• Maritime Security
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.113-136
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• 2022

China has been pushing for a systematic strategy for territorialization over a long period of time to invade Korea's West Sea (Yellow Sea) in order to create China's territorial water. China's strategy for territorializing the West Sea is an activity in which China curbs the use of South Korea and enforces the illegal use of China in order to dominate the West Sea exclusively. China aided Chinese fishing boats that engaged in illegal fishing in Korea's jurisdiction as a means to territorialize the West Sea, and is opposed to combined exercise and training of Korea and the United States Naval Forces in the West Sea, while intentionally entering KADIZ(Korea Air Defense Identification Zone). In addition, Beijing used 'scientific exploration and research' measures as a pretext for its strategies in order to encroach on Korea's West Sea. China is carrying out such work to announce to the world that China is a systematic and organized country while consistently attempting to dominate the West Sea. China's activities in the West Sea seriously infringe South Korea's sovereignty. In order to respond to China's strategies of territorialization in the West Sea stated above, I analyzed the rejection effect of the ROK-US combined military training in the West Sea and presented a 'proportional response strategy centered on the ROK-US combined forces'. Korea should be able to respond proportionally to China's activities in the seas around the Korean peninsula, and Korea should be able to neutralize China's attempt to a Fait Accompli. In addition, just as China installs buoys in the Korea-China Provisional Measures Zone, Korea should be able to install and actively utilize some devices in the West Sea and for the use of free and open West Sea. Korea should not just wait for the tragic future to come without preparing for China's gradual and long-term strategy, and Seoul needs to respond to China's maritime policy in the West Sea with a more active attitude than it is now. China has historically taken a bold and aggressive response to neighboring countries that are consistent with a passive attitude, on the other hand, Beijing has taken a cautious approach to neighboring countries that respond with an active attitude. It should not be forgotten that Korea's passive response to the Chinese strategy in the name of a 'realistic approach' such as Korea's economic dependence on China for economy will result in China's success for territorialization of the West Sea.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.56 no.1
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• pp.1-11
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• 2023

In this study, we explore the morphological and geochemical characteristics for 440 manganese nodules collected from two different water depths [ARA12B-St52 (150 m, n = 239) and ARA12B-St58i (73 m, n = 201)] on the continental shelf of the East Siberian Sea from the ARA12B expedition in 2021. We also discussed the variations in the characteristics of manganese nodules with varying water depths in the Arctic Sea. The sizes of the nodules are generally greater than 3 cm at both sites. However, there is an obvious difference in the morphology with water depths. For the nodules collected at 150 m, brown-black colored tabular, tube, and ellipsoidal shapes with a rough surface texture are dominant. On the other hand, yellow-brown tabular shapes with a smooth surface texture are common for the nodules collected at 73 m. Furthermore, the slope of trend line between size and weight is significantly different at both sites: particularly, the slopes of nodules at 150 and 73 m are 1.60 and 0.84, respectively. This indicates the difference in the internal structure, porosity, and constituting elements between both nodules. Micro X-ray Flourescence (µ-XRF) results clearly demonstrate that the internal textures and chemical compositions are different with water depths. The nodules at 150 m are composed of a thick Mn-layer and a thin Fe-layer centered on the nucleus, while the nodules at 73 m are alternately grown with thin Mn- and Fe- layers around the nucleus. The average chemical compositions obtained by µ-XRF are 40.6 wt% Mn, 5.2 wt% Fe, and 7.9 Mn/Fe ratio at 150 m, and 10.3 wt% Mn, 19.0 wt% Fe, and 0.6 Mn/Fe ratio at 73 m. The chemical compositions of the nodules at 150 m are similar to those of nodules from the Peru Basin in the Pacific Ocean, while the compositions of the nodules at 73 m are similar to those of nodules from the Cook Islands or the Baltic Sea. The observed morphological and geochemical characteristics of the nodules show a clear difference at the two sites, which indicates that the aqueous conditions and formation processes of the nodules in the Arctic Sea vary with the water depths.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.63-93
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• 2023

This study aims to examine the history of naming the strait between the Yellow and East China Seas and the East Sea to suggest a consistent nomenclature and to demarcate the geographic region of the strait. Although the strait is internationally known as 'Korea Strait', it is commonly referred to as the 'South Sea' in Korean common usage. This review ultimately recommends the use of 'Korea Strait' as an appropriate geographical name for this area. To support this recommendation, the historical boundaries typically assigned to the Korea Strait were investigated. We also analyzed the evolution of geographical labels assigned to Korea Strait and to the Western and Eastern Channels (labels given to the two maritime areas surrounding Tsushima). Resources for this analysis included historic maps and charts, International Hydrographic Organization Special Publications (S-23), and maps published in the Ocean Science Journal (OSJ) and Journal of Oceanography (JO), which are two international journals representing Korean and Japanese sources, respectively, from 2005 to 2021. In these two international journals, the most frequently used names assigned to the strait of interest were Korea Strait (appearing 42.9% of OSJ maps, and 7.5% of JO maps), and Tsushima Strait (appearing 60.4% of JO maps, and 0% of OSJ maps). Other names were South Sea and Korea Strait/Tsushima Strait. On maps in the two reviewed journals, the boundaries of Korea Strait were defined explicitly or implicitly in five different ways: a broad region between the Yellow and East China Seas and Ulleung Basin (Type 1), the region between Ulleung Basin and Tsushima (Type 2), the western channel of the strait (Type 3-1), the eastern channel of the strait (Type 3-2), and both the western and eastern channels of the strait (Type 4). Overall, Type 1 was the most frequently used boundary, taking up 71.4% of OSJ and 60.4% of JO maps. Lastly, we suggest in this paper that the current flowing through Korea Strait from the East China Sea to the East Sea should be labeled the 'Korea Strait Warm Current' to indicate its full path through the strait. Currently, this current is internationally referred to as the 'Tsushima Warm Current', which does not link well to the commonly used geographic name of the strait.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.40 no.4
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• pp.464-476
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• 2022

In recent years, macroalgal bloom occurs frequently in coastal oceans worldwide. It might be attributed to accelerating climate change. "Green tide" events caused by proliferation of green macroalgae (Ulva spp.) not only damage the local economy, but also harm coastal environments. These nuisance events have become common across several coastal regions of continents. In Korea, green tide incidences are readily seen throughout the year along the coastlines of Jeju Island, particularly the northeastern coast, since the 2000s. Ulva species are notorious to be difficult for morphology-based species identification due to their high degrees of phenotypic plasticity. In this study, to investigate temporal variation in Ulva community structure on Jeju Island between 2015 and 2020, chloroplast barcode tufA gene was sequenced and phylogenetically analyzed for 152 specimens from 24 sites. We found that Ulva ohnoi and Ulva pertusa known to be originated from subtropical regions were the most predominant all year round, suggesting that these two species contributed the most to local green tides in this region. While U. pertusa was relatively stable in frequency during 2015 to 2020, U. ohnoi increased 16% in frequency in 2020 (36.84%), which might be associated with rising sea surface temperature from which U. ohnoi could benefit. Two species (Ulva flexuosa, Ulva procera) of origins of Europe should be continuously monitored. The findings of this study provide valuable information and molecular genetic data of genus Ulva occurring in southern coasts of Korea, which will help mitigate negative influences of green tide events on Korea coast.

• Strategy21
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• s.34
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• pp.236-261
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• 2014

The future role of nuclear extended deterrence in the security alliance between the United States and the Republic of Korea is currently a central concern. The gradually lessening role of reliance on nuclear weapons in US security policies broadly, combined with increasing North Korean nuclear capabilities and belligerence, raise fresh questions about the sufficiency of the "nuclear umbrella" as a pillar of the US-ROK defense posture. This article addresses the current and future role of nuclear extended deterrence in Korea in this dynamic context. The article reviews the longstanding trend toward reducing the overall size of the US nuclear arsenal, and assesses developments in US-ROK outlooks toward extended deterrence in response to the Obama administration's nuclear policies and North Korea's recent smaller-scale aggressions. The analysis finds that the challenges of deterrence credibility and allied reassurance are difficult and long-term. The analysis explains how these challenges emerge less from a shrinking US numerical arsenal size than from the sufficiency of specific nuclear and non-nuclear capabilities to meet emerging smaller-scale threats. The analysis also highlights the importance of broader strategic and political interaction in sustaining allied confidence in any joint security posture. The evaluation concludes that a strong US-ROK alliance relationship can be maintained while the size of the US nuclear arsenal continues to decline, in part because nuclear weapons in any deployment configuration are relatively ineffective means for deterring smaller-scale aggression. Nevertheless, continuing adjustment of the US-ROK extended deterrence posture to the evolving, complex and uncertain Korean peninsula security environment will remain an ongoing challenge. Finally, the article encourages further examination of the potential specific role ROK maritime forces might serve in enhancing deterrence of smaller-scale threats while minimizing risks of conflict escalation.

• Korean Journal of Ichthyology
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.186-200
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• 2022

In order to understand the species composition and distribution characteristics of larval assemblages in the East Sea, Korea, larvae were collected at 13 stations every other month from February to December 2018. Fish larvae were identified through DNA barcoding along with morphological methods, and as the result, a total of 104 taxonomic groups appeared during the survey. Among these, Engraulis japonicus, which accounted for 76.2% of the total population, was the most dominant species, followed by Maurolicus japonicus, which accounted for 15.0%. In addition, Ammodytes personatus, Champsodon snyderi, Scomber japonicus and Echelus uropterus appeared more frequently than other taxa. The above six species accounted for 93.2% of the total catch. The number of taxa and the amount of larvae collected in the survey area were higher during the high water temperature periods (June to October) than during the low water temperature periods (February, April and December). Analysis of similarity (ANOSIM) showed a statistically significant difference in monthly larval assemblages. The results of the canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) show that the distributions of larval community were mainly affected by sea surface temperature during low water temperature periods, and various environmental factors such as salinity, dry weight of zooplankton, and the concentrations of nutrients during high water temperature periods.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Marine Environment & Safety
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• v.29 no.7
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• pp.779-793
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• 2023

Intensive and long-term aquaculture activities in Korea have generated considerable amounts of organic matter, deteriorating the sedimentary environment and ecosystem. The Korean government enacted the Fishery Management Act to preserve and manage the environment of fish farms. Based on this, a fisheries environment assessment has been conducted on fish cage farms since 2014, necessitating the development of a scientific and objective evaluation method suitable for the domestic environment. Therefore, a benthic health index (BHI) was developed using the relationship between benthic polychaete communities and organic matter, a major source of pollution in fish farms. In this study, the development process and calculation method of the BHI have been introduced. The BHI was calculated by classifying 225 species of polychaetes appearing in domestic coastal and aquaculture areas into four groups by linking the concentration gradient of the total organic carbon in the sediment and the distributional characteristics of each species and assigning differential weights to each group. Using BHI, the benthic fauna communities were assigned to one of the four ecological classes (Grade 1: Normal, Grade 2: Slightly polluted, Grade 3: Moderately polluted, and Grade 4: Heavily polluted). The application of the developed index in the field enabled effective evaluation of the Korean environment, being relatively more accurate and less affected by the season compared with the existing evaluation methods like the diversity index or AZTI's Marine Biotic Index developed overseas. In addition, using BHI will be useful in the environmental management of fish farms, as the environment can be graded in quantified figures.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Marine Environment & Safety
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• v.29 no.7
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• pp.802-811
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• 2023

Marine spatial planning (MSP) is a crucial element for rational allocation and sustainable use of marine areas. Particularly, Fishing Activity Protected Areas constitute essential zones accounting for 45.6% designated for sustainable fishing activities. However, the current assessment of these zones does not adequately consider future demands and potential values, necessitating appropriate evaluation methods and predictive tools for long-term planning. In this study, we selected key fish species (Scomber japonicus, Trichiurus lepturus, Engraulis japonicus, and Larimichthys polyactis) within the Fishing Activity Protected Area to predict their distribution and compare it with the current designated zones for evaluating the ability of the prediction tool. Employing the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) 6th Assessment Report scenarios (SSP1-2.6 and SSP5-8.5), we used species distribution models (such as MaxEnt) to assess the movement and distribution changes of these species owing to future variations. The results indicated a 30-50% increase in the distribution area of S. japonicus, T. lepturus, and L. polyactis, whereas the distribution area of E. japonicus decreased by approximately 6-11%. Based on these results, a species richness map for the four key species was created. Within the marine spatial planning boundaries, the overlap between areas rated "high" in species richness and the Fishing Activity Protected Area was approximately 15%, increasing to 21% under the RCP 2.6 scenario and 34% under the RCP 8.5 scenario. These findings can serve as scientific evidence for future evaluations of use zones or changes in reserve areas. The current and predicted distributions of species owing to climate change can address the limitations of current use zone evaluations and contribute to the development of plans for sustainable and beneficial use of marine resources.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.56 no.6
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• pp.661-674
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• 2023

From the seafloor of Taean, Chungcheongnamdo Province, a ship of the Joseon Dynasty was discovered for the first time in the history of underwater excavations in Korea in 2014 and was named Mado Shipwreck No. 4. A total of 27 unused whetstones loaded as tribute were discovered on the hull of Mado No. 4, which revealed that Mado Shipwreck No. 4 was a Grain transport ship that sank while carrying tribute from Naju to Hanyang between 1417 and 1425 (King Taejong to King Sejong). All of the 27 whetstones are in the shape of narrow and long sticks. The average values of length, width, thickness, and weight are 161.5 mm, 36.1 mm, 22.7 mm, and 253.2 g, respectively. The result of X-ray diffraction analysis shows that the constituent minerals are quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase, which is similar to that of the high-resolution digital stereomicroscope analysis. The average porosity of Mado-2672 and 2673 is 2.69% and 1.78%, respectively, and the average surface hardness is 807.2HLD and 834.5HLD, respectively. It is interpreted that if the porosity increases beyond a certain level, it affects the decrease in surface hardness. All of these are made of feldspathic sandstones with an average SiO₂ content of 74.51% and were confirmed to be suitable as grindstones. They are all medium whetstones when classified based on the SiO₂ content. These whetstones are small in size and weight and are convenient to carry, so they are presumed to be a type of non-stationary whetstone, and are estimated to have been mainly used in the fields such as weapon polishing and craft production during the Joseon Dynasty.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Marine Environment & Safety
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• v.22 no.5
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• pp.483-489
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• 2016

The type approval test for USCG Phase II must be satisfied such that living natural biota occupy more than 75 % of whole biota in a test tank. Thus, we harvested a community of natural organisms using a net at Masan Bay (eutrophic) and Jangmok Bay (mesotrophic) during winter season to meet this guideline. Furthermore, cell viability was measured to determine the mortality rate. Based on the organism concentration volume (1 ton) at Masan and Jangmok Bay, abundance of ${\geq}10$ and $<50{\mu}m$ sized organisms was observed to be $4.7{\times}10^4cells\;mL^{-1}$and $0.8{\times}10^4cells\;mL^{-1}$, and their survival rates were 90.4 % and 88.0 %, respectively. In particular, chain-forming small diatoms such as Skeletonema costatum-like species were abundant at Jangmok Bay, while small flagellate ($<10{\mu}m$) and non chain-forming large dinoflagellates, such as Akashiwo sanguinea and Heterocapsa triquetra, were abundant at Masan Bay. Due to the size-difference of the dominant species, concentration efficiency was higher at Jangmok Bay than at Masan Bay. The mortality rate in samples treated by Ballast Water Treatment System (BWMS) (Day 0) was a little lower for samples from Jangmok Bay than from Masan Bay, with values of 90.4% and 93%, respectively. After 5 days, the mortality rates in control and treatment group were found to be 6.7% and >99%, respectively. Consequently, the phytoplankton concentration method alone did not easily satisfy the type approval standards of USCG Phase II ($>1.0{\times}10^3cells\;mL^{-1}$ in 500-ton tank) during winter season, and alternative options such as mass culture and/or harvesting system using natural phytoplankton communities may be helpful in meeting USCG Phase II biological criteria.