• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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• v.42 no.4
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• pp.112-131
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• 2009

The Trikaya Banner Painting in the Suta-sa Temple at Hongcheon-gun, Gangwon-do draws attention as it was painted not on flax but on paper, and used the water color painting technique on the sketch rather than the deep color painting technique, which is most common in Buddhist paintings created during the Chosun Dynasty. Nevertheless, there is not any information on the creation of the Trikaya Banner Painting in the painting record on the painting, in Sutasasajeok(壽陀寺史蹟), or in Sutasagogirok(壽陀寺古記錄), so it is uncertain when the painting was created. Furthermore, because it was not drawn by the deep color painting technique, it has been difficult to compare it with other banner paintings. For these reasons, the Trikaya Banner Painting has been studied little except brief introduction. In recent preservation treatment that removed multiple-layered paper from the back of the painting, however, an inked inscription written on Korean paper 118cm high and 87.5cm wide was discovered on the back. It is a kind of placard notifying a number of acts prohibited in order to follow Buddha's teachings correctly, and was found to have been written on April 15, 1690. The inked inscription is a very valuable material for estimating the creation date of the Suta-sa Trikaya Banner Painting, and provides crucial clues for approaching the contents and nature of the painting more precisely. When the image, form, and style of the Suta-sa Trikaya Banner Painting were examined and its creation date was estimated based on the inked inscription, first, the painting is presumed to have been created in around 1690 as suggested by 'the placard' attached on the back instead of a painting record. Second, the painting is highly likely to be the first standing Trikaya banner painting showing the basic icons of Trikaya banner paintings in the Chosun Dynasty since the Trikaya Banner Painting in the Gap-sa Temple in Gongju (1650). Furthermore, considering the shape of the Trikaya in the painting, screen composition, background treatment, solemn and affectionate facial expression, harmonious and adequate body proportion, etc., the painting is believed to have had a considerable influence not only on Trikaya banner paintings of similar style in the 18thcentury but also on deep-color Trikaya banner paintings in the 19thcentury. Third, although the Suta-sa Trikaya Banner Painting is not acompleted work but a sketch, it exhibits the typical water color painting technique in which the strokes are clearly visible. Thus, it is considered highly valuable in understanding and analyzing stroke styles and in studying the history of Buddhist paintings. As there are not many extant banner paintings of the same style in form and expression technique as the Suta-sa Temple Trikaya Banner Painting, this study could not make thorough comparative analysis of the work, but still it is meaningful in that it laid the ground for research on standing Trikaya banner paintings in the 18thand 19thcenturies in the Chosun Dynasty.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.81-91
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• 2021

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea did not have direct legislation on natural environmental conservation until the early 1970s when the regime was still in the early stage. The Law on Land was enacted in 1977 to provide the legal basis for protecting the natural environment, including land protection, protection zones, and forest formation and protection. The enactment of the Law on Environmental Protection in 1986 made progress on environmental conservation in the DPRK. The constitutional amendment in 1992 stipulated "the preservation and creation of the natural environment as the responsibility of the state." Based on the Framework Law on Environmental Protection, subordinate statutes in various fields were enacted after the1990s. While the committee designated and managed the protected zones in the early days, the Framework Law on Environmental Protection established the ground for the designation of legally protected areas, and the Law on Protection of Scenic Spots and Natural Monuments enacted in 1995, and the Law on Environmental Protection enacted in 2009 provided the details. Furthermore, the types of nature reserves include biosphere reserves, primeval forest reserves, animal reserves, plant reserves, and scenic reserves. The 2nd National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan established in 2007 based on the Convention on Biological Diversity(CBD) stated 326 protected zones in the DPRK. However, the 2018 United Nations list of Protected Areas shows only 31 registered zones, indicating the need to establish basic information on protected areas in DPRK. This study can provide basic information for a better understanding of the nature conservation system in the DPRK. Considering that environmental protection activities such as protection of endangered species and recovery of environmental pollution are subject to exceptions under the current sanctions against North Korea (UN Security Council, the United States), it will be possible to contribute to identifying possible inter-Korean cooperation projects in the field of the natural environment.

• Journal of the Daesoon Academy of Sciences
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• v.39
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• pp.215-247
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• 2021

In Buddhism, there are specific terms related to miracles and miraculous acts such as the Sanskrit term, abhijñā, which was translated as into Chinese characters as shintong (神通). This term implies the six supranormal powers. It originally meant 'direct knowledge,' 'high knowledge,' or 'knowledge beyond the common senses,' which was understood as a superhuman and transcendental ability possessed by Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and noblemen. However, this took on different meanings and morphed into different terms later in India and China. This article analyzes the subject, object, type, and purpose of these shintong, focusing on the Sutra for the Householder Kaivarti (堅固經, Gyeonggo-gyeong, Kaivarti-sūtra) from the Longer Discourses (長阿含經, Jang-Ahamgyeong, Dīrghâgama) and exemplary Buddhist texts such as the Sanskrit, In Praise of the Acts of the Buddha (佛所行讚, Bulsohaengchan, Buddhacaritam) and the Chinese Records of Eminent Monks (高僧傳, goseungjeon) and Continued Records of Eminent Monks (續高僧傳, Sok-goseungjeon). The historical evolution and changes to the meaning of Shintong in Indian and Chinese contexts can be observed through these texts. In the Sutra for the Householder Kaivarti, the Buddha said that there are three kinds of Shintong: supranormal footedness (神足, shinjok, ṛddhi-pāda), mindreading (觀察他心, gwanchaltashim, anya-mano-jñāna), and education (敎誡, gyogye, anuśāsana). Among them, supranormal footedness (multiplying one's body, teleportation, flying, walking on water, etc.) and mindreading were denied because, at that time, claims of this nature were used to appeal to people's emotions and inspire sincerity, but this was of no use in conveying the Buddha's teaching. On the other hand, education, acquired only with through enlightenment, was sanctioned as a shintong unique to Buddhism. However, in In Praise of the Acts of the Buddha, supranormal footedness and mindreading were described as important ways to lead people to enlightenment, while education pertained to the whole of spiritual work. In China, Buddhism was a foreign religion at first, and it urgently sought to be accepted. After the increase of its religious influence, introspection on discipline and practice was meant to firmly deepen its roots. In line with this, shintong and miracles were transformed and expanded to suit the Chinese cultural context. Such changes in Buddhist history are well illustrated by the shini (神異, miraculous powers) described in Records of Eminent Monks and the gamtong (感通, penetration of sensitivity) detailed in Continued Records of Eminent Monks. In Records of Eminent Monks, the subject of shini was that of eminent monks and its objects were those who did not know of Buddhism or believe in it. In Continued Records of Eminent Monks, however, the monks themselves could be objects of shini. The change of object suggests that the purpose had shifted from edification to awareness and self-reflection. Shini focused on edification, whereas gamtong re-emphasized the importance of the pure discipline and practice of monks during the 6^th and 7^th centuries when China became predominantly Buddhist.

• Journal of Popular Narrative
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.265-299
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• 2021

The purpose of this research paper is to facilitate the understanding of the synesthetic aesthetics in the film The Age of Innocence through the intertextuality among the narrative, paintings, and music in the film. In this paper, a two-dimensional intertextual analysis of the paintings in relation to the narrative is conducted on the paintings owned by Old New York, the paintings owned by Ellen, the portraits of unknown artists on the street outside of Parker House, and Rubens' painting at the Louvre. A three-dimensional intertextual analysis of performances in relation to the narrative is conducted on the stages and the box seats at the New York Academy of Music, in which Charles F. Gounod's Faust is performed, and the Wallack's Theatre, in which Dion Boucicault's The Shaughraun is performed. An intertextual analysis of music in relation to the narrative is also conducted on the diegetic and non-diegetic classical music of the film, including Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 8 and Mendelssohn's String Quintet No. 2, as well as Elmer Bernstein's non-diegetic music of the film. The constituent event of The Age of Innocence represents the passion trapped in the reflection of love and desire that are not lasting, and the supplementary event embodies the narrow viewpoint and the inversion of values caused by the patriarchal authority of Old New York. The characters in the film live a double life, presenting an unaffected surface and concealing the problems behind it. The characters restrain their emotions at both the climax and the ending. The most powerful aspect of the film is the type and nature of oppressive life, which are more delicately described with the help of paintings and music, as there is a limit to describing them only by acting. In intertextual terms, paintings and music in The Age of Innocence continuously emphasize "feeling of emotions that cannot be expressed in language." With a synesthetic image, as if each part were imprinted on the previous part, the continuity "responds to continuous camera movements and montage effects." In The Age of Innocence, erotic dynamism brings dramatic excitement to the highest level, switching between the satisfaction of revealing desire and the disappointment of hiding desire due to its taboo status. This is possible because paintings and music related to the narrative have made aesthetic achievements that overcome the limitations of two-dimensional planes and limited frames. The significance of this study lies in that, since the identification in The Age of Innocence is based on the establishment of a synesthetic aesthetic through audio-visual representation of the film narrative, it helps us to rediscover the possibility of cinematic aesthetics.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.40 no.2
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• pp.224-238
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• 2022

North Korea has actively participated in the international community related to environmental agreements. It has proposed various environmental policies internally since the Kim Jong-un regime. In particular, it emphasizes activities related to climate change response, the Sustainable Development Goals, and the conservation of ecosystems including forests and wetlands. In this study, a new security cooperation plan was proposed with an understanding of the climate crisis and environmental regime as a starting point. To this end, trends and recent activities for climate-environment cooperation in the international community and on the Korean Peninsula were analyzed. In addition, North Korea's conditions for cooperation on the Korean Peninsula, technology demand, and the projected future environment of the Korean Peninsula were dealt with. Ultimately, through advice of experts, we were able to discover cooperation agendas by sector and propose short-term and long-term environmental cooperation strategies for the Korean Peninsula based on them. In this study, conditions and directions for cooperation in fields of climate technology, biological resources, air/weather, water environment, biodiversity, renewable energy, bioenergy, and so on were considered comprehensively. Among 21 cooperation agendas discovered in this study, energy showed the largest number of areas. Renewable energy, forest resources, and environmental and meteorological information stood out as agendas that could be cooperated in the short term. As representative initiatives, joint promotion of 'renewable energy' that could contribute to North Korea's energy demand and carbon neutrality and 'forest cooperation' that could be recognized as a source of disaster reduction and greenhouse gas sinks were suggested.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.113-126
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• 2022

The tectonic history of the Chukchi Abyssal Plain in the Amerasia Basin, Arctic Ocean, has not been fully explored due to the harsh conditions of sea ice preventing detailed observation. Existing models of the tectonic history of the region provide contrasting interpretation of the timing of formation of the crust (Mesozoic to Cenozoic), crust type (from hyper-extended continental crust to oceanic crust), and formation process (from parallel/fan-shaped rifting to transformation faulting). To help determine the age of the oceanic crust, the geothermal gradient was measured at three stations in the south of abyssal plain at depth of 2,160-2,250 m below sea level. Heat flow measurement stations were located perpendicular to the spreading axis over a 40 km-long transect. In-situ thermal conductivity measurement, corrected by the laboratory test, gave observed marine heat flows of 55 to 61 mW/m². All measurements were taken during Arctic expeditions in 2018 (ARA09C expedition) and 2021 (ARA12C expedition) by the Korean ice-breaking research vessel (IBRV) Araon. Given the assumption of oceanic crust, the results correspond to formation in the Late Cretaceous (Mesozoic). The inferred age supports the hypothesis of formation activated by the opening of the Makarov Basin during the Late Mesozoic-Cenozoic. This would make it contemporaneous with rifting of the Chukchi Border Land immediately east of the abyssal plain. The heat flow data indicate the base of the gas hydrate stability zone is located 332-367 m below the seafloor, this will help to identify the gas hydrate-related bottom simulating reflector in the future seismic survey, as already identified on the Chukchi Plateau. Further geophysical surveys, including heat flow measurements, are required to increase our understanding of the formation process and thermal mantle structure of the abyssal plain.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.55 no.1
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• pp.84-98
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• 2022

Estuary is important in terms of biodiversity because it has the characteristics of transition waters, created by the mixing of fresh- and seawater. The estuarine water circulation provides a variety of habitats with different environments by inducing gradients in the chemical and physical environment, such as water quality and river bed structure, which are ultimately the main factors influencing biological community composition. If the water circulation is interrupted, the loss of brackish areas and the interception of migration of biological communities will lead to changes in the spatial distribution of biodiversity. In this study, among the sites covered by the Estuary Aquatic Ecosystem Health Assessment, we selected study sites where changes in biodiversity can be assessed by spatial gradient from the upper reaches of the river to the lower estuarine area. The α-, γ- and β-diversity of diatom, benthic macroinvertebrates, and fish communities were calculated, and they were divided into open and closed estuary data and compared to determine the trends in biodiversity variation due to estuarine circulation. As results, all communities showed higher γ-diversity at open estuary sites. The benthic macroinvertebrate community showed a clear difference between open and closed estuaries in β-diversity, consequently the estuarine transects were considered as a factor that decreases spatial heterogeneity of their diversity among sites. The biodiversity trends analyzed in this study will be used to identify estuaries with low γ- and β-diversity by community, providing a useful resource for further mornitoring and management to maintain estuarine health.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.56 no.6
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• pp.847-870
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• 2023

The safe disposal of high-level radioactive waste requires accurate predictions of the long-term geochemical behavior of radionuclides. To achieve this, the present study was conducted to model geochemical behaviors of uranium (U), plutonium (Pu), and palladium (Pd) under different hydrogeochemical conditions that represent deep groundwater in Korea. Geochemical modeling was performed for five types of South Korean deep groundwater environment: high-TDS saline groundwater (G1), low-pH CO₂-rich groundwater (G2), high-pH alkaline groundwater (G3), sulfate-rich groundwater (G4), and dilute (fresh) groundwater (G5). Under the pH and Eh (redox potential) ranges of 3 to 12 and ±0.2 V, respectively, the solubility and speciation of U, Pu, and Pd in deep groundwater were predicted. The result reveals that U(IV) exhibits high solubility within the neutral to alkaline pH range, even in reducing environment with Eh down to -0.2 V. Such high solubility of U is primarily attributed to the formation of Ca-U-CO₃ complexes, which is important in both G2 located along fault zones and G3 occurring in granitic bedrocks. On the other hand, the solubility of Pu is found to be highly dependent on pH, with the lowest solubility in neutral to alkaline conditions. The predominant species are Pu(IV) and Pu(III) and their removal is predicted to occur by sorption. Considering the migration by colloids, however, the role of colloid formation and migration are expected to promote the Pu mobility, especially in deep groundwater of G3 and G5 which have low ionic strengths. Palladium (Pd) exhibits the low solubility due to the precipitation as sulfides in reducing conditions. In oxidizing condition, anionic complexes such as Pd(OH)₃^-, PdCl₃(OH)₂^-, PdCl₄^2-, and Pd(CO₃)₂^2- would be removed by sorption onto metal (hydro)oxides. This study will improve the understanding of the fate and transport of radionuclides in deep groundwater conditions of South Korea and therefore contributes to develop strategies for safe high-level radioactive waste disposal.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Landscape Architecture
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• v.52 no.1
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• pp.71-86
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• 2024

Despite the increasing importance of urban parks' ecological functions in dealing with the climate crisis, ecological parks are not clearly defined in Korea's legal system. Numerous ecological parks created nationwide cannot be systematically designated and managed due to various legal bases and varying management authorities. It is important to clarify the legal status of ecological parks in order to lead the ecological paradigm shift of urban parks and to improve the natural park system for a comprehensive and integrated approach to protect the national ecosystem. To this end, related laws were analyzed to identify problems and to draw directions for legislative improvement. Through the literature review of relevant laws, acts, and ordinances, six major directions for improvement were suggested based on the analysis of problems. First, the legal status of ecological parks in the administrative dichotomy of the current park system is ambiguous, and ecological parks should be clarified through the revision of park-related laws. Second, an ecological park can be defined as a sustainable park created and managed in an ecological manner, promoting the protection and restoration of the ecosystem, conservation, and promotion of biodiversity, and balancing nature observation, ecological learning, and leisure activities. Third, the role of the state and local governments should be systematically revised to lead to a new park planning and management model through new governance. Fourth, since the characteristics of ecological parks are affected by individual laws, the possibility of overlapping ecological parks for other uses should be allowed. Fifth, detailed guidelines and standard ordinances need to be enacted to meet the goals, principles, and facilities of ecological parks. Lastly, along with the revision of the laws, ordinances by local governments also need to be more concrete. This study, which tracks various legal realities related to ecological parks, can contribute to policymaking that can systematize the foundation for the creation of ecological parks to preserve nationwide ecosystems and provide citizens with opportunities to experience and learn about nature.

• Conservation Science in Museum
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• v.31
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• pp.21-37
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• 2024

This paper sought to garner an understanding of Daegaya glass culture by observing the micro-structure and analyzing the chemical composition of 43 glass beads excavated from the No.73 and 74 ancient tombs in Jisan-dong, Goryeong, which are estimated to have a central age of 5th century CE. The visible characteristics and micro-structure of these artifacts were observed with a optical microscope and an scanning electron microscope, while their chemical composition was analyzed with an energy-dispersing spectrometer attached to the scanning electron microscope. As a result, the glass beads of Jisan-dong, Goryeong were identified to have been formed using various methods such as drawing, casting, and folding techniques, with the majority molded by the drawing technique. In terms of chemical composition, 32.6% were in the potash glass group and 67.4% in the soda glass group, with the latter divided into various fluxes such as high alumina glass, netron glass, and plant ash glass. Compared to Baekje's cultural region in the same age, the composition of these ancient glass artifacts demonstrates a high share of the potash glass group. This shows that, despite the shift from the potash glass group to the soda glass group in ancient Korean glass culture, glass composition differs from region to region or depending on the cultural sphere of influence. In the soda glass group, high-alumina glass comprised 23.3%, natron glass 43.0%, and plant ash glass was 1.2%. Among them, the main type of Korean soda glass is high-alumina glass, as natron glass and plant ash glass are known to have appeared later, but the results of scientific analysis of the glass beads excavated in Jisan-dong can be expected to provide important clues about the inflow and transformation of ancient glass on the Korean Peninsula. In the No. 73, 74, and 74-1 ancient tombs, which were found to have been built in chronological order by the excavation survey, the glass beads showed only slight variations depending on their production period. Nonetheless, the chemical composition of glass is deemed to have a close correlation to color.