• Korea journal of population studies
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.54-66
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• 1988

I. Introduction Since the 1970's drug abuse among young people has increasingly become a social problem in Korea. In the 1980's, drug abuse, especially glue sniffing, has become the cause of many unfortunated incidents resulting in harm to others as well as the abusers themselves. Taking into consideration of the seriousness of this problem, the Republic of Korea National Red Cross initiated a nation-wide research programme, to understand the present situation and to raise the level of public awareness. The goal of this research was to begin a nation - wide campaign against drug abuse. The research team was composed of the Advisary Committee members and the staff of the Youth Department of the Republic of Korea National Red Cross. The data were collected in February 1988 with the collaboration of the staff and volunteers in the local Chapters. The respondents were allocated nation-wide by the quota sampling method. The questionnaires were distributed to the respondents in three groups :2, 700 to junior and senior high school students, 605 to working youths, and 916 to delinquent youths. A total of 4, 221 questionnaires were collected. II. Characteristics of the Respondents The respondents in each group were selected evenly from rural and urban areas. The general characteristics of the respondents can be described as follow: in case of students, the proportions between male and female respondents, and between senior high school and junior high school students were almost evenly distributed. In case of working youths, the proportion of females (80.5%) was higher than those of the students and the delinquents groups. Delinquent youths were defined as those currently being under custody of the centers for juvenile delinquents. Of this number, 38.8% and 68.2% were junior and senior high school drop-outs respectively. The majority of them (92.6%) were male. As for the family background of the respondents, the proportion of those residing in poverty - stricken areas, and the proportion of those from broken families were higher in case of working youths and delinquent youths than those in case of students. III. Present Patterns of Drug Abuse The following summarizes the presents of drug abuse, as tabulated from the results of the survey. 1. Smoking The percentage of youths who smoke was 36% in the student group, 32% m the working youths group, and 94.4% in the delinquent youths group. 2. Alcohol 50.3% of students, 71.6% of working youths, and 93.3% of delinquent youths has experienced drinking alcohol beverages. 3. Tonic: non - alcoholic, caffeinated beverages popular in Korea and Japan The percentage of those who have used tonic at least once was over 90% in all of the three groups. 4. Sedative About 70% of each group has used sedative with the proportion of working youths use higher than those in other groups. 5. Stimulants Those who have used stimulants comprised around 15% in each group. 6. Tranquilizers Somewhat less than 5% of students and working youths, and 28% of delinquent youths, have used tranquilizers. 7. Hypnotics The users of hypnotics amounted to 0.4% of students, 2.6% of working youths and 7.1% of delinquent youths. 8. Marihuana Those who have used marihuana indicated 0.7% of students, 0.8% of working youths, and 13% of delinquent youths. 9. Glue-sniffing The percentage of glue-sniffing was 3.7%, 5% in the students group and in the youths group respectively, but the proportion was unusually high, at 40.7% in the delinquent youths group. From the results of the survey the present situation of drug abuse in Korea can be summarized as follows: 1. A high percentage of Korean youths have experienced smoking cigarettes and drinking alcoholic beverages. 2. Tonics (non - alcoholic, caffeinated beverages), antipyretic analgesics and stimulants quite regularly used. 3. Tranquilizers, hypnotics, marihuana and glue-sniffing are more widely used among delinquent youths than the other youths. From this fact, there exists a correlation between drug abuse and juvenile delinquency. IV. Time-series Analysis of the First Experience of Drug Abuse and Deviant Behaviour The respoundents were asked when they were first exposed to drugs and when they committed deviant acts. By calculating the average age of each experience, the following pattern was found (See Figure 1). Youths are first exposed to drugs by abuse of tonic(non - alcoholic, caffeinated beverages). At the age of 13, they amoke cigarettes, the use of antipyretic analgesics begins at 14 year old, while at the age of 15, they use tranquilizers, and at 16 hynotics. The period of drug abuse which starts from drinking caffeinated beverages and smoking cigarettes and ends in the use of hypnotics takes about three years. During this period, other delinquent behaviours begin to surface, that is, at the age of 13 when smoking cigarettes begins, the delinquent behaviour pattern starts with truancy. Next, they start taking money from others by using physical force. Prior to the age of 15, they are suspended from school, become hostile to adults, begin running away from home, and start using stimulants and alcohol. Soon they become involved even in glue-sniffing and in the use of marihuana. At the age of 15, they begin to see adult videos and carry weapons. Sexual promiscuity and usage of tranquilizers follows the viewing of adult videos. Consequently, by the time they reach the age of 16, they visit drinking establishments, and are picked up by police for committing delinquent acts. And finally, they come to use hypnotic - type drugs. From the above descriptions, drug abuse can be assumed to have a close correlation with delinquent behaviour. V. Social Factors Related to Drug Abuse As for the Korean youths, glue-sniffing is found to he related to aggressive delinquency, in such cases as run - aways, being picked up by the police, and taking money by force. Smoking cigarettes and drinking alcohol is found to be related to seeing adult videos and visiting drinking establishments. Hypnotics and marihuana were found to be representive of drugs which are related to degenerational delinquency, irrespective of social delinquency. The social factors connected with these drug abuse are as follows: 1. Individual factors Male students were more heavily involved in the usage of drug than females. Youths who do not attend church were more likely to be involved in drugs than those who attend. 2. Family factors The youths who were displeased with their mothers smoking and those who thought their parents did not love each other, or those whose parents had used drugs without prescription, were more likely to he drug users. 3. School factors Those youths who found school life boring, were unsuccessful in their studies, spend most of their time with friends, feel their teachers smoke too much, those who had a positive perception of their teachers smoking were likely to he drug users. To sum up, drug abusers depend on the influence of their parents, teachers and peers. IV. Reasons for Drug Abuse Korean students have mainly used drugs to release stress (42.8%), to stay awake (19.7%), and because of the easy accessibility of drugs( 16.6%). Other reasons are due to their ignorance of the side effects of the drugs (3.6%), natural curiosity (4.2%), and to increase strength(3.O%). From the above facts, the major reasons for drug abuse among Korean youths are to release stress and to stay awake in order to prepare exams. Furthermore, since drugs are readily available, we can conclude that drug abuse is caused by the school system(such as entrance exams) in Korea. VII. Conclusion Drug usage among Korean youths are relatively less common than those of western youths. In some cases, such as, glue-sniffing and use of stimulants, the pattern of drug abuse is found. Moreover, early drug abuse is evident, and it has a close connection with deviant behaviour, resulting in juvenile delinquency. Drug abuse cannot be attributed to any one social factor. Specifically, drug abuse depends on parents, peers, teachers and other members of the community, and also is influenced by social institutions such as the entrance exam system. Every person and organization concerned with youth must participate collectively in restraining drug abuse. Finally, it is suggested that social agencial working for youth welfare should make every effort to tackle this serious problem confronted by the Korean youths today.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.344-390
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• 1977

The purpose of this paper was to schedule optimum cutting strategy which could maximize the total yield under certain restrictions on periodic timber removals and harvest areas from an industrial forest, based on a linear programming technique. Sensitivity of the regulation model to variations in restrictions has also been analyzed to get information on the changes of total yield in the planning period. The regulation procedure has been made on the experimental forest of the Agricultural College of Seoul National University. The forest is composed of 219 cutting units, and characterized by younger age group which is very common in Korea. The planning period is devided into 10 cutting periods of five years each, and cutting is permissible only on the stands of age groups 5-9. It is also assumed in the study that the subsequent forests are established immediately after cutting existing forests, non-stocked forest lands are planted in first cutting period, and established forests are fully stocked until next harvest. All feasible cutting regimes have been defined to each unit depending on their age groups. Total yield (Vi, k) of each regime expected in the planning period has been projected using stand yield tables and forest inventory data, and the regime which gives highest Vi, k has been selected as a optimum cutting regime. After calculating periodic yields and cutting areas, and total yield from the optimum regimes selected without any restrictions, the upper and lower limits of periodic yields(Vj-max, Vj-min) and those of periodic cutting areas (Aj-max, Aj-min) have been decided. The optimum regimes under such restrictions have been selected by linear programming. The results of the study may be summarized as follows:- 1. The fluctuations of periodic harvest yields and areas under cutting regimes selected without restrictions were very great, because of irregular composition of age classes and growing stocks of existing stands. About 68.8 percent of total yield is expected in period 10, while none of yield in periods 6 and 7. 2. After inspection of the above solution, restricted optimum cutting regimes were obtained under the restrictions of Amin=150 ha, Amax=400ha, $Vmin=5,000m^3$ and $Vmax=50,000m^3$, using LP regulation model. As a result, about $50,000m^3$ of stable harvest yield per period and a relatively balanced age group distribution is expected from period 5. In this case, the loss in total yield was about 29 percent of that of unrestricted regimes. 3. Thinning schedule could be easily treated by the model presented in the study, and the thinnings made it possible to select optimum regimes which might be effective for smoothing the wood flows, not to speak of increasing total yield in the planning period. 4. It was known that the stronger the restrictions becomes in the optimum solution the earlier the period comes in which balanced harvest yields and age group distribution can be formed. There was also a tendency in this particular case that the periodic yields were strongly affected by constraints, and the fluctuations of harvest areas depended upon the amount of periodic yields. 5. Because the total yield was decreased at the increasing rate with imposing stronger restrictions, the Joss would be very great where strict sustained yield and normal age group distribution are required in the earlier periods. 6. Total yield under the same restrictions in a period was increased by lowering the felling age and extending the range of cutting age groups. Therefore, it seemed to be advantageous for producing maximum timber yield to adopt wider range of cutting age groups with the lower limit at which the smallest utilization size of timber could be produced. 7. The LP regulation model presented in the study seemed to be useful in the Korean situation from the following point of view: (1) The model can provide forest managers with the solution of where, when, and how much to cut in order to best fulfill the owners objective. (2) Planning is visualized as a continuous process where new strateges are automatically evolved as changes in the forest environment are recognized. (3) The cost (measured as decrease in total yield) of imposing restrictions can be easily evaluated. (4) Thinning schedule can be treated without difficulty. (5) The model can be applied to irregular forests. (6) Traditional regulation methods can be rainforced by the model.