• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.226-240
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• 2022

Local governments over a certain size in Republic of Korea may conduct Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) considering regional characteristics if it is necessary, in accordance with Article 42 of the 「Environmental Impact Assessment Act」. However, it was investigated that the number of local government EIA operation in many local governments was less than initial expectations. In order to improve it, the status of ordinances and consultation guidelines which are different for each local government need to be compared, and the institutional issues forthe relevant local governments must be found considering regional characteristics. Furthermore, detailed regulation and guidance on the local government EIA procedure should be included in the consultation guidelines and related information need to be provided. In this study, focusing on the case of Incheon Metropolitan City, the status of local government EIA ordinances in metropolitan cities and provinces with a similar condition was investigated, and the types and scope of target projects were compared and analyzed. In addition, consultation guidelines forIncheon Metropolitan City were written, and improvements on the procedure flow and overall schedule designation derived from the process were presented. In the case of Incheon Metropolitan City, there were no detailed information officially announced regarding the regulations of the local government EIA ordinance and follow-up management, so the administrative system of the local government needed to be reinforced in this field. Meanwhile, considering the status of local environment and geography, some target project types were deemed necessary to be added: port construction projects, water resource development projects, railroad construction projects, and military facilities installation projects. The results of this study will provide useful information to local governments which want to improve their operation effectiveness by reorganizing the local government EIA system and preparing specific guidelines.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.16 no.6
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• pp.4335-4347
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• 2015

The objective of this study was to investigate $PM_{10}$ and $CO_2$ concentrations in the classrooms of 286 elementary schools in Suwon, Ansan, and Hwaseong in the province of Gyeonggi between August 2008 and December 2012. By gaining an understanding of the environmental factors that influence these concentrations, this study also aimed to establish a management plan for indoor air quality in schools, which substantially affects the health of elementary students. When the schools were classified by region, no statistically significant difference in $PM_{10}$ concentration was observed. However, $PM_{10}$ concentration was relatively high in industrial areas and low in rural areas. No difference in $CO_2$ concentration was observed among the surveyed cities. Analysis of annual $PM_{10}$ concentration showed that the highest values for Suwon and Hwaseong occurred in 2008 and 2009, respectively (p<0.01). In the case of Ansan, the highest concentration occurred during 2009, but the difference was not significant compared to the other years. Analysis of the annual $CO_2$ concentration of each city shows no significant difference among the cities (p-value=0.366,0.730,0.210). According to a time series analysis of $PM_{10}$ and $CO_2$ by season, from autumn 2008 to winter 2012, $PM_{10}$ concentration was high during 2009, then it gradually decreased until 2012, and started to increase again. While no difference in annual $CO_2$ concentration was observed, the concentration had a tendency to be higher in spring and winter than in summer. By analyzing the relationship between $PM_{10}$ and $CO_2$ and the environmental factors (years of construction, average students of classroom, temperature, and humidity), it showed a significant negative correlation was found between $CO_2$ and the environmental temperature and humidity, at -0.329 and -0.188, respectively (p<0.01).

• Journal of Korean Society of Transportation
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.113-132
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• 2003

Using nonradial data envelopment analysis(DEA) under assumptions of strong disposability and variable returns scale, this paper annually estimates productive. technical and allocative efficiencies of three publicly-owned rail transit properties which are different in terms of organizational type: Seoul Subway Corporation(SSC, local public corporation), the Seoul Metropolitan Electrified Railways sector (SMESRS) of Korea National Railroad(the national railway operator controlled by the Ministry of Construction and Transportation(MOCT)), and Busan Urban Transit Authority (BUTA, the national authority controlled by MOCT). Using the estimation results of Tobit regression analysis. the paper next computes their true productive, true technical and true allocative efficiencies, which reflect only the impacts of internal factors such as production activity by removing the impacts of external factors such as an organizational type and a track utilization rate. And the paper also computes an organizational efficiency and annually gross efficiencies for each property. The paper then conceptualized that the property produces a single output(car-kilometers) using four inputs(labor, electricity, car & maintenance and track) and uses unbalanced panel data consisted of annual observations on SSC, SMESRS and BUTA. The results obtained from DEA show that, on an average, SSC is the most efficient property on the productive and allocative sides, while SMESRS is the most technically-efficient one. On the other hand. BUTA is the most efficient one on the truly-productive and allocative sides, while SMESRS on the truly-technical side. Another important result is that the differences in true efficiency estimates among the three properties are considerably smaller than those in efficiency estimates. Besides. the most cost-efficient organizational type appears to be a local public corporation represented by SSC, which is also the most grossly-efficient property. These results suggest that a measure to sort out the impacts of external factors on the efficiency of rail transit properties is required to assess fairly it, and that a measure to restructure (establish) an existing(a new) rail transit property into a local public corporation(or authority) is required to improve its cost efficiency.

• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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• v.52 no.1
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• pp.272-287
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• 2019

The Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) was established in 1953 by the Korean War Armistice Agreement. It extends from the estuary of the Imjin River, in the west, to the coast of the East Sea. It is 4 km in width and 148 km in length. However, the ecosystems of the civilian control zone (CCZ) located between the southern border of the DMZ and the civilian control line (CCL) and the CCZ in the estuary of the Han River and the Yellow Sea are similar to those in the DMZ, and, therefore, the ecosystems of the DMZ and the CCZ are collectively known as the "ecosystems of the DMZ and its vicinities." The flora in the DMZ and its vicinities is composed of 1,864 species, which accounts for about 42% of all the vascular plant species on the Korean Peninsula and its affiliated islands. Conducting a detailed survey on the vegetation, flora, and fauna in the DMZ is almost impossible due to the presence of landmines and limitations on the time allowed to be spent in the DMZ. However, to assess the environmental impact of the Munsan-Gaesong railroad reconstruction project, it was possible to undertake a limited vegetation survey within the DMZ in 2001. The vegetation in Jangdan-myeon, in Paju City within the DMZ, was very simple. It was mostly secondary forests dominated by oaks such as Quercus mongolica, Q. acutissima, and Q. variabilis. The other half of the DMZ in Jangdan-myeon was occupied by grassland composed of tall grasses such as Miscanthus sinensis, M. sacchariflorus, and Phragmites japonica. Contrary to the expectation that the DMZ may be covered with pristine mature forests due to more than 60 years of no human interference, the vegetation in the DMZ was composed of simple secondary forests and grasslands formed on former rice paddies and agricultural fields. At present, the only legal protection system planned for the DMZ is the Natural Environment Conservation Act, which ensures that the DMZ would be managed as a nature reserve for only two years following Korean reunification. Therefore, firstly, the DMZ should be designated as a site of domestic legally protected areas such as nature reserve (natural monument), scenic site, national park, etc. In addition, we need to try to designate the DMZ as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve or as a World Heritage site, or as a Ramsar international wetland for international cooperation. For nomination as a world heritage site, we can emphasize the ecological and landscape value of the wetlands converted from the former rice paddies and the secondary forests maintained by frequent fires initiated by military activities. If the two Koreas unexpectedly reunite without any measures in place for the protection of nature in the DMZ, the conditions prior to the Korean War, such as rice paddies and villages, will return. In order to maintain the current condition of the ecosystems in the DMZ, we have to discuss and prepare for measures including the retention of mines and barbed-wire fences, the construction of roads and railroads in the form of tunnels or bridges, and the maintenance of the current fire regime in the DMZ.

• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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• v.56 no.1
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• pp.22-43
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• 2023

This paper deals with the stone standing Avalokitesvara statue in Jeonghyesa Temple that was created by Mangong in 1924. The stone standing Avalokitesvara statue of Jeonghyesa Temple is the earliest extant Buddha statue produced by Mangong, and symbolism was given to Jeonghyesa in the process of its reconstruction. So far, there has been no study that has approached ideas and beliefs through Buddhist studies led by Mangong and specific relics. In order to proceed with this study, Mangong's legal words and anecdotes and newspaper articles during the Japanese colonial era were used to trace the dynamics of Jeonghyesa and Sudeoksa during Mangong's reign, and to investigate the effects obtained from the creation of the large Bodhisattva statue and the meaning of its location. In addition, an interview was attempted with the descendants of master, who were in charge of the sculpture at the time, to confirm the exact construction period and the list of craftsmen. It is judged that the stone standing Bodhisattva statue of Gwanchoksa Temple has been influenced by the double covering and square crown seen in the standing stone statue of Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva of Jeonghyesa Temple, the large hands compared to the body, the proportion between the head and the body, and the sense of enormity felt in the body like a stone pillar. Therefore, we looked at how the standing stone Bodhisattva statue of Gwanchoksa Temple, which was produced in the early Goryeo Dynasty, could have influenced the creation of the Bodhisattva statue in the modern period. A multilateral analysis was attempted on how the image of the Gwanchoksa Bodhisattva statue, which was used as a symbol representing Chungcheongnam-do in the Chosun Exposition held in 1929 and the visit to Gwanchoksa Temple, which began with the laying of the railroad during the Japanese colonial period, was used from the viewpoint of the succession and transformation of the style. With this study as an opportunity, it is hoped that the understanding of the prehistoric Mangong representing the modern period and the horizon of Korean Buddhist sculpture research in the modern period will be broadened.