• Journal of the Korean Society of Marine Environment & Safety
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.189-200
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• 2019

Korean seafarers have played a key role throughout the country's history and economic development. They have been a major source of foreign remittance into the nation as well as a pivotal sector in emergency logistics during war times. However, the current number of Korean seafarers in decreasing due to low job attractiveness and retention rate onboard. This is a major problem for the national and international shipping industry as youth seem not to be interested in working onboard for long periods of time. The purpose of this study is to 1) determine what the public opinion about seafarers in Korea is and 2) find out what factors mostly stand out in the public opinion about seafarers profession. The paper suggests that three main types of opinion groups emerged. The first type is labeled as 'high risk, high workload and high stress' as respondents recognized a high possibility of accident onboard and, at the same time, acknowledged that seafarers can be fatigued and stressed. The second type was named as 'Dangerous, Dirty, Difficult', as seafarers' image was mainly associated to fishing vessels and not to merchant and passenger ships. The third type recognized that the social position of the seafarers was low due to 'low social recognition'. The study suggests that all three types have a negative image of seafarers' job. Based on the results of this study, it is necessary to establish various policies and marketing tools to improve the negative job image linked to seafarers by the public opinion. If the public image of seafarers can be improved and attractiveness rose, it is expected a higher number of seafarers will pursue and keep a career at sea.

• Journal of Navigation and Port Research
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• v.42 no.6
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• pp.406-414
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• 2018

The objective of this study was to analyze the effect of characteristics of maritime telemedicine (service quality, recognition or not of service, health counselling service experience or not) on seafarer's satisfaction, and also analyze the effect of seafarer's satisfaction on loyalty. This study's data was collected from the Research Report of Survey of telemedicine service subjects in 2017 conducted in the maritime telemedicine pilot project. However, only 103 seafarers who received maritime telemedicine (Tele-Monitering) services were analyzed statistically. The main results of this study were as follows. ⅰ) Better service quality led to higher levels of satisfaction, ii) High levels of seafarer's satisfaction led to high levels of loyalty, iii) Seafarers whose age is under 50 than 30 years old are less satisfied, ⅳ) In total boarding career, Seafarers with more than 5 years but less than 10 years were more satisfied than seafarers with less than 5 years, ⅴ) Seafarers with more than 10 years but less than 15 years were more satisfied than seafarers with less than 5 years, ⅵ) Seafarers with more than 15 years but less than 20 years were more satisfied than seafarers with less than 5 years, ⅶ) Also, Seafarers in excess of 20 years were more satisfied than seafarers with less than 5 years, In conclusion, ⅰ) Better service quality led to higher levels of satisfaction and loyalty. Accordingly, the improvement of service quality is not only an important factor in improving satisfaction and loyalty, but also plays an important role in forming a positive image of maritime telemedicine. ⅱ) Seafarers with younger age and lower overall total boarding career were more satisfied. It is believed that the seafarer who are willing to use telemedicine and who are willing to refer to others are young.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Navigation and Port Research Conference
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• 2021.11a
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• pp.78-80
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• 2021

This study is based on Degree of Recognition and AHP surveys for experts, this study investigates changes in the demand of seafarers in response to changes in the shipping industry environment in which Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships(MASS) emerge according to the application of the fourth industrial revolution technology to ships, and it looks into changes in seafarers' skills. It also analyzes and proposes a plan for cultivating seafarers accordingly. As a result of Degree of Recognition and AHP analysis, it is analyzed that a new training system is required because the current training and education system may cover the job competencies of emergency response, caution and danger navigation, general sailing, cargo handling, seaworthiness maintenance, emergency response, and ship maintenance and management, but jobs such as remote control, monitoring diagnosis, device management capability, and big data analysis require competency for unmanned and shore based control.By evaluating the importance of change factors in the duties of seafarers in Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships, this study provides information on seafarers educational institutions response strategies for nurturing seafarers and prioritization of resource allocation, etc. The importance of factors was compared and evaluated to suggest changes in the duties of seafarers and methods of nurturing seafarers according to the introduction of Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships.It is expected that this study is meaningful as it systematically derived the duties and competency factors of seafarers of Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships from a practical point of view and analyzed the perception level of each relevant expert to diagnose expert-level responses to the introduction of Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Marine Environment & Safety
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• v.25 no.6
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• pp.726-734
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• 2019

The current maritime industry is expected to have a significant impact on the role of maritime-related technologies and systems, especially seafarers, in the rapidly changing Fourth Industrial Revolution. The Maritime Autonomous Surface Ship (MASS) aims to reduce the number of safety accidents and improve seafarers' working environment. With regard to MASS, the International Maritime Organization has been trying to minimize unexpected impact in the maritime education and training sector by establishing international conventions such as the Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers. However, domestic designated educational institutions have not yet established an education and training scheme to develop seafarers who will be on board for MASS. Therefore, this paper reviews the technology of MASS, analyzes the changes in education and training in order to upgrade the qualifications, and suggests the competencies of smart seafarers equipped with the integrated management ability required for Artificial Intelligence, Big Data, Cybersecurity, and the Digital System Revolution through education and training. In addition, this study provides basic information for the education and training of seafarers who are optimized for the rapidly changing technological environment.

• Journal of Navigation and Port Research
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• v.35 no.6
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• pp.509-514
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• 2011

The purpose of this study is to provide some ideas for the improvement of the seafarers physical examination systems(PES) in Korea. This paper presents basic data about the items and detailed standards of the seafarers PES which are currently carried out worldwide. In this paper, a comparative analysis of the domestic and the foreign seafarers PES is conducted. In addition, rule of judgment in the railroad workers PES in Korea has been examined for reference. The paper proposes the amended and supplemented 16 items and detailed standards of the seafarers PES. Expert opinions of Occupational and Environmental Medicine specialist and the recommendations of ILO/WHO are also considered to draw an improvement scheme for the seafarers PES in Korea.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.7 no.4
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• pp.363-371
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• 2016

Background: Seafaring is an inherently stressful environment. Because working time and leisure time is spent in the same confined environment for a prolonged period of time, many stressors present in seafaring can also be conceived of as chronic. We explored the effects of duration at sea, seafaring experience, environmental stressors, and psychological capital (PsyCap) on the sleep quality and fatigue of seafarers. PsyCap is a construct that draws upon ideas from positive psychology and positive organizational behavior, and is intended to capture an individual's psychological capacities that can be developed and utilized for performance improvements. Methods: We collected survey data from a sample of seafarers working in the offshore re-supply industry (n = 402) and a sample of seafarers working on board combined passenger and cargo ships (n = 340). Results: PsyCap emerged as a robust predictor with statistically significant relations to fatigue and sleep quality in both samples. PsyCap also interacted with duration at sea in explaining fatigue in seafarers working on board the passenger and cargo ships. Seafarers on passenger and cargo ships also reported significantly higher levels of fatigue than those working in the offshore re-supply industry. Conclusion: Coupled with emerging research showing that PsyCap is trainable, our results suggest that maritime organizations could have much to gain by being cognizant of and developing routines for continually developing the PsyCap of their employees.

• The Journal of Fisheries Business Administration
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• v.51 no.3
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• pp.49-71
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• 2020

A fisher means any person employed to provide his/her labor in a fishing vessel in exchange for a wage. There is no concept of a fisher in Seafarers Act. This act shall not apply to seafarers who are in service on board a fishing vessel the gross tonnage of which is less than 20 tons. However, of the total 63,112 fishing vessels, only 2,829 fishing vessels have a total tonnage of more than 20 tons. Fishermen engaged in fishing vessels with a gross tonnage of which is less than 20 tons are not guaranteed to be paid arrears through the Wage Claim Guarantee Fund for Seafarer (Article 56). In addition, fishermen working on a fishing vessel are excluded from the Wage claim Guarantee Act. The Labor Standards Act shall apply to fishermen engaged in fishing vessels with a gross tonnage of which is less than 20 tons. Fishermen and seafarers are at a higher risk of living security than regular workers. Guaranteeing the payment of wages is essential for fishermen to improve the life and employment stability. In order to guarantee fisher wage claims, the concept of a fisher in the Seafarers Act must be realized by sources such as the Wage Claim Guarantee Fund of Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, step by step expansion of members in the wage claim guarantee fund for seafarers and interest for delayed payment of wages, etc.

• The Korean Journal of Health Service Management
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.1-11
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• 2016

Objectives : The aim of this study is to investigate the actual condition of the occurrence and recovery of medical expenses through seafarers insurance and to provide basic data that will be helpful in the establishment of efficient hospital management strategies for medical expenses of insurance companies depending on the type of seafarers insurance. Methods : Three general hospitals located in Busan, Korea, were selected, and seafarers insurance claim data was collected from January 1, 2012 to December 31, 2013(24 months) and analyzed. There were 5,490 cases in total. Results : There was a significant difference in the distribution of disease incidence, accrued medical expenses, reimbursement of medical expenses, and the actual condition of medical receivables depending on the insurance company. Conclusions : Therefore, differentiated payback strategies for medical expenses are needed that consider the various seafarers insurance companies and their treatment characteristics.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Marine Environment & Safety
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.369-374
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• 2009

It is difficult to improve maritime safety in the aspect of human elements without seafarers' job satisfaction. Therefore, through the career development for seafarers from their entries into the job to their retirements, longer and more stable seafarers' life on board ship could be achieved together with maritime safety. This study aims at the establishment of seafarers' career path model and the verification of six hypotheses by using the questionnaire data of 2,830 respondents of students, slip officers and shore-based ex-seafarers. The results of analyses of behavior factors on the career path are as follows; first, it is important to improve educational environment and to provide seafarers with detailed information on seafarer's life; second, economic factors such as income-level and etc. do not play a role in promoting motivation of going to sea; third, the guidance to shore jobs at proper time increases seafarers' job satisfaction and induces longer stay at sea; last, it is necessary to simplify the licence system for seafarers, to allow seafarers to acquire higher class certificates, and to work at higher rank on board ships as early as possible.

• Journal of Fisheries and Marine Sciences Education
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.994-1005
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• 2016

Expansion and spreading of marine telemedicine is rather restricted due to the conflict of laws relating to medical service and lack of provisions in the Seafarers' Act, Medical Service Act, etc. Thus, this study is intended to reveal the current status and problems of marine emergency medical advice system for the furtherance of health care of seafarers and emergency medical assistance conditions and deduce relevant proposals for legislative improvements thereof in order to resolve underlying problems and issues. The results of this study can be summated as follows. First, in respect of directions to provide marine emergency service based on marine telemedicine system, emergency radio medical advice system needs to be strengthened to meet domestic and international instrument, marine telemedicine system needs to be provided through integrating u-Health technology and special marine medical center needs to be established. Second, regarding directions to provide health promotion service based on the marine telemedicine system, a new process of health care service for seafarers needs to be devised and provided involving seafarers' life cycle covering from prior to boarding to after leaving a ship. The conclusions of this study can be given as follows. First, the following new provisions need to be introduced in the Seafarers' Act. (1) The Minister of Oceans and Fisheries and a shipowner shall conduct matters pertaining to preventive health promotion and care for seafarers; (2) a provisions regarding establishment of seafarers' health promotion center by the Minister; (3) a special exemption permitting marine telemedicine service and qualification requirements for marine telemedicine assistant; (4) shipowner's obligation of carrying seafarers' health measuring equipment on board. Second, the relevant provisions regarding medical care persons needs to be revised in such a way that master or chief officer shall be appointed to be in charge of medical care on board. Last but not least, it is also essential to amend and update the minimum standards on drug and medicines to be carried on board and medicine chest and equipment on board.