• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.35 no.3
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• pp.223-236
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• 2021

This study aims to provide basic data for the systematic conservation and efficient management of forest ecosystems by analyzing changes in understory vegetation of temperate broad-leaved deciduous forests. One-hectare permanent survey plot, consisting of 100 subplots sized 10 × 10 meters, was installed in Gwangneung forest in Pocheon, Gyeonggi-do in 2003. The state of stands and the understory vegetation in the permanent survey plot were examined at a 5-year interval from 2003 to 2018. The vascular plants found in the survey area were 56 families, 128 genera, 176 species, 18 variants, 4 varieties, and 1 subspecies, for a total of 199 taxa. The number of species in both the shrub layer and the herbaceous layer showed a tendency to decrease with time. The MRPP-tests showed a significantly differing species composition of the shrub layer in all years except 2008-2013, whereas significant differences were found in all years concerning the herbaceous layer. As for the average importance value, Euonymus oxyphyllus (18.23%), Acer pseudosieboldianum (16.48%), and Callicarpa japonica (13.85%) were dominant in the shrub layer, while Ainsliaea acerifolia (23.41%), Disporum smilacinum (9.45%), and Oplismenus undulatifolius (5.62%) were dominant in the herbaceous layer. In the shrub layer, the richness of Smilax china, Lonicera subsessilis, and Philadelphus schrenkii was high when the basal area and the stand density of an upper layer were high. By contrast, smaller basal area and stand density were associated with the richness of Acer pseudosieboldianum, Deutzia glabrata, Morus bombycis, and Cornus kousa. Furthermore, it was found out that the impact of the basal area and the stand density on the herbaceous layer decreased over time, while the herb layer's species composition was greatly affected by cover degrees of Euonymus oxyphyllus and Acer pseudosieboldianum in the shrub layer. In conclusion, the number of species in the understory vegetation in Gwangneung forest is continuously decreasing, thus implying that species diversity, basal area, and stand density of an upper layer can influence the species composition in understory vegetation.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Landscape Architecture
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• v.50 no.2
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• pp.41-63
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• 2022

The purpose of this study is to secure objective and precise data through ecosystem monitoring, to reveal ecological characteristics through comparison and analysis with past survey data, and to accumulate basic data for diagnosing the current situation and predicting changes in the ecosystem. The target site is the 'Quercus mongolica forest on the Buksa-myeon of Namsan', which was designated as an Ecological Landscape Conservation Area (ELCA) of Seoul in July 2006. The research contents are analysis of soil environment change (1986~2016), change of actual vegetation (1978~2016), and change of plant community structure (1994~2016). A total of 8 fixed surveys (400~1,200m²) were established in 1994 and 2000. Analysis items are importance value, species and population, and Shannon's species diversity. The soil environment of Namsan is acidic (pH 4.40 in 2016), which is expected to have a negative impact on tree growth and vegetation structure due to its low capacity for exchangeable cations. Quercus mongolica forest in Namsan is mainly distributed on the northern slopes. The actual vegetation area changed from 49.4% in 1978 → 80.7% in 1986 → 82.4% in 2000 → 88.3% in 2005 → 88.3% in 2009 → 70.3% in 2016. In 2016, the forest decreased by 18% compared to 2009. While there was increased growth of Quercus mongolica in the tree layer from 2009 to 2016, the overall decline in vegetation area was due to logging and fumigation management following the spread of oak wilt in 2012. As for the changes in the plant community structure, Quercus mongolica of the tree layer was damaged by oak wilt, and the potential vegetation that can form the next generation was ambiguous. In the subtree layer, the force of urbanization tree species such as Styrax japonicus, Sorbus alnifolia, and Acer palmatum. was maintained or increased. In the shrub layer, the number of trees and species increased significantly due to the open tree crown, and accordingly, the species diversity of Shannon for woody plants also increased. In Quercus mongolica forest of Namsan, various ecological changes are occurring due to the effects of urban environments such as air pollution and acid rain, the limitation of Quercus mongolica pure forest due to oak wilt, and the introduction of exotic species, thus, it is necessary to establish a management plan through continuous monitoring.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.356-368
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• 2021

To understand the temporal variation of phytoplankton communities in a coastal area, the biomass and diversity were weekly investigated in the inner bay of Yeong-do, Busan. In the study area, chlorophyll a concentration ranged from 0.43~7.58 mg m^-3 during the study, indicating the study area was in mesotrophic or eutrophic status. The fractions of chlorophyll a occupied by large phytoplankton (> 3 ㎛ diameter) exhibited an average of 80% of total chlorophyll a in this study. Among the large phytoplankton, while Bacillariophyta was the most dominant in spring and summer, Cryptophyceae prevailed in the fall and winter. On the contrary, in the picophytoplankton community less than 3 ㎛ in diameter, Mamiellophyceae was the most dominant in most seasons, Cryptophyceae was relatively high with an average of 17.7 ± 17.6% throughout the year, but seasonal variations were large. Dinophyceae rarely occupied a higher fraction up to 60.4% of the picophytoplankton community. By weekly monitoring at a coastal station for 13 months, it is suggested that phytoplankton communities in coastal waters could be changed on a short time scale. If data are steadily accumulated at the time-series monitoring site for a long time, these will provide important data for understanding the long-term dynamics of phytoplankton as well as the impact of climate and environmental changes.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.111 no.2
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• pp.201-223
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• 2022

Currently, species extinctions are increasing due to climate change and continued anthropogenic impact. We selected 300 species for conservation with emphasis on plants co-occurring in the Baekdudaegan area, which is a large ecological axis of Korea. We aimed to investigate the vegetation community and environmental characteristics of Zabelia tyaihyonii in the limestone habitat among the target plant species in the Baekdudaegan region to derive effective conservation strategies. In Danyang-gun, Yeongwol-gun, and Jecheon-si, we selected 36 investigation sites where Z. tyaihyonii was present. We investigated the vegetation, flora, soil and physical environment. We also found notable plants such as Thalictrum petaloideum, Sillaphyton podagraria, and Neillia uekii at the investigation sites. We classified forest vegetation community types into 4 vegetation units and 7 species group types. With canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) of the vegetation community and habitat factors, we determined the overall explanatory power to be 75.2%, and we classified the environmental characteristics of the habitat of Z. tyaihyonii into a grouping of three. Among these, we detected a relationship between the environmental factors elevation, slope, organic matter, rock ratio, pH, potassium, and sodium. We identified numerous rare and endemic plants, including Thalictrum petaloideum, in the investigation site, and determined that these groups needed to be preserved at the habitat level. In the classification of the vegetation units analyzed based on the emerging plants and the CCA, we reaffirmed the uniqueness and specificity of the vegetation community in the habitat of Z. tyaihyonii. We anticipate that our results will be used as scientific evidence for the empirical conservation of the native habitats of Z. tyaihyonii.

• Journal of Korea Water Resources Association
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• v.55 no.8
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• pp.603-611
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• 2022

In urban areas, the impermeable area continues to increase due to urbanization, which interferes with the surface penetrating and infiltrating of rainwater, causing most rainwater runoff to the surface, deepening the distortion of water circulation. Distortion of water circulation affects not only flood disasters caused by rainfall and runoff, but also various aspects such as dry stream phenomenon, deterioration of water quality, and destruction of ecosystem balance, and the Ministry of Environment strongly recommends the use of Low Impact development (LID) techniques. In order to apply the LID technique, it is necessary to set a rainwater management target to handle the increase in outflow after the development of the target site, and the current standard sets the rainwater management target using the 10-year daily rainfall. In this study, the difference from the current standards was analyzed through statistical analysis and classification of independent rainfall ideas using inter-event time definition (IETD) in setting the target amount of rainwater management to improve water circulation. Using 30-year rainfall data from 1991 to 2020, methods such as autocorrelation coefficient (AC) analysis, variation coefficient (VC) analysis, and annual average number of rainfall event (NRE) analysis were applied, and IETD was selected according to the target rainfall period. The more samples the population had, the more IETD tended to increase. In addition, by analyzing the duration and time distribution of independent rainfall according to the IETD, a plan was proposed to calculate the standard design rainfall according to the rainwater management target amount. Therefore, it is expected that it will be possible to set an improved rainwater management target amount if sufficient samples of independent rainfall ideas are used through the selection of IETD as in this study.

• Journal of the Society of Disaster Information
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.694-709
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• 2021

Purpose: In this study, earthquake-induced landslide risk assessment was conducted to provide basic data for efficient and preemptive damage prevention by selecting the erosion control work before the earthquake and the prediction and restoration priorities of the damaged area after the earthquake. Method: The study analyzed the previous studies abroad to examine the evaluation methodology and to derive the evaluation factors, and examine the utilization of the landslide hazard map currently used in Korea. In addition, the earthquake-induced landslide hazard map was also established on a pilot basis based on the fault zone and epicenter of Pohang using seismic attenuation. Result: The earthquake-induced landslide risk assessment study showed that China ranked 44%, Italy 16%, the U.S. 15%, Japan 10%, and Taiwan 8%. As for the evaluation method, the statistical model was the most common at 59%, and the physical model was found at 23%. The factors frequently used in the statistical model were altitude, distance from the fault, gradient, slope aspect, country rock, and topographic curvature. Since Korea's landslide hazard map reflects topography, geology, and forest floor conditions, it has been shown that it is reasonable to evaluate the risk of earthquake-induced landslides using it. As a result of evaluating the risk of landslides based on the fault zone and epicenter in the Pohang area, the risk grade was changed to reflect the impact of the earthquake. Conclusion: It is effective to use the landslide hazard map to evaluate the risk of earthquake-induced landslides at the regional scale. The risk map based on the fault zone is effective when used in the selection of a target site for preventive erosion control work to prevent damage from earthquake-induced landslides. In addition, the risk map based on the epicenter can be used for efficient follow-up management in order to prioritize damage prevention measures, such as to investigate the current status of landslide damage after an earthquake, or to restore the damaged area.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.55 no.6
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• pp.737-760
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• 2022

For the geological disposal of high-level radioactive wastes (HLW), an understanding of deep subsurface environment is essential through geological, hydrogeological, geochemical, and geotechnical investigations. Although South Korea plans the geological disposal of HLW, only a few studies have been conducted for characterizing the geochemistry of deep subsurface environment. To guide the hydrogeochemical research for selecting suitable repository sites, this study overviewed the status and trends in hydrogeochemical characterization of deep groundwater for the deep geological disposal of HLW in developed countries. As a result of examining the selection process of geological disposal sites in 8 countries including USA, Canada, Finland, Sweden, France, Japan, Germany, and Switzerland, the following geochemical parameters were needed for the geochemical characterization of deep subsurface environment: major and minor elements and isotopes (e.g., ³⁴S and ¹⁸O of SO₄^2-, ¹³C and ¹⁴C of DIC, ²H and ¹⁸O of water) of both groundwater and pore water (in aquitard), fracture-filling minerals, organic materials, colloids, and oxidation-reduction indicators (e.g., Eh, Fe²⁺/Fe³⁺, H₂S/SO₄^2-, NH₄⁺/NO₃^-). A suitable repository was selected based on the integrated interpretation of these geochemical data from deep subsurface. In South Korea, hydrochemical types and evolutionary patterns of deep groundwater were identified using artificial neural networks (e.g., Self-Organizing Map), and the impact of shallow groundwater mixing was evaluated based on multivariate statistics (e.g., M3 modeling). The relationship between fracture-filling minerals and groundwater chemistry also has been investigated through a reaction-path modeling. However, these previous studies in South Korea had been conducted without some important geochemical data including isotopes, oxidationreduction indicators and DOC, mainly due to the lack of available data. Therefore, a detailed geochemical investigation is required over the country to collect these hydrochemical data to select a geological disposal site based on scientific evidence.

• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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• v.56 no.1
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• pp.226-256
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• 2023

Gyeongju has been the capital of Silla Kingdom for about 1,000 years, and many cultural heritages of the Silla period, such as the Wolseong Palace Site, Daereungwon Ancient Tomb Complex and Donggung Palace and Wolji Pond, are located in the city. Due to these characteristics, the process of heritagization has been carried out in Gyeongju from the Japanese colonial era to after liberation. Heritagization means selecting things from the past due to the needs of the present and making them heritages. In the case of South Korea, national government-led heritagization was achieved during the Japanese colonial period, and after liberation because of the restoration of national culture and the construction of a national identity. Gyeongju is a representative example. On the other hand, Gyeongju's heritagization process was carried out with little consideration of the local community, and thus the local community and Gyeongju's heritage have been distancing. In 2002, Gyeongju's heritage sites were nominated as World Heritage Sites. With the nomination, the perception of the role of local communities in heritage has been changed, and institutional mechanisms to promote the participation of local communities have been continuously reorganized. However, Gyeongju's heritagization process, which was thoroughly conducted through the central government and expert groups, was the reason why Gyeongju residents actually thought Gyeongju's heritage and the locality of Gyeongju were formed through the central government and expert groups. This has been the result of Gyeongju residents' passive participation in heritagization or heritage management to date. This study analyzed the heritagization process of Gyeongju through literature research and conducted an interview survey of residents who have lived in Gyeongju for a long time to understand the impact of the institutional heritagization process on residents and the relationship with heritage. Based on the analysis results, it was suggested that local residents and communities could take the initiative in managing the heritage of Gyeongju.

• Korean Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.43-51
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• 2024

Objectives : This study aims to explore the prevalence of depressive symptoms among elderly residents in the relatively stable rural areas of Jeju and to examine the relationships between levels of depression, sociodemographic factors, and health habits. Methods : The study site was within rural Jeju, where elderly individuals aged 65 and older were randomly selected from the 'Agricultural Cohort' registered at the Centers for Farmers' Safety and Health Center. Trained interviewers conducted surveys using the Short Form Geriatric Depression Scale (sGDS-K), defining those with scores of 6 or above as experiencing depressive symptoms for the analysis. Other variables such as sex, age, educational level, marital status, annual income, subjective health status, underlying disease, perceived stress levels, smoking, and drinking status were also recorded Results : Out of 533 subjects, the prevalence of depressive symptoms was 35.3%, with 28.5% in male and 45.6% in female (p<0.001). Factors significantly associated with the prevalence of depressive symptoms included marital status (p=0.014), educational level (p<0.001), annual income (p=0.034), subjective health status (p<0.001), perceived stress level (p<0.001), feeling of despair (p<0.001) and suicidal ideas (p<0.001). Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that subjective health status, perceived stress level, and feelings of despair were associated with the prevalence of depressive symptoms. Conclusions : The high prevalence of depressive symptoms among the rural elderly in Jeju highlights the need for targeted mental health interventions. Addressing sociocultural factors and improving early detection and intervention strategies can help reduce the socioeconomic impact of depression in this population.

• Industry Promotion Research
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.57-75
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• 2024

This study examined how ESG activities of convenience stores, affect consumers' store loyalty. Using 300 valid samples of convenience store users collected through an online specialized agency (Company M), this study empirically analyzed the effects of environmental (E), social (S), and governance (G) activities among ESG on trust and store loyalty, and the mediating effects of trust and the moderating effects of eco-friendly values, social media activity, and consumer-company identification. The results of the analysis showed that, first, governance activities had a positive effect on trust, and environmental activities and trust had a positive effect on store loyalty, but social activities had no effect Second, trust had a moderating effect only on the relationship between governance activities and store loyalty, and third, in the relationship between ESG activities and trust, eco-friendly values and social media activity had moderating effects on environmental, social, and governance activities, and consumer-company identification had moderating effects on environmental and governance activities, but not on social activities. Therefore, convenience store brands should further strengthen their environmental and social activities to build consumer trust, especially environmental activities, which only directly affect store loyalty, so they should be more cautious and proactive. In addition, intensive marketing activities are needed to build trust among consumers who have high eco-friendly values, social media activity, and consumer-company identification. Therefore, this study confirms the critical view of consumers despite the social contribution activities of convenience store brands, and suggests that in order to improve them, it is necessary to strengthen social activity efforts, actively participate in ESG activities of on-site franchisees who are customer contact points, and educate employees.