variations across three pandemic waves

This study sought to understand how the COVID-19 pandemic influenced human mobility patterns in a city, how the influences varied across the pandemic wave phases, and how the influences differed between car and bus trips. Data for the pandemic and individual-level trips were collected from Daejeon Metropolitan City in South Korea. Three indices of trip demand and trip randomness were used to represent mobility patterns and were compared with the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases. The results demonstrated different responses to the pandemic by transportation mode and revealed non-linear impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on mobility patterns. Car dependency intensified and car trip randomness more sensitively fluctuated as the pandemic spread. The COVID-19 impacts on mobility follow a power-law relationship that revealed the existence of lower bounds of citizens’ travel-related responses to the pandemic, which generally increased over time, but its trend differed according to trip demand and randomness as the pandemic continued. The findings demonstrate variations in mobility patterns due to the long-lasting pandemic, which could not be explained solely by trip demand. This information can assist in the formulation of flexible policies that adapt to changes in travel behaviors.

Analysis of Coupled and Coordinated Development of South Korea’s Life-Cycle and Public Housing Systems from 2017 to 2021

Providing sustainable public housing solutions is one of the major challenges for countries with emerging economies. Based on the panel data of eight metropolitan cities in South Korea from 2017 to 2021, this study uses the entropy value method and coupling coordination model to evaluate the quantitative interaction between the life-cycle and the public housing systems, followed by the OLS regression model to explore their level of coupling coordination and its influencing factors. The findings reveal the following: (1) The support of public housing welfare by the life cycle had previously been effective in alleviating housing conflicts. (2) The main evaluation values of the indicators had their focus shifted from the quantitative supply to the growth of households, housing cost affordability, and housing size. (3) Overall, the average level of coupling and coordination among Korean cities has risen substantially, but the development of the public housing system still lags behind the change in the life cycle of each city’s composite index. As a result, policymakers should reasonably allocate policies by focusing on their long-term benefits. (4) The supply for emerging families, infrastructure allocation, and the affordability of housing are important factors for improving the level of coordination that should be considered.

Carbon Offset Service of Urban Park Trees and Desirable Planting Strategies for Several Metropolitan Cities in South Korea

Urban parks are essential for offsetting high carbon emissions in cities, which are known to be high emitters. This study quantified carbon uptake and storage in Daejeon and Daegu, two major metropolitan cities in South Korea, and explored planting strategies to promote carbon offset services. Mean carbon uptake and storage per unit area in the study parks were 2.6 ± 0.1 t/ha/yr and 29.9 ± 1.7 t/ha, respectively. The urban park trees of a metropolitan city in South Korea were estimated to annually sequester and store 50 kt/yr and 572 kt of carbon, respectively. This carbon uptake equaled 1.5% of the total annual carbon emissions from residential energy consumption. The economic value of the carbon uptake was equivalent to $3.3 million/yr, which is 1.50% of the annual establishment budget of urban forests of the Korea Forest Service. Planting strategies included reducing unnecessary grass and pavement areas, the active planting of trees in the potential planting space, multilayered planting, and planting tree species with high growth rates. These results are expected to guide policies related to carbon credits, which have recently emerged as major concerns, and to provide useful information for quantifying carbon offset services in greenspace establishment projects.

Effects of Fine Particulate Matter on Cardiovascular Disease Morbidity: A Study on Seven Metropolitan Cities in South Korea

Objectives: The primary purpose of this study is to analyze the relationship between the first occurrence of hospitalization for cardiovascular disease (CVD) and particulate matter less than 2.5 μm in diameter (PM2.5) exposure, considering average PM2.5 concentration and the frequency of high PM2.5 concentration simultaneously. Methods: We used large-scale cohort data from seven metropolitan cities in South Korea. We estimated hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) using the Cox proportional-hazards model, including annual average PM2.5 and annual hours of PM2.5 concentration exceeding 55.5 μg/m3 (FH55). Results: We found that the risk was elevated by 11.6% (95% CI, 9.7–13.6) for all CVD per 2.9 μg/m3 increase of average PM2.5. In addition, a 94-h increase in FH55 increased the risk of all CVD by 3.8% (95% CI, 2.8–4.7). Regarding stroke, we found that people who were older and had a history of hypertension were more vulnerable to PM2.5 exposure. Conclusion: Based on the findings, we conclude that accurate forecasting, information dissemination, and timely warning of high concentrations of PM2.5 at the national level may reduce the risk of CVD occurrence.

A cross-sectional study on public health nurses' disaster competencies and influencing factors during the COVID-19 pandemic in Korea

Public health nurses are performing various roles during the COVID-19 pandemic: counseling, surveillance, specimen collection, epidemiological investigation, education, and vaccination. This study investigated their disaster competencies in the context of emerging infectious diseases, and identified their influencing factors based on Deci and Ryan’s self-determination theory. A convenience sample of 242 was selected from public health nurses working in a metropolitan city of South Korea. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire and analyzed using descriptive statistics, t-test, one-way ANOVA, Pearson’s correlation, and multiple regression analysis using the SPSS Statistics ver. 23.0. Results showed that the significant factors influencing disaster competencies included “willingness to respond to a disaster,” “preventive behavior,” “experience of receiving education on emerging infectious diseases response,” “public health center experience,” “job satisfaction,” and “education.” This regression model explained 33.2% of the variance in disaster competencies. “Willingness to respond to a disaster” was the strongest factor affecting disaster competencies. Based on these results, it is concluded that interventions to improve disaster competencies and psychological well-being of public health nurses are needed. Additionally, strategies such as creating a supportive work environment, deploying experienced nurses primarily on the front line, and reducing the tasks of permanent public health nurses should be implemented.

“Don’t bully! We are all different”: Pedagogical potential of early critical literacy with bullying-themes

In spite of the increased attention that has been given to early critical literacy practices, there remains a limited amount of scholarship dedicated to exploring how critical literacy may be implemented in early childhood classrooms to prevent bullying. As such, the purpose of this article is to examine the pedagogical potential of early critical literacy with bullying-themes, for educating young children on anti-bullying. Using a qualitative study approach, this study was conducted in a classroom of twenty 5-year-old children in a metropolitan city in South Korea. The central focus of this study was dedicated to examining how children’s understanding of bullying toward their peers of different racial/ethnic backgrounds and special needs change through a series of critical literacy activities, including reading, discussion, and follow-up role-playing and writing activities. Findings suggest that critical literacy activities on bullying have the potential to aid in creating anti-bullying environments in which young children critically examine bullying issues from multiple perspectives and actively generate their own understanding of bullying.

최근 우리나라 도시 인구 변화에 따른 도시화 효과 특성

Recently, population growth has been slowing down in metropolitan cities in South Korea. In this study, we analyzed urbanization effects that reflect the characteristics of recent population growth trends using four different methods. In South Korea, the urbanization effect has recently become weaker. The urbanization effect in South Korea was 24 ~ 49% in the last 48 years (1973 ~ 2020). Similarly, for certain spans of 32 years (1973 ~ 2004) and 24 years (1973 ~ 1996), the urbanization effect values were 30 ~ 64% and 42 ~ 73%, respectively. The recent decline in urbanization effect compared to the early 2000s is related to the decreasing urban population growth. The population growths in the second half of the previous 48 years were only about 14% in big cities and about 50% in small cities compared to the first half. As a result, the urbanization effect in small cities has actually been higher than in big cities. Cluster analysis was also conducted to analyze the relationship between population growth and annual-mean temperature increase in 30 different stations. As a result, temperature increase in more than 60% of the stations considered matched the population growth. Some urban stations have smaller temperature increases than population growth, while some rural stations have higher temperature increases than population growth. Therefore, further research on local environmental factors should be carried out to better understand these local temperature changes.