• Journal of Wetlands Research
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• v.21 no.spc
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• pp.141-148
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• 2019

South Korea is a nation highly reliant on virtual water imports, which raises concerns of water crisis and food crisis at the national level. Virtual water and water footprint studies that consider the environment, social, and economic issues have been consistently addressed. However, there is a lack of Korean research, so the calculation method and comparison analysis are greatly dependent on foreign research results. The calculation results for Korean domestic agricultural products have been released in earnest since 2014. Thus, there has been an increase in comparison studies using domestic virtual water and water footprint results. This study identified the Korean agricultural and livestock water footprint research direction to determine the citation relationship trends. Domestic and foreign research results were analyzed from Korean water footprint related literature from the past 10 years. Therefore, a citation relationship diagram was formed from the literature analysis results. Virtual water and water footprint related research performance are provided in the appendix so researchers can utilize the various information related to this field in the future. In addition, national strategy policy making is expected to be presented for effective water resources management.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.159-165
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• 2019

BACKGROUND: The water footprint (WF) is an indicator of freshwater use that appears not only at direct water use of a consumer or producer, but also at the indirect water use. As an indicator of 'water use', the water footprint includes the green, blue, and grey WF, and differs from the classical measure of 'water withdrawal' because of green and grey WF. This study was conducted to assess and estimate the water footprint of the soybean and Chinese cabbage. METHODS AND RESULTS: APEX model with weather data, soil and water quality data from NAS (National Institute of Agricultural Sciences), and farming data from RDA (Rural Development Administration) was operated for analyzing the WF of the crops. As the result of comparing the yield estimated from APEX with the yield extracted from statistic data of each county, the coefficients of determination were 0.83 for soybean and 0.97 for Chinese cabbage and p-value was statistically significant. The WFs of the soybean and Chinese cabbage at production procedure were 1,985 L/Kg and 58 L/Kg, respectively. This difference may have originated from the cultivation duration. The WF ratios of soybean were 91.1% for green WF and 8.9% for grey WF, but the WF ratios of Chinese cabbage were 41.5% for green WF and 58.5% for grey WF. CONCLUSION: These results mean that the efficiency of water use for soybean is better than that for Chinese cabbage. The results could also be useful as an information to assess environmental impact of water use and agricultural farming on soybean and Chinese cabbage.

• Proceedings of the Korea Water Resources Association Conference
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• 2023.05a
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• pp.184-184
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• 2023

Globally, agriculture is one of the largest consumers and polluters of water resources, contributing to the unsustainable use of limited water resources. To reduce the resource use and environmental footprints associated with current and future food systems, researchers and policy makers have recommended the transition to sustainable and healthier diets and the reduction of food loss and waste along the food supply chain. However, there is limited information on the synergistic effects and trade-offs of adopting the two measures. In this study, we assessed the water-saving potential of the two measures in South Korea using environmentally extended input-output relying on the EXIOBASE database for the reference year 2020, along with scenario analysis to model the potential outcomes. Specifically, we analyzed scenarios where meat consumption was reduced by 30% and 50% and in combination with a 50% reduction in food waste at the consumption stage for each scenario. According to our findings, by considering individual measures of dietary change and food waste reduction, shifting to a diet with 30% and 50% less meat consumption could lead to reduction in water footprint by 6.9% and 7.5%, respectively, while 50% reduction in food waste at the consumption stage could save about 14% of water footprint. However, the synergistic effects of the two measures such as 30% less meat consumption and 50% food waste reduction, and 50% less meat consumption and 50% food waste reduction result to 20% and 24% reductions in water footprint, respectively. Moreover, our findings also showed that increasing food consumption with high environmental impacts could promote resources use inefficiency when waste occurs. Thus, policy strategies that address synergistic effects of both dietary change and food waste reduction should be strengthened to achieve sustainable food system. International and national policies can increase resource efficiency by utilizing all available reduction potentials while considering strategies interactions.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.35 no.6
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• pp.400-406
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• 2013

Water footprint means the direct and indirect water resource amount used for the life cycle of different goods, services and industries. In this study, the direct and indirect water resource consumption in industrial sectors were calculated by using water footprint evaluation method. As a result, agriculture and marine product industry takes part of 93% of whole water resource amount, showing the greatest amount of basic unit of water coefficient (637 $m^3/won$) following by petroleum and cool products industry of about 13 $m^3/won$. In the agriculture and marine product industry, the direct water consumption was only 25 billion $m^3$ compared to the indirect water, which is 130 billion $m^3$. The next highest industry was chemical product industry, which consists of 2 billion $m^3$ of the direct water and 4.5 billion $m^3$ of the indirect water consumption. In case of industries which have high direct water, it would be more effective to reduce amount of water related to the industry than to reduce water in actual process. This water footprint of each industry and evaluation method will be useful tool and method for development of national water management policy and regulation.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Agricultural Engineers
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• v.59 no.1
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• pp.45-55
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• 2017

Climate change causes changes in rainfall patterns, temperature and drought frequency. Climate change impact influences on water management and crop production. It is critical issue in agricultural industry. Rice is a staple cereal crop in South Korea and Korea uses a ponding system for its paddy fields which requires a significant amount of water. In addition, water supply has inter-relationship with crop production which indicates water productivity. Therefore, it is important to assess overall impacts of climate change on water resource and crop production. A water footprint concept is an indicator which shows relationship between water use and crop yield. In addition, it generally composed of three components depending on water resources: green, blue, grey water. This study analyzed the change trend of water footprint of paddy rice under the climate change. The downscaled climate data from HadGEM3-RA based on RCP 8.5 scenario was applied as future periods (2020s, 2050s, 2080s), and historical climate data was set to base line (1990s). Depending on agro-climatic zones, Suwon and Jeonju were selected for study area. A yield of paddy rice was simulated by using FAO-AquaCrop 5.0, which is a water-driven crop model. Model was calibrated by adjusting parameters and was validated by Mann-Whitney U test statistically. The means of water footprint were projected increase by 55 % (2020s), 51 % (2050s) and 48 % (2080s), respectively, from the baseline value of $767m^2/ton$ in Suwon. In case of Jeonju, total water footprint was projected to increase by 46 % (2020s), 45 % (2050s), 12 % (2080s), respectively, from the baseline value of $765m^2/ton$. The results are expected to be useful for paddy water management and operation of water supply system and apply in establishing long-term policies for agricultural water resources.

• Clean Technology
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.449-456
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• 2014

There has been increasing concerns for the problems of water security in countries, caused by the frequent occurrence of localized drought due to the climate change and uncertainty of water balance. The importance of fresh water is emphasized as considerable amount of usable fresh water is utilized for power generation sector producing electricity. PV power system, the source of renewable energy, consumes water for the every steps of life cycle: manufacturing, installation, and operation. However, it uses relatively less water than the traditional energy sources such as thermal power and nuclear power sources. In this study, to find out the use of water for the entire process of PV power system from extracting raw materials to operating the system, the footprint of water in the whole process is measured to be analyzed. Measuring the result, the PV water footprint of value chain was $0.989m^3/MWh$ and the water footprint appeared higher specially in poly-Si and solar cell process. The following two reasons explain it: poly-Si process is energy-intensive process and it consumes lots of cooling water. In solar cell process, deionized water is used considerably for washing a high-efficiency crystalline silicon. It is identified that PV system is the source using less water than traditional ones, which has a critical value in saving water. In discussing the future energy policy, it is vital to introduce the concept of water footprint as a supplementary value of renewable energy.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.40 no.2
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• pp.225-231
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• 2020

Fresh water that can be used by a person of the total amount of water on the planet is increased because it is less than 0.01 % except underground water, ice and snow, etc. water management response need. In order to protect and efficiently utilize water resources, major countries are conducting water footprint studies that can quantitatively estimate the amount of water put into the operating phase of the resource harvesting phase, mainly agriculture. Korea has also recently developed a number of policies in order to cope with water shortages, and in the construction industry, as well as the need for basic research to support it has been emphasized. This study was constructed DB up to the raw material harvesting step, the transport step, the production stage in order to estimate the water consumption of resources to be put into the work process to target the drainage of the road. Water usage estimation method was utilized the method presented in the Water Footprint Manual and the environmental score card certification guide, unit water usage each drainage main method was calculated after estimating the water footprint considering the water character factor, indirect water and the direct water, the water consumption factor of material input to each process. Brown asphalt, rebar, remicon of the drainage material as a result of the water footprint calculation accounted for 97 % of the total. Drainage method is a culvert, a side channel, a culvert wing wall, reinforced concrete open channel accounted for 92.2 % of the total. Drainage total step-by-step calculated water consumption and water footprint was found in order of raw material harvesting step, transport stage, production stage. Water footprint each drainage method or total drainage material calculated in this study can be used as a base data in the agricultural and construction sectors. In order to increase the reliability of the analysis, it is believed that further overseas databases will be needed for continuous review and research.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.35 no.11
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• pp.827-834
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• 2013

The water footprint of product and service is the total volume of freshwater consumed, directly and indirectly, in the life cycle of a product and service. Up to date, water consumption data for industries and products were not well quantified and developed. Especially it is important to construct for agriculture industry which consumes lots of water. In this study, by using Cropwat 8.0 model, we tried to evaluate regionalized water consumption related with rice production in agriculture industry in eight regions (Gangwon, Gyeongi, Gyeongbuk, Gyeongnam, Jeonnam, Jeonbuk, Chungnam, Chungbuk). As a result, Gyeongbuk region has the lowest water consumption in rice production, which is $1,356.68m^3/ton$, on the other hand, Jeonnam region has the highest water consumption ($1,669.54m^3/ton$). By using the average indirect water consumption ($1,487.87m^3/ton$) of eight regions and direct water consumption, the total water footprint for the rice amount of rice bowl size (130 g), which is 193.6 L was calculated. Based on this research approach, we should develop water footprint database of all agriculture products and expand to other industrial sectors.

• Proceedings of the Korea Water Resources Association Conference
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• 2021.06a
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• pp.148-149
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• 2021

Food waste has increasingly become a global issue of concern among the researchers and policymakers due to its significant environmental and economic impacts, and other associated unsustainable use of resources, including water resources. While food wastage occurs at each stage of the supply chain with food loss at the upstream and food waste at the downstream, the impacts of food waste occurring at the consumption side are enormous due to the accumulated added values. In this study, the embedded water resources, greenhouse gas emissions, and economic loss of household food waste were investigated. The primary granular data of household food waste was collected through direct sampling from 218 selected households of the Buk-gu community in Daegu, South Korea from July 2019 to May 2020. The water footprint, which was based on the water footprint concept, i.e., indirect water use, and GHG emission potential factor for each of the food items were adopted from the literature, while the retail prices and disposal cost were used to assess the economic cost of wasted food items. The water footprint, GHG emission associated with environmental impacts, and the economic cost of 42 major identified wasted food items were conducted. The findings showed that an average of 0.73 ± 0.06 kg/household/day edible food waste was generated among the sampled households, with leafy vegetable, watermelon, and rice responsible for 10, 9, and 4%, respectively, of the total weight of the 42 food wasted items. The water footprint and environmental impact of the household food waste resulted in 0.46 ± 0.04 m³ and 0.71±0.05 kg CO2eq, respectively. Beef, pork, poultry, and rice accounted for 52, 9, 5, and 4% of the total water footprint, while beef, pork, rice, tofu/cheese had 52, 8, 6, and 6% of the total emissions, respectively, embedded in the food wasted. Furthermore, the average estimated economic cost associated with wasted food items was 3855.93±527.27 Korean won, with beef, fish, and leafy vegetable responsible for 21, 13, and 10%, respectively, of the total economic cost. A combined assessment using water-environmental-economic nexus indicated that animal-based food had the highest footprint impacts, with beef, pork, and poultry indicating high indices of 0.3, 0.08, and 0.06 respectively, on a scale of 0 to 1, compared to corn and lettuce with lowest impacts of 0.02. Other food items had moderate impact values ranging from 0.03 to 0.05. This study, therefore, provides insight into the enormity of environmental and economic implications of household food waste among Korean households.

• Journal of Korea Water Resources Association
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• v.46 no.4
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• pp.401-412
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• 2013

Water footprint of a product and service is the volume of freshwater used to produce the product, measured in the life cycle or over the full supply chain. Since water footprint assessment helps us to understand how human activities and products relate to water scarcity and pollution, it can contribute to seek a sustainable way of water use in the consumption perspective. For the introduction of WFP scheme, it is indispensable to construct water inventory/accounting for the assessment, but there is no database in Korea to cover all industry sectors. Therefore, the aim of the study is to develop water footprint inventory within a nation at 403 industrial sectors using Input-Output Analysis. Water uses in the agricultural sector account for 79% of total water, and industrial sector have higher indirect water at most sectors, which is accounting for 82%. Most of the crop water is consumptive and direct water except rice. The greatest water use in the agricultural sectors is in rice paddy followed by aquaculture and fruit production, but the greatest water use intensity was not in the rice. The greatest water use intensity was 103,263 $m^3$/million KRW for other inedible crop production, which was attributed to the low economic value of the product with great water consumption in the cultivation. The next was timber tract followed by iron ores, raw timber, aquaculture, water supply and miscellaneous cereals like corn and other edible crops in terms of total water use intensity. In holistic view, water management considering indirect water in the industrial sector, i.e. supply chain management in the whole life cycle, is important to increase water use efficiency, since more than 56% of total water was indirect water by humanity. It is expected that the water use intensity data can be used for a water inventory to estimate water footprint of a product for the introduction of water footprint scheme in Korea.