• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.330-344
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• 2015

Semi-continuous measurements of $PM_{2.5}$ mass, organic and elemental carbon were made for the period of January to October 2014, at six national air monitoring stations in Korea. OC and EC concentrations showed a clear seasonal variation with the highest in winter (January) and the lowest in summer (August). In winter, the high carbonaceous concentrations were likely influenced by increased fuel combustion from residential heating. OC and EC concentrations varied by monitoring stations with 5.9 and $1.7{\mu}g/m^3$ in Joongbu area, 4.2 and $1.2{\mu}g/m^3$ in Honam area, 4.0 and $1.3{\mu}g/m^3$ in Yeongnam area, 3.7 and $1.6{\mu}g/m^3$ in Seoul Metropolitan area, 3.0 and $0.8{\mu}g/m^3$ in Jeju Island, 2.9 and $0.7{\mu}g/m^3$ in Baengnyeong Island respectively. The concentrations of OC and EC comprised 9.6~ 15.5% and 2.4~ 4.7% of $PM_{2.5}$. Urban Joongbu area located adjacent to the intersection of several main roads showed the highest carbon concentration among six national air monitoring station. On the other hand, background Baengnyeong Island showed the lowest carbon concentration and the highest OC/EC ratio (4.5). During the haze episode, OC and EC were enhanced with increase in $PM_{2.5}$ about 1.3~ 3 and 1.3~ 4.0 times respectively. The concentrations of OC, EC in the Asian dust case are about 1~ 2.4 times greater than in the nondust case. The origins of air mass pathways arriving at Seoul, using the backward trajectory analysis, can be mostly classified into 6 groups (Sector I Northern Korea including the sea of Okhotsk, Sector II Northern China including Mongolia, Sector III Southern China, Sector IV South Pacific area, Sector V Japan, Sector VI Southern Korea area). When an air mass originating from northern China and Mongolia, the OC concentrations were the most elevated, with a higher OC/EC ratio (2.4~ 3.3), and accounting for 17% of $PM_{2.5}$ mass on average.

• Proceedings of the Korea Air Pollution Research Association Conference
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• 2008.04a
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• pp.162-163
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• 2008

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.30 no.5
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• pp.434-448
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• 2014

The aerosol characteristics between haze episode and Asian dust event were identified in January and March, 2013 in Gwang-ju of Korea to investigate the metal elements, ionic concentrations and carbonaceous particles of $PM_{2.5}$ and $PM_{10}$. In the haze episode, the concentrations were increased 1~3.2 times of ionic species and 1.6~2.7 of metal elements. Especially, the concentration of $NO{_3}{^-}$, $SO{_4}{^2-}$ and $NH{_4}{^+}$ consists of 50 percent in ionic species during haze episode that was higher than Asian dust event. This suggests that secondary aerosols from anthropogenic air pollution were mainly contributed by haze episode. During the Asian dust event, increase of metal concentrations was higher than haze episode because of remarkable increase of Ti, K and Fe originated from soil. The concentrations of carbonaceous particles were increased 2.5 times during haze episode, and 2.4 times of OC and 2.1 times of EC during Asian dust event in $PM_{2.5}$. However, these aerosol mass concentration does not affect the OC/EC ratio. The average equivalence ratios of cations/anions in $PM_{2.5}$ were 0.99 in haze episodes and 0.94 during non-event day. The neutralization factor of $NH_3$ was higher than that of $CaCO_3$. Futhermore, $NH{_4}{^+}$ aerosol was aged due to atmospheric stagnation that might be affected by the haze episode.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.33 no.6
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• pp.616-625
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• 2017

Measurements using five real-time particle samplers were compared to measurements using three NRM (National Reference Method system) filter-based samplers(Gravimetric method) at Incheon, Korea, between May and August, 2014. The purpose of this study was to suggest the quality assurance/quality control (QA/QC) method of each instrument for use in a real-time continuous particle sampler to measure the mass of airborne particles with an aerodynamic diameter less than $2.5{\mu}m$ ($PM_{2.5}$). Five real-time particle samplers of BAM1020, FH62C_14, TEOM, PM-711 and SPM-613 were evaluated by comparing its measured 23 hr average $PM_{2.5}$ concentrations with those measured with NRM filter-based samplers simultaneously. The parameters(e.g. Inlet heating condition, Slope factor, Film response, Intercept, Background, Span value) of the real-time samplers were optimized respectively by conducting test performance evaluation during 7 days in field sampling. For example, inlet heating temperature of TEOM sampler controls $35{\sim}40^{\circ}C$ to minimize the fluctuation of the real-time measurement data and background value of BAM1020 is the key factor affecting the accuracy of $PM_{2.5}$ mass concentration. We classified the $PM_{2.5}$ concentration according to relative humidity (80%) to identify water absorbed in aerosols by measuring the ${\beta}$-ray samplers(BAM1020, FH62C_14) and TEOM. ${\beta}$-ray samplers were not strongly affected by relative humidity that the difference of the average $PM_{2.5}$ concentration was about 5%. On the other hand, The TEOM sampler overestimated $PM_{2.5}$ mass concentration about 15% at low relative humidity (<80%).

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.255-268
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• 2015

Single particle soot photometer (SP2) is an advanced instrument capable of real-time measurement of concentration, coating thickness, and size distribution of individual BC particle using laser-induced incandescence. So far, there have been insufficient studies examining the real-time characteristics of BC in Korea. In this study, we examined temporal variations in BC concentration and mass size distribution of BC in volume equivalence diameter at a background site of Aewol, Jeju in May. Average concentration and mass median diameter (MMD) of BC particles measured during the study period (06~ 16 May 2013) were $0.69{\pm}0.48{\mu}g/m^3$ and $196{\pm}17nm$, respectively. The BC concentration measured in Aewol was very similar to that observed in the spring of 2012 in Baengnyeong island, and showed diurnal profiles similar to those in other background areas. MMD of BC ranged from 172 to 222 nm. It was found that the mass size distribution of BC varied depending on the location (ground-based), season, types of air masses, and altitude (aircraft-based).

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.157-163
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• 2015

To establish National Reference Method (NRM) for $PM_{2.5}$, operational performance of 5 different commercial gravimetric-based $PM_{2.5}$ measuring instruments was assessed at Bulkwang monitoring station from January 23, 2014 to February 28, 2014. First, physical properties, design, and functional performance of the instruments were assessed. Evaluation was carried out to determine whether operating method for the instruments and levels of QA/QC activities meet the data quality objectives (DQOs). To verify whether DQOs were satisfied, reproducibility of QA/QC procedures, accuracy, relative sensitivity, limit of detection, margin of error, and coefficient of determination of the instruments were also evaluated. Results of flow rate measurement of 15 candidate instruments indicated that all the instruments met performance criteria with accuracy deviation of 4.0% and reproducibility of 0.6%. Comparison of final $PM_{2.5}$ mass concentrations showed that the coefficient of determination ($R^2$) values were greater than or equal to 0.9995, and concentration gradient ranged from 0.97 to 1.03. All the instruments satisfied criteria for NRM with the estimated precision of 1.47~2.60%, accuracy of -1.90~3.00%, and absolute accuracy of 1.02~3.12%. This study found that one particular type of measuring instrument was proved to be excellent, with overall evaluation criteria satisfied.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.46 no.1
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• pp.71-78
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• 2022

Ginseng is an international herb that has been used for thousands of years. Two species most commonly applied and investigated in the ginseng family are Asian ginseng and American ginseng. The number of randomized controlled clinical trials (RCTs) has conspicuously increased, driven by the rapid development of ginseng. However, the reporting of RCT items of ginseng is deficient because of different trial designs and reporting formats, which is a challenge for researchers who are looking for the data with high quality and reliability. Thus, this study focused on providing an extensive analysis of these two species and examined the quality of the RCTs, based on the Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials (CONSORT) guideline. Ninety-one RCTs conducted from 1980 to 2019 that were related to Asian ginseng and American ginseng used singly met our inclusion criteria. We found that the reporting quality of the two species has improved during the past 40 years. Publication date and sample size were significantly associated with the reporting quality. Rigorous RCTs designed for the species of ginseng are warranted, which can shed light on product research and development of ginseng in the future.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.28 no.6
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• pp.615-631
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• 2012

This study provides an evaluation for capability of Integrated Climate and Air quality Modeling System (ICAMS) on future regional scale climate projection. Temperature and precipitation are compared between ground-level observation data and results of regional models (MM5) for the past 30 years over the Korean peninsula. The ICAMS successfully simulates the local-scale spatial/seasonal variation of the temperature and precipitation. The probability distribution of simulated daily mean and minimum temperature agree well with the observed patterns and trends, although mean temperature shows a little cold bias about $1^{\circ}C$ compared to observations. It seems that a systematic cold bias is mostly due to an underestimation of maximum temperature. In the case of precipitation, the rainfall in winter and light rainfall are remarkably simulated well, but summer precipitation is underestimated in the heavy rainfall phenomena of exceeding 20 mm/day. The ICAMS shows a tendency to overestimate the number of washout days about 7%. Those results of this study indicate that the performance of ICAMS is reasonable regarding to air quality predication over the Korean peninsula.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.373-392
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• 2018

The emission of air pollutants in China has increased rapidly as its economy expanded over the last decades. The Chinese government has recently acknowledged the seriousness of the resulting air pollution and is trying to improve air quality in many ways. Here, we review the air quality control and management policies in China, one of our closest neighbors, because these policies may also influence the air quality in Korea. This study examined the recent policies on $PM_{2.5}$ reduction and analyzed the variation in air quality and air pollutant emissions in China. The ambient air quality and emission standards in China have been strengthened, based on China's Air Pollution Prevention and Control Action Plan of 2013. As a result, the annual mean concentration of $PM_{2.5}$ in 2015 in 74 large Chinese cities declined by 23.6% compared with 2013 values. Coal consumption in China also has been reduced by more than 10% per year since 2013. Furthermore, the laws controlling atmospheric emissions were revised again in 2016, and an air pollution forecasting and warning system was implemented to help manage air pollution problems. At present, the Chinese government is trying to evaluate its policies on $PM_{2.5}$ and find a new paradigm to mitigate ongoing $PM_{2.5}$ pollution. In this context, a joint study between Korea and China has been initiated to investigate the characteristics and sources of ambient $PM_{2.5}$ and to identify factors contributing to the high $PM_{2.5}$ concentrations in northeast China. We expect that this academic collaboration will benefit both countries in their search for new policies for $PM_{2.5}$ reduction.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.282-293
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• 2012

This study aimed to show the chemical characteristics of $PM_{10}$ and $PM_{2.5}$ during Asian dust (AD) events and high PM episodes observed in Seoul. Time-resolved chemical composition of $PM_{10}$ or $PM_{2.5}$ was monitored in 1 hour interval using ambient ion monitor, semi-continuous carbon monitor, and on-line XRF spectrometer at Seoul intensive monitoring site in 2009. Considering that AD events were classified into three different cases according to the source area and pathway, the concentrations of ammonium-sulfate and trace metal components were relatively high when the AD were occurred in Gobi and inner-mongolia and transported across the Bohai bay. In addition, the influence of alkaline dust, which carried from saline land located in the northeastern China, was observed when the AD was originated from Gobi, inner-mongolia, and Manchuria. Except AD events, the high PM episodes observed in Seoul were impacted by various anthropogenic sources such as biomass burning, motor vehicle, oil combustion and road dust.