Model development to estimate site index values for six major tree species in North Korea

Due to considerable deforestation in North Korea,there is a need to plan forest restoration programs based on scientific forest management.In this study,a methodology was developed for estimating the site index values of six major tree species and the forest productivity potential.The site index values of these tree species were derived in South Korea using the Chapman-Richards equation.These values were used with data from the 6th National Forest Inventory,which included 20 types of edaphic,topographic,and climatic factors,and random forest analysis—a widely used machine learning technique for spatial prediction—to develop a new model for estimating the site index values of these species across South Korea.The prediction accuracy of this model was evaluated using the root mean square error.The results show that the prediction accuracy was high,with a root mean square error of~1m.Moreover,the importance of the variables related to climate and geography was generally high.The proposed site index estimation model for six tree species was applied across North Korea,and its effectiveness tested by comparing the estimated values with those reported in literature from North Korea.The differences between the model outputs and recorded data in the northern alpine regions were presumably due to the lack of data for high-altitude regions in South Korea.This model is based on the determination of the suitability of tree species in restoration efforts.Therefore,it can contribute to the evaluation of forest productivity in North Korea and may help plan efficient forest restoration programs.

Looking towards the Future of BIM in South Korea Towards AI-Enhanced BIM

This paper provides an overview of South Korea’s 20-year journey in adopting building information modeling(BIM) and future direction. It first discusses the six phases of BIM adoption in South Korea, starting from the use of BIM as a marketing tool to its current intelligent BIM phase. The government’s support for BIM-related research and development projects is also highlighted, with a focus on the artificail intelligence (AI)-based architectural design automation project. As the future direction, it explores the integration of AI with BIM in both local and global contexts. The paper presents AIpowered architectural design methods, including AI-powered early architectural design generation and architectural detailing.Compared to AI-based early architectural design generation, architectural detailing is an unexplored research topic. This paper introduces two AI-and BIM-based architectural detailing methods, being developed at Yonsei University:namely,BIM library transplant and Natural language-based Architectural Detailing through Interaction with AI (NADIA). These methods demonstrate how AI-enhanced BIM can enable architects to interactively develop building details using a language model as a conversational AI and a knowledge base, and a BIM authoring tool as a design platform, in the near future.

Comparative Study on Changes of Croplands Between North Korea and South Korea During 1990–2015

Studies on long-term change of cropland is of great significance to the utilization of land resources and the implementation of scientific agricultural policies. The Korean Peninsula, adjacent to China, plays an important role in the international environment of Northeast Asia. The Korean Peninsula includes South Korea and North Korea—two countries that have a great difference in their institutions and economic developments. Therefore, we aim to quantify the spatiotemporal changes of croplands in these two countries using Landsat Thematic Imager(TM) and Operational Land Imager(OLI) imagery, and to compare the differences of cropland changes between the two countries. This paper take full advantage of ODM approach(object-oriented segmentation and decision-tree classification based on multi-season imageries) to obtain the distribution of croplands in 1990 and 2015. Results showed that the overall classification accuracy of cropland data is 91.10% in 1990 and 92.52% in 2015. The croplands were mainly distributed in areas with slopes that were less than 8° and with elevations that were less than 300 m in the Korean Peninsula. However, in other region(slope > 8° or elevation > 300 m), the area and proportion of North Korea's croplands were significantly higher than that of South Korea. Croplands significantly increased by 15.02% in North Korea from 1990 to 2015. In contrast, croplands in South Korea slightly decreased by 1.32%. During the 25 years, policy shift, economic development, population growth, and urban sprawl played primary roles for cropland changes. Additionally, the regional differences of cropland changes were mainly due to different agriculture policies implemented by different countries. The achievements of this study can provide scientific guidance for the protection and sustainability of land resources.

The Dutch, The World Tallest Are Shrinking in the Latest Decade or So: The Lessons from the Case of South Korea and Japan in North-East Asia

The Dutch have been the world tallest since the 1980s but plateaued in height for the past few decades. A century and a half ago, young men at 20 in the Netherlands were 165 cm in mean height, as tall as men in France and Portugal. They grew to 178 cm, as tall as Norwegian in 1960, and 183 cm in mean height in the 1990s and levelled off. It is most likely that the Dutch may have nearly attained genetic potential as a human being. The statue is a net measure that captures the supply of inputs to health. Based on the changes in per capita supply of protein from animal products, FAOSTAT, the Dutch seem to have reached the highest level in per capita supply of animal protein. Increases in the supply of protein, however, do not result in increasing human height, if consumption of other “essential nutrients” is insufficient (Blum, 2013;Mori, 2018)[1][2]. With the close case studies of Japan and South Korea in respect of food consumption specifically by children in growing ages, the author suspects that children in the Netherlands may have been insufficient in the supply of vegetables, “essential nutrients” on the top of animal products.

A Systematic Study on the Genus Aphytis Howard (Hymenoptera:Aphelinidae) from South Korea

The present paper deals with the systematic study on the genus Aphytis Howard from South Korea. Five species of Aphytis are recognized, including one new species (Aphytis albus sp. nov.) and four new records (A. diaspidis, A. japonicus, A. proclia and A. vandenboschi). A key to the female species of Aphytis from South Korea is provided. The type specimens are respectively deposited in Korea National Arboretum and the Insect Collection of Northeast Forestry University, Harbin, China.

Surface and Upper-Level Features Associated with Wintertime Cold Surge Outbreaks in South Korea

The surface and upper-level features associated with a sharp drop ofwintertime daily temperature over South Korea is investigated in this study. This sharp drop indaily temperature is called a cold surge and is one of the most hazardous weather phenomena in EastAsian winters. An upper-level baroclinic wave of 60° wavelength propagating eastward at a phasespeed of 12° longitude per day across the continent of northern China from the west of Lake Baikaltoward the eastern coast of China causes the outbreak of cold air over South Korea. The coolingassociated with the upper-level baroclinic jvave is found at all altitudes under the geopotentialheight-fall center near the tropopause. The development in the ridge seems to derive the earlyevolution of the eastward-propagating sinusoidal wave, whereas the trough is connected directly withthe tropospheric temperature-drop. An enhancement of the wintertime East Asian jet stream after theoutbreak of a cold surge is a response to the steep temperature gradient associated with thedeveloping baroclinic wave.

Insect community structures along elevation gradients on Mt.Seongak-san, South Korea

Insect communities along three elevation gra- dients on Mt. Seongak-san, South Korea, were investigated from May to September 2013 using traps in order to collect basic data for distributional monitoring of species in a forest ecosystem. A total of 2698 individuals of 309 moth species of 18 families were collected in bucket-light traps, along with 196 individuals of 26 ground-beetle species and 11,276 individuals of 14 ant species in pit-fall traps. The insect community at each site was analyzed using analysisof variance and non-metric multidimensional scaling （NMS）. The ground-beetle and ant abundances varied with elevation. The NMS showed distinct clusters of moths between the ground-beetle and ant distributions with ele- vation and month. The community-level responses of these insect groups to those gradients were analyzed.

Influence of roads on small rodents population in fragmented forest areas, South Korea

The road effect on small rodent population is investigated at 8 fragmented forest areas in the Baekdudaegan mountain range, South Korea in September 2001. We especially focused on the distribution and body condition of small rodents near the roads. Korean field mouse (Apodemus peninsulae) seems to be more sensitive to the existence of a road than striped field mouse (Apodemus agrarius). Korean field mouse prefers interior forest area to around road. Striped field mouse is a habitat generalist and has wide distributional range around road, but Korean field mouse is forest-inhabiting species and their distribution is limited in forest area. These results suggest the effect of road is different on each small rodent species and their habitat preferences.

Cost-profit analysis for Japan-Russia and Japan-South Korea interconnectors

This paper describes the results of cost-profit analysis related to interconnectors for Japan-Russia and JapanSouth Korea based on the Asia International Grid Connection Study Group 2^(nd) report. The Group has been established in 2016 for conducting research on international electric power networks in Asia from the viewpoint of technology, investment and legal framework. 2^(nd) report of the Group was published in June 2018, examining the profitability of an interconnectors between Japan and neighboring countries. The Group has calculated expected profit from operation of these interconnectors.The Group has categorized interconnector business into four models from the survey of preceding and current business on grids and interconnectors. To clarify profitability, expected internal rate of return(IRR) was calculated for each business model based on estimated investment cost for each route. When interconnector is dedicated to specific power plants or suppliers and electricity can be sold at Japan wholesale market at 2016-2017 price level, positive IRR levels are expected in case that Free on Board(FOB) price lower than 7 JPY/kWh. When the investment will be covered by electricity tariff by final consumers, tariff for consumers will just slightly increase by approximately 0.1 JPY/kWh.

Current guidelines for Helicobacter pylori treatment in East Asia 2022:Differences among China,Japan,and South Korea

Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection is highly prevalent in East Asia. The overallseroprevalence rate of H. pylori infection is 44.2% in China, 37.6%-43.2% in Japan,and 51.0% in South Korea. H. pylori can cause peptic ulcer disease and gastriccancer. East Asian countries have high rates of gastric cancer (age-standardizedincidence rate: 20-30 per 100000). The Kyoto global consensus report emphasizedthat H. pylori gastritis should be considered the main cause for the development ofgastric cancer. H. pylori treatment guidelines in China, Japan, and South Koreahave recently been revised according to data from each of those countries.However, emerging antibiotic resistance is an important barrier to H. pylorieradication. The recommended H. pylori treatment regimens differ among thosethree East Asian countries. In this review, recent guidelines and up-to-dateresearch on H. pylori treatment regimens from China, Japan, and South Korea arediscussed.

Route designs and cost estimation for Japan-Russia and Japan-South Korea interconnections

This paper describes route designs and cost estimation for possible interconnections between Japan-Russia and between Japan-South Korea based on the Asia International Grid Connection Study Group 2^(nd) report. The Group has conducted a desktop study to design several cable routes as possible options. To optimize the route, the group studied a wide range of open data, regarding sea depth, fishery zones, geographic condition, available transmission capacity in connecting points inside Japan and so on. The result of desktop study shows that it is possible to keep sea depth for planned routes less than 300 m and length for most of designed routes is less than 600 km. Compare to existing undersea cables in Europe, proposed routes are not challenging from technical and geological viewpoints.The study shows that investment cost range, including cost for grid enhancement inside Japan, is from around 200 bn JPY to 600 bn JPY, depending on the routes. Annualized cost range is from around 8 to 24 bn JPY(for 25-year operation), which is not so large compare to 1800 bn JPY-average annual investment in transmission infrastructure by 10 power utilities in the past 23 years.

Recent research progress on magnesium alloys in Korea:A review

This review highlights the recent advancements in Mg research in South Korea with a prime focus on high-speed-extrudable Mg–Bi-based alloys for high productivity and strength, innovative techniques utilizing {10–12} twinning for improved mechanical properties, and alloying and processing methods for enhanced corrosion resistance. High-alloyed Mg–Bi-based alloys possess thermally stable α-Mg matrix and secondary phase, which ensures high-speed extrusion of these alloys at elevated temperatures without hot cracking. Consequently, they exhibit outstanding extrudability with a maximum extrusion speed of up to 70 m/min. Furthermore, their high alloying contents offer excellent strength even after high-speed extrusion through strong solid solution hardening and particle hardening effects, making them suitable for high-performance extruded Mg products. The pre-twinning process utilizing {10–12} twinning and the combined process of pre-twinning and subsequent annealing have shown promise in controlling microstructure and texture of wrought Mg alloys and thus enhancing their mechanical properties. The pre-twinning process enhances tensile strength, fatigue properties, and age-hardening rate of Mg alloys. Furthermore, the combined processes of pre-twinning and subsequent annealing considerably improve their ductility, stretch formability, bending formability,and damping capacity. Efforts have been made to improve the corrosion resistance of Mg alloys through alloying additions, process treatments,and surface coatings. Alloying elements like Ca, Sc, and Sm alter the microstructural features(such as secondary phases and grain size)that affect the corrosion phenomenon. Process treatments such as multidirectional forging, screw rolling, and pulse electron beam can also improve the corrosion resistance by refining the microstructure. Furthermore, advanced surface coating technologies can create durable and corrosion-resistant layers for effectively protecting the Mg alloys. All these research activities conducted in South Korea have considerably contributed to the widespread utilization of Mg alloys in diverse applications by overcoming the inherent limitations of Mg alloys such as low extrudability, formability, and corrosion resistance.

Perfluorooctanoic acid(PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid(PFOS) concentrations in the South Korean agricultural environment: A national survey

Research on the occurrence of perfluorochemicals （PFCs） such as perfluorooctanesulfonic acid （PFOS） and perfluorooctanoic acid （PFOA） in the agricultural environment is lacking, in spite of their potential risk via food chain transfer from aquatic and soil-plant systems to animals and/or humans. In the present study, for the first time, soil and water samples collected from 243 different agricultural sites adjacent to waste water treatment plants （WWTPs） belonging to 81 cities and 5 provinces with different levels of industrialization in South Korea were monitored for concentrations of PFOS and PFOA by use of solid phase extraction and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectroscopy （LC-MS/MS）. Significant mean concentrations of PFOA （0.001-0.007 tJg L-1 water and 〈0.05-1.573 tJg kg-1 soil） and PFOS （0.001-0.22 tJg L-1 water and 〈0.05-0.741 pg kg-1 soil） were found in all samples. Concentrations of PFCs in soils were high, highlighting that soil is an important sink for PFCs in the agricultural environment. Samples from near WWTPs in Gyeongsang Province contained the highest concentrations of PFOS and PFOA, reflecting the concentration of heavy industry in the province. The concentrations of PFCs in agricultural water （most samples 〈0.05 pg L-~） and soils （most samples 〈1 IJg kg-~） from South Korea were less than acceptable guideline values, indicating that South Korea is not a hotspot of PFOS and PFOA contamination and that there is negligible risk to human and ecological health from these chemicals. However, further studies investigating the seasonal variation in PFOA, PFOS and other perfluorochemical concentrations in the agricultural environment are needed.

Factor Structure of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale in South Korea

Results of previous studies from North America reported that only 14 out of the 20 items from the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) were required to assess negative affect, somatic symptoms, and anhedonia. However, it remains unclear whether this three-factor structure of the CES-D would be valid in South Korea. The purpose of this study is to examine the validity of the three-factor structure with a Korean version of the CES-D. The participants were Korean college students (N = 215), elementary school teachers (N = 234), and parents of elementary school students (N = 230). Confirmatory factor analysis was performed to examine the scale’s validity. Results indicated that the three-factor structure showed acceptable fit to data (comparative fit index = 0.95;root mean square error of approximation = 0.06). The findings indicated that the three-factor structure of the CES-D was valid in South Korea.

Secular Changes in Child Height in Japan and South Korea: Consumption of Animal Proteins and “Essential Nutrients”

Child height in Japan and South Korea increased dramatically over the past half century. At age 17 - 18 years, male students in Japan were 2 cm taller in the 1960s through 1970s, still barely taller in the 1980s than S. Korean students, but by the early 1990s they ceased to grow any taller in height, whereas their Korean peers kept increasing in height to overtake their Japanese peers by 3 cm in the mid-2000s. Economic growth was rapid in both countries, but S. Korea some two decades behind Japan. Per capita GDP in Japan was four times that in S. Korea in the mid-1980s and twice in the early-2000s. Food consumption increased conspicuously in both countries, with per capita net supply of animal products in Japan noticeably exceeding that in S. Korea in the early-2000s. However, per capita total caloric intake has been a few hundred kcal/day greater in S. Korea than in Japan since the end of 1970s, mainly from cereals. In particular, S. Koreans have consumed nearly twice as many vegetables as Japanese after the early 1980s. What may deserve attention is that Japanese youth, as compared to their older generations, drastically reduced their consumption of fruit and vegetables in the mid-1970s, whereas their S. Korean counterparts have maintained their consumption of these produce. These contrasts in food consumption patterns may have contributed to the differences in child height development in the two countries.

Hospice and Palliative Care Services in South Korea Supported by the National Health Insurance (NHI) Program

Previous main body of research on end-life-care in South Korea has focused on developing services quality in hospital settings or service payment system in National Health Insurance Program. The delivery system of hospice and palliative care services has evolved in diverse ways but there is little research on reviewing the past history of development and whole picture of them so far. So, the aim of this study is to review the old hospice and palliative care system and also to introduce the current one supported by the National Health Insurance Program in South Korea. The palliative care or hospice services in South Korea have been available in diverse settings and provided by different organizations (i.e. catholic hospitals or charity organizations). Finally, it was set up in 2004 that the hospice team or official Palliative Care Units (PCUs) was established in hospitals, in order to meet the end-of-life care for the patients with terminal cancer under the Cancer Control Act. The current hospice and palliative care services such as pain management, bereavement services, and counselling can be reimbursed by National Health Insurance program since 2008. Nevertheless hospice and palliative care services are available to dying patients, yet the utilization rate of hospice and palliative care services or the length of stay in the palliative care unit (PCU) is still relatively short compared to other country systems. South Korea is undergoing several efforts to expand the services in PCU along with the development of quality indicators for PCU. Hospice and palliative care services are still new in the health care system and unfamiliar to the public so it requires raising awareness for medical professionals and the public as well as further research.

Clinical application of traditional herbal medicine in five countries and regions: Japan;South Korea;China's Mainland;Hong Kong, China;Taiwan, China

Objective:To study the characteristics of the clinical application of traditional herbal medicine in five countries and regions where traditional medicine(TM)is widely used:Japan;South Korea;China's Mainland;Hong Kong,China;Taiwan,China.And to analyze,from multiple angles,the variations in the methods of TM used in each countries and regions.Methods:Fifty commonly used traditional herbs(TOP50)from classical formulae were selected,and descriptive statistics,correlation analyses,and Friedman test were used to compare methods of clinical application and dosages in the countries and regions of interest based on a retrospective review of randomly-selected medical records.Results:There were significant differences in sequencing TOP50 among the five countries and regions(P<.01).The adherence to the classical formulae,from strong to weak was Japan;China's Mainland;Taiwan,China;Hong Kong,China;South Korea.There were also significant differences in TOP50 dosing regimens(P<.01).Overall dosages of TOP50 from high to low were:China's Mainland;Hong Kong,China;Taiwan,China;South Korea;Japan.Finally,there were significant differences in the dosage intervals(P<.01),with dosage intervals from maximum to minimum as follows:China's Mainland;Taiwan,China;Hong Kong,China;South Korea;Japan.Conclusions:The clinical dosages of traditional herbal medicine used in the China's Mainland are relatively large compared with those prescribed in the other four countries and regions,and the range of dosages in China's Mainland is more flexible.On the other hand,clinical dosages of TOP50 are the lowest in Japan,where the dosage range is also the narrowest,supporting the idea that Doctors of Kampo medicine are highly cautious and are likely to adhere strictly to classical formulae,while Hong Kong,China and Taiwan,China are in the middle.The dosage of TOP50 in South Korea is significantly lower than that used in the China's Mainland;Hong Kong,China and Taiwan,China where the adherence to the classical formulae was the lowest,albeit slightly higher than that in Japan.The methods of clinical application of traditional herbal medicine in the five countries and regions were affected by multiple factors,including history,geography,climate,and culture.

A comparative study of organic agriculture development between China and South Korea

Human activities including modern agriculture have caused environmental pollution, so people begin to pay attentton to safe food. As a result, organic agriculture has emerged. Organic agriculture in South Korea （hereinafter referred as Korea） and China has developed rapidly since the appearance of organic agriculture in 1970s and 1980s respectively. Organic agriculture in China and Korea has developed steadily through agricultural support policies, certification management, institutions construction etc. In the development of organtc agriculture, China and Korea are now facing some technical and extension problems. In general however the development of organic agriculture in China lags behind Korea. China can learn from the experience about the development of organic agriculture in Korea to solve contradiction between development of organic agriculture and food safety, to strengthen the organic food certification, to introduce a system of agricultural direct payment and other positive measures, thus will guarantee steady and healthy development of organic agriculture in China.

An enumeration of bryophytes collected from North Korea

Bases on studies of bryophytes collecled by Cao Tong in August 1997 from North Kolea, 81 species belonging to 52 genera, 26 families of mosses and 16 species belonging to 12 genera, 10 families of hepatics are recorded. Among these, 6 rpeciec and 1 form are new to bryoflora of the Korean Peninsula. These are : Campylopus gracilis (Mitt.) Jaeg.,Grimmia leavigata (Brid.) Brid., Okamura hakoniensis f. mutiflagellifera (Okam.) Nog., Orthotrchum erubescens C. Muell.,Scapania verrucosa Heeg., Schistidum strictum (Turn.) Loeske ex O. Maort. and Schistidium subconfertum (Broth.)Deguchi.

Review of the Eilema group of lichen moths from South Korea,with description of one new species(Lepidoptera:Erebidae:Arctiinae:Lithosiini)

This review details Eilema group in the subfamily the Korean species of the Arctiinae of Erebidae： 19 species in five genera （Manulea, Collita, Katha, Dolgoma, and Wittia）, a new species （Collita hwacheonensis Bayar- saikhan ＆ Bae, sp. nov.）, and an unrecorded species [C. vetusta aegrota （Butler 1877）]. All species are diagnosed, and figures of the adults and genitalia and a key to species based on male genital structure of Eilema group in South Korea are included.