• Journal of Korea Trade
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• v.23 no.6
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• pp.131-144
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• 2019

Purpose - The purpose of this study was to investigate market power of soybeans exported by the United States to Korea. Particularly, this paper considered dichotomous characteristics of genetically modified (GM) soybeans and non-GM soybeans and conducted empirical analysis of these two segregated soybean markets to understand key tenets of market power in international soybean trade. Design/methodology - The difference in market power between GM and non-GM soybeans was analyzed using Residual Demand Elasticity (RDE) and Residual Supply Elasticity (RSE) models over the period of 2008~2018. RDE and RSE models under an imperfect competition condition were used to estimate market margins and determine whether GM and non-GM exporters or importers exercised market power in the destination market. Findings - Empirical results suggested that the U.S. had a market power on both GM and non-GM soybean exports. GM exports had greater market power than non-GM exports (14% vs. 9%). By contrast, Korea showed an inability to grab market margin or exert market power in soybean imports. Both export supply by the U.S. and import demand by Korea were found to be more responsive to price changes of GM soybeans than to prices changes of non-GM soybeans. This might be due to a self-interested, profit-seeking strategy by the exporter and many concerned consumers regarding potential adverse effects of GMOs in the importing country. Originality/value - This paper fills the literature gap by exploiting market power in both GM and non-GM markets with explicit consideration of price correlations between GM and non-GM soybeans in Korea. A number of existing studies have provided evidence for market power broadly embedded in international commodity trade. However, studies focusing on Korean markets are limited. No study has explored the country's soybean trade. Furthermore, the majority of prior studies have almost exclusively focused on the market power from a standpoint of exporting countries without discussing importers' market structure. This paper also sought to understand potentially distinguished patterns of market power between GM and non-GM markets.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.182-190
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• 2008

A survey on consumer's awareness and perception toward genetically-modified(GM) foods was conducted on 2110 random samples of Korean consumers. More than 65% of the respondents were exposed to some information related to GM foods. The respondents answered that the greatest benefit of the development of GM foods is remedy of potential food shortages in the future. More than 90% of Korean consumers wanted GM foods to be labeled as such. More than 50% of the respondents would not buy until they know more about GM foods. Only 35.8% of Korean consumers were found to know that food items originating from plants contained genes. More consumers responded that they would not buy herbicide-resistant GM soybean but buy vitamin-enriched GM soybean. Many Korean consumers' decision of acceptance or rejection of GM foods depend not on the basis of biotechnology, but on the basis of the degree of benefit to the consumers. Only 6.4% of Korean consumers responded that GM foods were the greatest threat to the safety of Korean foods. The perception of Korean consumers on GM foods has not changed significantly during the past 5 years.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.46 no.2
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• pp.213-218
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• 2014

The purpose of this study was to investigate the bioavailability and nutritive functions of Nak-Dong rice or genetically modified ${\beta}$-carotene-biofortified rice (GM rice) in an experimental animal model. Wistar rats fed either GM rice or Nak-Dong rice did not show differences in bioavailability, growth, organ weights, or visceral fat, suggesting that the nutrient content of GM rice is compositionally equivalent to that of conventional Nak-Dong rice. In addition, GM rice showed improved nutritive function in terms of increased defecation, decreased lipids, and decreased blood glucose.

• Journal of Korean Home Economics Education Association
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.101-113
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• 2010

The purpose of this study is to develop and evaluate the practical problem-based lesson plan for high school home economics class focusing on consumer choice of genetically modified(GM) food. The ADDIE instructional design model was applied. The first analysis step, practical problems were chosen based on the previous studies and the educational goal suggested in the 2007 revised curriculum. The next design and development steps, 4 hours of lesson plans were developed by reconstitution a chapter of Food Safety. Additional learning materials(17 student activity papers, 17 student reading materials, 3 teacher reading materials) were also developed. The implementation step, the lesson plans developed were applied to the S high school students in Bundang, Geyonggi-do. The last evaluation step, the perception change about GM food and the adequacy of teaching method were evaluated. As results, the studens' attitudes and minds towards the GM food were changed. The level of concern on GM food increased, and the ratio of students who would check whether GM food or not was increased. Also students showed high level of satisfaction on teaching method and materials.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.35 no.6
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• pp.1155-1161
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• 2003

A three-year (2000-2002) survey on consumer's awareness and perception of genetically-modified (GM) foods was conducted on random samples of Korean consumers. More than 65% of the respondents were exposed to some information related to GM foods. The greatest benefit of the development of GM foods was thought to be their remedy of potential food shortages in the future. More than 90% of Korean consumers wanted GM foods to be labeled. About 18% of the respondents would buy GM foods voluntarily, whereas over 46% would not until they knew more about the product. Only 39% of Korean consumers were found to have realized that food items origination from plants contained genes. More consumers responded that they would not buy herbicide-resistant GM soybean and buy vitamin-enriched GM soybean instead. Many Korean consumers appeared to make decisions of acceptance or rejection of GM foods not on the basis of biotechnology, but on the basis of the word(s) used to describe the products, such as herbicide and vitamin. Only 4% of Korean consumers responded that GM foods were the greatest threat to the safety of Korean foods.

• Food Science and Industry
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• v.52 no.2
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• pp.130-139
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• 2019

Safety of genetically modified foods (GM foods) in Korea is evaluated according to "Food Sanitation Act" and "Regulation on safety evaluation for GM foods" based on the concept of substantial equivalence. In which cases a person who imports, develops or manufactures GM foods for the purpose of eating imports GM foods for the first time, he/she shall undergo a safety evaluation of the relevant foods, etc. by Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS). And in which cases ten years have elapsed since GM foods underwent safety evaluation, they shall be re-evaluated for their safety. As of April 2019, a total of 199 events have been approved by MFDS and they are 169 events of GM crops including soybean (29), maize (87), cotton (29), canola (14), sugar beet (1), potato (4), alfalfa (5), 6 events of GM microorganisms (GMM) and 24 events of GM food additives originated from GMM.

• Food Science and Biotechnology
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• v.15 no.6
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• pp.954-958
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• 2006

A comprehensive safety evaluation was conducted to assess the potential allergenicity of newly introduced proteins in genetically modified (GM) crops. We assessed the allergenicity of CP4 5-enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate synthase (EPSPS) in GM soybeans. This assessment was performed by IgE immunoblotting with soy-allergic children's sera, amino acid sequence homology with known allergens, and the digestibility of CP4 EPSPS. No differences in IgE-antigen binding by immunoblotting were found between GM soy samples and the corresponding non-GM samples. Based on the comparison of EPSPS amino acid sequence homology with current allergen databases, no known allergen was found. In addition, CP4 EPSPS protein was rapidly digested by simulated gastric fluid (SGF). Taken together, these results indicate that GM soybeans have no allergenicity in children and are as safe as conventional soybeans.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.152-158
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• 2001

A survey of consumers'awareness and attitudes about food biotechnology was conducted during May through August of 2001 with a random sample of 750 Korean consumers. More than 70% of the respondents was exposed to some informations related to genetically modified (GM) foods. The greatest benefit of the development of GM foods was thought to be the remedy for the food shortage in the future. More than 90% of Korean consumers wanted GM foods labeled. About 20% of the respondents would buy GM foods voluntarily, whereas over 50% would not until they found out more. More consumers responded that they would not buy herbicide-tolerant GM soybean but buy vitamin-enriched GM soybean. It seemed to be that many Korean consumers do not make decisions of acceptance or rejection of GM floods not on the basis of biotechnology but on the basis of the word(s) used to describe the products, such as herbicide and vitamin. Only 4% of Korean consumers responded that GM foods were the greatest safety-threatening factor of Korean foods and that the most interested information on food labels was whether the food was produced by biotechnology.

• The Korean Journal of Pesticide Science
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.278-288
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• 2011

This study was conducted to evaluate the safety of ${\beta}$-carotene biofortified rice, a genetically modified organism (GMO) developed by Rural Development Administration. ${\beta}$-carotene biofortified rice were exposed on Sprague-Dawley rats for 13 weeks. All rats survived until the end of the exposure period. There were no biologically significant differences in body weight, feed and water consumption, weight gains and feed efficiency. There were no clinical signs of toxicity attributable to exposure to GM rice. Mild decreases in AST, ALT, TG levels were observed in Group II (25% GM rice (w/w) and Group III (50% GM rice (w/w), both in females and males. Results of histopathological changes treated with the ${\beta}$-carotene biofortified rice had no significant differences between the control and treatment groups. Based on these results, we deemed that genetically modified ${\beta}$-carotene biofortified rice was as safe as conventional rice.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
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• v.48 no.4
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• pp.1051-1065
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• 2021

Recent times have seen sustained increases in genetically modified (GM) crops not only for cultivation but also for the utility of food and feed worldwide. Domestically, commercial planting and the accidental or unintentional release of living modified (LM) crops into the environment are not approved. Many detection methods had been devised in an effort to realize effective management of the safety of agricultural genetic resources. In order to develop event-specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR) markers for LM crops, we analyzed the genetic information of LM crops. Genetic components introduced into crops are of key importance to provide a basis for the development of detection methods for LM crops. To this end, a total of 18 varieties from four major LM crop species (maize, canola, cotton, and soybeans) were subjected to an analysis. The genetic components included introduced genes, promoters, terminators and selection markers. Thus, if proper monitoring techniques and single or multiplex PCR strategies that rely on selection markers can be established, such an accomplishment can be regarded as a feasible solution for the safe management of staple crop resources.