• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.54 no.2
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• pp.179-198
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• 2021

Purpose: This study examined general characteristics, health status, accessibility to medical services, health-related quality of life, dietary behavior, and energy and nutrient intakes of the elderly at different levels of food security utilizing data from the 7th Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2016-2018). Methods: The elderly subjects (1,721 males and 2,271 females) were divided into 3 groups (secure, mildly insecure, moderately/severely insecure) according to their food security levels. Health and nutrient status was determined using energy intake, nutrient density, the prevalence of insufficient nutrient intake, dietary behavior, and health status. Results: The elderly with food insecurities had a lower self-evaluated health status and a higher prevalence of physician-diagnosed chronic diseases such as arthritis, osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, osteoporosis for males, and hypertension, stroke, arthritis, and osteoarthritis for females. The associated financial burden was the major reason for not accessing medical services in the food insecure group. Furthermore, the food insecure group had a higher risk of impaired health-related quality of life compared to the secure group. The proportion of subjects with an energy intake below the estimated energy requirement was higher in the food insecure group and a significantly higher prevalence of insufficient intake was observed for all the nutrients (proteins, vitamin A, vitamin B₁, vitamin B₂, niacin, vitamin C, calcium, and iron) assessed in this study compared to the food secure group. Conclusion: This study suggests that food insecurity poses a challenge to the health and nutritional status of the elderly population in Korea and needs proper management. It would be helpful to develop food and nutrition assistance programs to ensure the food stability of the elderly population and assure quality to address gaps in their nutrient intake.

• Korean Security Journal
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• no.58
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• pp.81-106
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• 2019

This study analyzed safety management system against disasters perceived by local residents of Chungcheongbuk-do and then examined the policy directions to be considered in order for local governments to improve the safety level of residents and build an effective safety management system against disasters. The findings were as follows. First, in their recognition of risks of safety against disasters, recognition on the possibility of the occurrence of natural disasters was higher than that of social disasters or safety accidents. Secondly, also in the aspect of the importance of category of safety management against disasters, they recognized that of natural disasters far higher than others. Third, they showed satisfaction higher than average with basic job performance of local governments related with safety management, whereas they showed relatively less satisfaction with the aspects of check and publicity of risk factors, and short-term restoration system out of phased job performance. Fourth, in the aspect of capability of local governments for safety management against disasters, they rated positively capability of the responsible departments and the professionality, whereas they relatively underestimated the scale or budget of safety-related organizations. Fifth, the policy directions to be taken for safety against disasters by local governments included strengthening of regular education like experience-based training, expansion of education among local residents, more support for relevant facilities and resources, activation of residents-participating campaigns, improvement of apparatus and personnel treatment related with firefighting and security, frequent patrol and oversight, more exercises against disasters. So, to strengthen safety management system against disasters in local governments and build a effective responding system may need to extend programs assisting vulnerable class to safety against disasters, build a community-friendly safety management system, extend the cooperation system by participation of residents, enhance collaboration and support system with safety-related bodies like police, firefighters.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Landscape Architecture
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• v.44 no.5
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• pp.26-37
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• 2016

As activities and convenience of residents in outdoor spaces in apartment houses have been considered important, strategies for making outdoor spaces in apartment houses healing spaces have emerged as a major interest. The purpose of this study is to draw elements for planning healing to create healing spaces in collective housing areas and to present design guidelines. The findings of this study are as follows. Functional elements of a healing environment were classified into safe environment, therapeutic environment, ancillary environment, orientation-reinforcing environment, amenities, and social environment. Outdoor spaces in collective housing areas were divided into collective housing entrance areas, internal and external spread areas, outdoor activity areas, and areas by theme. First, collective housing entrance areas should be planned in such a manner that residents can feel the area is private and easy to recognize. Second, internal and external spread areas should be planned in such a manner that they are easy to access and communicate with neighbors. Third, outdoor activity areas should be divided into an open space, resting space, playing space, and sports space. Open spaces should be planned in such a manner that they can command a fine view and respect the privacy of nearby residents. Resting spaces should be equipped with a shelter that protects users from direct sunlight, rain, and snow as well as include a movable bench. Playing spaces should be built considering development of children's curiosity, adventurous spirit, character, stimulation, and physical health. Playing spaces should be designed in such a manner that roadways and sidewalks can be separated for safe traffic. Sport spaces should be planned in such a manner that they can be associated with a pavilion and trail that provide residents with an opportunity to communicate with each other and rest. Fourth, spaces by theme are classified into sense garden, therapeutic garden, experiential garden, and learning garden. Sense gardens are a small garden based on the five senses. Sense gardens should be designed in such a manner that they can improve users' mental and physical health through programs that stimulate the sense of sight, auditory sense, and olfactory sense. Therapeutic gardens should be designed in such a manner that they can provide a comfortable and relaxing space by minimizing noise. It is advisable for therapeutic gardens to be equipped with a medicinal herb garden, meditation garden, and sense garden. Experiential and learning gardens should be designed in such a manner that they can provide users with a space in which they can enjoy nature and leisure activities. It is advisable for experiential and learning gardens to be equipped with a tea garden, vegetable garden, and camping garden. Healing programs should be designed in such a manner that users can feel relaxed by providing a healing environment, making the most of the natural environment. Further research on evaluating whether the findings of this study are effective in healing in a qualitative and quantitative manner is needed.

• Korea Science and Art Forum
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• v.37 no.2
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• pp.219-230
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• 2019

According to the National Statistical Office, the number of senior citizens aged 65 or over has exceeded 7 million as of 2017, and the number of senior citizens who live alone among them exceeded 1.3 million. Most of the senior citizens who live alone suffer from absolute poverty (68.5% of them has monthly income less than 500,000 won) and they have difficulties for basic living in the blind spot of our society. In particular, the heating is quite a serious issue for the senior citizens who live alone and belong to vulnerable social group in the winter, and to make it worse, they are exposed to frequent fire accidents due to the negligence in handling electric appliances such as electric heaters and electric pads. The main reason the indoor tent products are being used by senior citizens who live alone is that it saves energy, ensures warm sleep, and improves fire safety. Following the expansion of the indoor tent market, this study focused on the idea that there is a need for an in door tent suitable for senior citizens who live alone and belong to low income bracket and intended to improve its efficiency in relation to use, resting, and storage. For this, a basic survey was conducted on the products of existing brands to analyze advantages and disadvantages and it was possible to understand the demands that consumers have for existing products. Accordingly, a survey on consumer preference was conducted using a designed model and the Zabara typp, which demonstrated the best efficiency in terms of installation convenience, space usability, and appearance design was selected. Based on the results of selection, the product design and final prototype were completed. The results and details of the study are as follows; First, factors that were not recognized in product development phase could be identified through usability survey and interview with actual users. Second, for the effective aspect of the prototype, senior citizens could install and fold the tend more easily and quickly than expected. Based on these results of this study, it is expected that not only senior citizens who live alone but also various other users can use the tent to create another comfortable private space indoors.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Landscape Architecture
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• v.49 no.6
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• pp.27-36
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• 2021

At a time when the equitable use of urban parks is gradually emerging as a social issue, this study was initiated to expand the influence of urban parks by improving the quality of park services, thereby resolving areas not covered by urban park services. This study targeted the Hangang Park in Seoul, where the qualitative service of parks shows the greatest difference. The influence relationship between the qualitative services of the park and the user's sphere of influence, which indicates the distribution of park users, was proposed to assess the influence of improvements in the quality of service. As a research method, the top three districts and the bottom three districts were selected through the Han River Park user satisfaction survey conducted from 2017 to 2019, and a qualitative service evaluation was carried out. It was derived using the data acquired in September. Afterward, by performing a spatial autocorrelation analysis on the user's sphere of influence, additional verification of the user's sphere of influence was performed numerically and visually. As a result of the study, the user influence in the top three districts, with high-quality service, was stronger and wider than that of the lower three districts. It was confirmed that the quality of service of the park affects the user influence. This shows that to realize park equity, it is necessary to improve the quality of services through continuous management and improvement of individual parks and the creation of new parks. This study has significance in that it recognizes the limitations of research on park services from a supplier's point of view and evaluates the qualitative services of parks from the perspective of actual park users. We propose an alternative to deal with the lower the park deprivation index.

• KDI Journal of Economic Policy
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.71-130
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• 2008

Using data from the Korean Labor & Income Panel Study (KLIPS), this study investigates private income transfers in Korea, where adult children have undertaken the most responsibility of supporting their elderly parents without well-established social safety net for the elderly. According to the KLIPS data, three out of five households provided some type of support for their aged parents and two out of five households of the elderly received financial support from their adult children on a regular base. However, the private income transfers in Korea are not enough to alleviate the impact of the fall in the earned income of those who retired and are approaching an age of needing financial assistance from external source. The monthly income of those at least the age of 75, even with the earning of their spouses, is below the staggering amount of 450,000 won, which indicates that the elderly in Korea are at high risk of poverty. In order to analyze microeconomic factors affecting the private income transfers to the elderly parents, the following three samples extracted from the KLIPS data are used: a sample of respondents of age 50 or older with detailed information on their financial status; a five-year household panel sample in which their unobserved family-specific and time-invariant characteristics can be controlled by the fixed-effects model; and a sample of the younger split-off household in which characteristics of both the elderly household and their adult children household can be controlled simultaneously. The results of estimating private income transfer models using these samples can be summarized as follows. First, the dominant motive lies on the children-to-parent altruistic relationship. Additionally, another is based on exchange motive, which is paid to the elderly parents who take care of their grandchildren. Second, the amount of private income transfers has negative correlation with the income of the elderly parents, while being positively correlated with the income of the adult children. However, its income elasticity is not that high. Third, the amount of private income transfers shows a pattern of reaching the highest level when the elderly parents are in the age of 75 years old, following a decreasing pattern thereafter. Fourth, public assistance, such as the National Basic Livelihood Security benefit, appears to crowd out private transfers. Private transfers have fared better than public transfers in alleviating elderly poverty, but the role of public transfers has been increasing rapidly since the welfare expansion after the financial crisis in the late 1990s, so that one of four elderly people depends on public transfers as their main income source in 2003. As of the same year, however, there existed and occupied 12% of the elderly households those who seemed eligible for the National Basic Livelihood benefit but did not receive any public assistance. To remove elderly poverty, government may need to improve welfare delivery system as well as to increase welfare budget for the poor. In the face of persistent elderly poverty and increasing demand for public support for the elderly, which will lead to increasing government debt, welfare policy needs targeting toward the neediest rather than expanding universal benefits that have less effect of income redistribution and heavier cost. Identifying every disadvantaged elderly in dire need for economic support and providing them with the basic livelihood security would be the most important and imminent responsibility that we all should assume to prepare for the growing aged population, and this also should accompany measures to utilize the elderly workforce with enough capability and strong will to work.

• Journal of agricultural medicine and community health
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.155-167
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• 2009

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to investigate healthy city project related characteristics to members of the Korea Healthy Cities Partnership(KHCP). Methods: This study analyzed general characteristics of healthy city, characteristics of healthy city(political support, collaboration & citizen participation, healthy city project, infrastructure development, capacity building), self-evaluation of healthy city and etc by self-questionnaires from February to December, 2007, which were distributed to government workers who were in charged in health city project of 23 membership cities of KHCP. Results: The number of urban city was 11(47.8%) and that of rural municipality was 12(52.5%). Public health center was almost in charge of healthy city project(73.9%). As for the characteristics of healthy city, healthy city municipal budget(91.3%), city health profile(91.3%), technical support of cooperative university(82.6%), healthy city regulation(78.3%), citizen participation(78.3%), committee(73.9%), setting approach(69.9%) and healthy city network(69.6%) were good. But intersectoral collaboration(34.8%), long-term healthy city plan(39.1%), administrative policy or campaign promise(43.5%), programs to the vulnerable population(47.8%), department in charge(47.8%) and seminar(47.8%) were not good. Especially, characteristics of healthy city according to the existence of department in charge were significantly different in intersectoral collaboration, citizen participation, setting approach and healthy city network. Conclusions: In spite of rapid expansion in healthy cities, there were great difficulty in political support, collaboration, department in charge and programs of health equity. So we need to go a long way to achieve the vision of healthy cites by its principles and characteristics.

• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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• v.52 no.3
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• pp.172-187
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• 2019

Knowledge of intangible cultural heritage is usually disseminated through word-of-mouth and actions rather than written records. Thus, people assemble to teach others about it and form communities. Accordingly, to understand and spread information about intangible cultural heritage properly, it is necessary to understand not only their attributes but also a community's relational characteristics. Community members include specialized transmitters who work under the auspices of institutions, and general transmitters who enjoy intangible cultural heritage in their daily lives. They converse about intangible cultural heritage in close relationships. However, to date, research has focused only on professionals. Thus, this study focused on the roles of general transmitters of intangible cultural heritage information by investigating intangible cultural heritage communities centering around Jeongseon Arirang; a social network analysis was performed. Regarding the research objectives presented in the introduction, the main findings of the study are summarized as follows. First, there were 197 links between 74 members of the Jeongseon Arirang Transmission Community. One individual had connections with 2.7 persons on average, and all were connected through two steps in the community. However, the density and the clustering coefficient were low, 0.036 and 0.32, respectively; therefore, the cohesiveness of this community was low, and the relationships between the members were not strong. Second, 'Young-ran Yu', 'Nam-gi Kim' and 'Gil-ja Kim' were found to be the prominent figures of the Jeongseon Arirang Transmission Community, and the central structure of the network was concentrated around these three individuals. Being located in the central structure of the network indicates that a person is popular and ranked high. Also, it means that a person has an advantage in terms of the speed and quantity of the acquisition of information and resources, and is in a relatively superior position in terms of bargaining power. Third, to understand the replaceability of the roles of Young-ran Yu, Nam-gi Kim, and Gil-ja Kim, who were found to be the major figures through an analysis of the central structure, structural equivalence was profiled. The results of the analysis showed that the positions and roles of Young-ran Yu, Nam-gi Kim, and Gil-ja Kim were unrivaled and irreplaceable in the Jeongseon Arirang Transmission Community. However, considering that these three members were in their 60s and 70s, it seemed that it would be necessary to prepare measures for the smooth maintenance and operation of the community. Fourth, to examine the subgroup hidden in the network of the Jeongseon Arirang Transmission Community, an analysis of communities was conducted. A community refers to a subgroup clearly differentiated based on modularity. The results of the analysis identified the existence of four communities. Furthermore, the results of an analysis of the central structure showed that the communities were formed and centered around Young-ran Yu, Hyung-jo Kim, Nam-gi Kim, and Gil-ja Kim. Most of the transmission TAs recommended by those members, students who completed a course, transmission scholarship holders, and the general members taught in the transmission classes of the Jeongseon Arirang Preservation Society were included as members of the communities. Through these findings, it was discovered that it is possible to maintain the transmission genealogy, making an exchange with the general members by employing the present method for the transmission of Jeongseon Arirang, the joint transmission method. It is worth paying attention to the joint transmission method as it overcomes the demerits of the existing closed one-on-one apprentice method and provides members with an opportunity to learn their masters' various singing styles. This study is significant for the following reasons: First, by collecting and examining data using a social network analysis method, this study analyzed phenomena that had been difficult to investigate using existing statistical analyses. Second, by adopting a different approach to the previous method in which the genealogy was understood, looking at oral data, this study analyzed the structures of the transmitters' relationships with objective and quantitative data. Third, this study visualized and presented the abstract structures of the relationships among the transmitters of intangible cultural heritage information on a 2D spring map. The results of this study can be utilized as a baseline for the development of community-centered policies for the protection of intangible cultural heritage specified in the UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage. To achieve this, it would be necessary to supplement this study through case studies and follow-up studies on more aspects in the future.

• Journal of Intelligence and Information Systems
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.117-140
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• 2019

As the aging phenomenon accelerates and various social problems related to the elderly of the vulnerable are raised, the need for effective elderly care solutions to protect the health and safety of the elderly generation is growing. Recently, more and more people are using Smart Toys equipped with ICT technology for care for elderly. In particular, log data collected through smart toys is highly valuable to be used as a quantitative and objective indicator in areas such as policy-making and service planning. However, research related to smart toys is limited, such as the development of smart toys and the validation of smart toy effectiveness. In other words, there is a dearth of research to derive insights based on log data collected through smart toys and to use them for decision making. This study will analyze log data collected from smart toy and derive effective insights to improve the quality of life for elderly users. Specifically, the user profiling-based analysis and elicitation of a change in quality of life mechanism based on behavior were performed. First, in the user profiling analysis, two important dimensions of classifying the type of elderly group from five factors of elderly user's living management were derived: 'Routine Activities' and 'Work-out Activities'. Based on the dimensions derived, a hierarchical cluster analysis and K-Means clustering were performed to classify the entire elderly user into three groups. Through a profiling analysis, the demographic characteristics of each group of elderlies and the behavior of using smart toy were identified. Second, stepwise regression was performed in eliciting the mechanism of change in quality of life. The effects of interaction, content usage, and indoor activity have been identified on the improvement of depression and lifestyle for the elderly. In addition, it identified the role of user performance evaluation and satisfaction with smart toy as a parameter that mediated the relationship between usage behavior and quality of life change. Specific mechanisms are as follows. First, the interaction between smart toy and elderly was found to have an effect of improving the depression by mediating attitudes to smart toy. The 'Satisfaction toward Smart Toy,' a variable that affects the improvement of the elderly's depression, changes how users evaluate smart toy performance. At this time, it has been identified that it is the interaction with smart toy that has a positive effect on smart toy These results can be interpreted as an elderly with a desire to meet emotional stability interact actively with smart toy, and a positive assessment of smart toy, greatly appreciating the effectiveness of smart toy. Second, the content usage has been confirmed to have a direct effect on improving lifestyle without going through other variables. Elderly who use a lot of the content provided by smart toy have improved their lifestyle. However, this effect has occurred regardless of the attitude the user has toward smart toy. Third, log data show that a high degree of indoor activity improves both the lifestyle and depression of the elderly. The more indoor activity, the better the lifestyle of the elderly, and these effects occur regardless of the user's attitude toward smart toy. In addition, elderly with a high degree of indoor activity are satisfied with smart toys, which cause improvement in the elderly's depression. However, it can be interpreted that elderly who prefer outdoor activities than indoor activities, or those who are less active due to health problems, are hard to satisfied with smart toys, and are not able to get the effects of improving depression. In summary, based on the activities of the elderly, three groups of elderly were identified and the important characteristics of each type were identified. In addition, this study sought to identify the mechanism by which the behavior of the elderly on smart toy affects the lives of the actual elderly, and to derive user needs and insights.

• Korean Journal of Social Welfare
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• v.56 no.3
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• pp.5-35
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• 2004

This research is about the change of the occupation and the income of the subscriber of the medical expenditure due to the economic influence on them. The data of this study are based on 4,215 of medical cost payers among respondents of the survey on "Health and Retirement", which was the fourth additional research of Korea Labor and Income Panel Survey. The main findings of this study are as follows: First, the average medical cost is 5.5% of the income. The ratio of the medical cost to an earned income is highly different between low-income group and high income group. For the low income group, the medical cost reaches up to 1/3 of the total family income. That proves that the medical cost si a heavy burden on them. The group with the high medical expenditure seems to be supported by their own private property and other family members whenever it is needed. But it doesn't show the exact sources of the property, which includes the fund from the interests and real estates. On the other hand, only 14.4% of the subscribers changed their job status on the 5th year, and 85.6% of those kept their job status until the 5th year from the 4th year. This shows that the amount of the medical cost could be the important factor for them to change their job; for example, it is crucial whether the medical expenditure is over the average rate or not. Furthermore, the change of the occupation caused by the medical cost has the negative influence on the gross income. It makes the economic conditions of the family get worse. Therefore, the health insurance in Korea is lack of the compensational function, which substitutes the family income reduced by the change of the job status due to the high medical cost.