• Journal of Distribution Science
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• v.13 no.12
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• pp.41-52
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• 2015

Purpose - Given globalization, the new niche market of medical tourism is likely to experience sustainable growth for various reasons, such as aging populations and a shift in the medical consumerism paradigm toward prevention. Importantly, understanding medical customers' behavior is necessary to benefit from a competitive advantage in this industry. The existing research primarily accessed the key factors of medical quality and costs to explain health customers' behavior but is limited in terms of enabling an understanding of the decision process. This limitation exists because, given the intangibility and greater associated risks in the highly professional industry of international medical tourism, most customers lack the knowledge and experience needed to evaluate the central factors-such as the medical competence of health care countries-before purchases. Therefore, they actively search for useful information through various distributions to reduce uncertainty and to make better choices. Interestingly, most of these information channels are associated with word-of-mouth (WOM). However, no evidence is found in the literature to estimate the effect of WOM in the medical tourism field. Thus, this study focuses on WOM to explore its interaction with key medical characteristic factors and the attractiveness of destinations referred to by sources. This study also affects customers' evaluations and, in turn, influences their intention to seek health care services abroad. Research design, data, and methodology - The literature review addressed an interesting research model for estimating the relations among WOM, medical characteristics, attractiveness, and customers' choice intention regarding international health care. In the key economic regions in China, such as Beijing, Shanghai, Jiangsu, Shandong, and Guangdong, 2,500 survey questionnaires were distributed to potential customers of different ages, education, and income levels. A resulting 1,717 (68.68 percent of the original 2,500) usable surveys were obtained for analysis. Moderated regression analysis was used to determine the effects of WOM in the decision process regarding international health care destinations. Results - The results indicate that WOM is a good moderator of the relationships between the factors evaluated by sources and customers. More importantly, the WOM effects reflect the factors of tie strength, credibility, and vividness. The results also reveal that, given the moderating role of WOM, the intention of potential Chinese customers to seek the referred health care country varies according to the medical characteristics of medical competency and reputation as evaluated by customers. In contrast, the travel attractiveness of the attractions, facilities, accessibility, and social environment are critical determinants of destination choice intention. Conclusions - The moderating role of WOM has been confirmed through the international healthcare destination selection process. Medical tourism managers should user WOM as an effective marketing tool for industry development. Specially, marketers should consider the effects of WOM determinants, such as tie strength, credibility, and vividness, to develop an effective strategy. Furthermore, this study estimates the factors that affect customers' selection of medical tourism destinations. Health care managers or policy makers should consider a broad variety of variables that may attract more Chinese customers to international health care.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Landscape Architecture
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.83-97
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• 2010

Seokgasan which is artificial rock mountain had been developed into one of the axes of traditional rock landscape of Goryo period and Joseon period as the central component of Korean traditional landscaping, but the legacy was cut off at the present. In the middle of the Goryo period, the Seokgasan made by piling rocks which were started from replicating miniature landscape has been developed into presenting the symbol and Seokgasan so it faced the new transition period of traditional rock garden culture. Seokgasan so it as small knoll, the Korean traditional Seokgasan was made differently the the surrounding landscape with big Seokgasan in China which overwhelms so it harmonize the surrounding landscape to build Korean style of the Seokgasan. This study is the objective investigation based on the old literature and the field remains, so it aims to so it comprehend the type of Seokgasan and developmental forms. At the result of investigation, 5 types of Seokgasan such as rocks piling on a pond, piling rocks, rocks in a pond, rocks on a ground, rock in a pot etc. has been developing in addition to the rocks which the oddly shaped rock is piled up as the basic framework. Among those, the piling rocks on a pond of Seokgasan which means water flows in Seokgasan is the representative Seokgasan which has been continued since the middle of the Goryo period until the end of the Joseon period. This study is expected to be the foundation which will succeed to legacy of Seokgasan tradition which was cut off and to develop by recovering historical landscaping value and identity of Seokgasan.

• The Journal of the Convergence on Culture Technology
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• v.6 no.4
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• pp.295-300
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• 2020

Since China opened its door to the world in 1978, its economic development had been concentrated in the Eastern and Western area compared with the middle area. From 2000s, the Chinese government started to develop the middle area in terms of balanced development. With this goal, "Plan on Zhengzhou Airport Economy Zone", and "One Belt and One Road" has implemented in Zhengzhou, where is the an important traffic center in middle area. Meanwhile, the foreign trade of Zhengzhou has been increased about 10 times between 2009 and 2018. In particular, its growth is the fastest among six central cities in 2018 from the lowest in 2009. This study investigates whether the Chinese government policy has an effect on the foreign trade of Zhengzhou. We find that based on the regression analysis of the Principal Component Analysis (PCA), the government policies has a positive impact on the development of Zhengzhou's foreign trade. It is meaningful that the government policy focused on the advantage of Zhengzhou contributes its development of foreign trade.

• Convergence Security Journal
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• v.15 no.5
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• pp.71-76
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• 2015

Financial Intelligence Unit Law doesn't include investigation on important cases that could influence the security and existence of the nation that are the core jobs of national intelligence agency. So the agency has a difficulty to investigate the international crime of North Korea and other security incidents. It is also difficult to catch an international crime organization working in Korea. It also produces problems such as difficulty in investigating the illegal leak of strategic materials and investigating people related to illegal funding to international terrorism. So it is urgently needed to revise Financial Intelligence Law as soon as possible. Foreign intelligence agencies use the information of financial intelligence unit in many different ways. National Security Agency of China and Australian Security Intelligence Organization freely use the information of financial intelligence unit based on their own laws and systems. Central Intelligence Agency and Federal Bureau of Investigation of USA and Secret Intelligence Service and Security Service of Britain request financial intelligence units to supply them with the information of financial intelligence unit. But the national intelligence agency of Korea isn't able to approach to FIU and can't share the FIU information with foreign intelligence agencies. To solve the problem, they should revise Financial Intelligence Unit Law so that national intelligence agency can receive or request information from Korean Financial Intelligence Unit.

• Journal of Navigation and Port Research
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.167-175
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• 2002

Busan Port which is the representative social overhead capital facilities for international trade of goods has need the driving force for economic development in Korea. Therefore, the central government should play the major role in building a rear road to Busan Port in order that it may function as a moor port of Northeastern Asia through the systemization of mutual assistance among connected facilities, completely equipped with port-related facilities befitting to the principal port of imports and exports. In this study, the validity of container tax is being examined, analyzing container tax which is considered as an obstacle to the development of Busan Port and its purpose, and grasping the present conditions by the realistic speculation on container tax issues and its abolition. First, the port rear road as a social overhead capital facilities, which connects port and expressway, should be considered as part of port, and port is social overhead capital invested by government. Second, the Busan City imposes taxes on container. As a result, a shipper and a shipping company are paying a double charge by paying container tax with port dues. Third, Empty container and Tranship container are the factor of Busan city traffic jam but their was excluded from container tax. This is deviate from equilibrium of the tax object. Forth, it has bad influence upon the competitiveness of Busan Port as Northeastern logistics base, as other ports who are competing with Busan Port like china, Taiwan, Japan's port make their competitiveness strong by decreasing the cost of port dues.

• Geosciences Journal
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.1-20
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• 2019

We present data from the Mesozoic Keumkang, Palbong, and Baekhwa granites in Garorim Bay, in the southwestern part of the Gyeonggi massif, South Korea. Using major and trace element concentrations, Sr-Nd-Pb isotopic compositions, and sensitive high-resolution ion microprobe (SHRIMP) zircon U-Pb ages, we aim to constrain the petrogenesis of the granites and explain their origin within a broader regional geological context. SHRIMP U-Pb zircon ages of $232.8{\pm}3.2$, $175.9{\pm}1.2$, and $176.8{\pm}9.8$ Ma were obtained from the Keumkang, Palbong and Baekhwa granites, respectively. The Late Triassic Keumkang granites belong to the shoshonite series and show an overall enrichment in large ion lithophile elements (LILE), a depletion in high field strength elements (HFSE) relative to primitive mantle, compared with neighboring elements in the primitive mantle-normalized incompatible trace element diagram with notable high Ba and Sr contents, and negligible Eu anomalies. The Keumkang granites are typified by highly radiogenic Sr and unradiogenic Nd and Pb isotopic compositions: $(^{87}Sr/^{86}Sr)_i=0.70931-0.70959$, $(^{143}Nd/^{144}Nd)_i=0.511472-0.511484$ [$({\varepsilon}_{Nd})_i=-17.0$ to -16.7], and $(^{206}Pb/^{204}Pb)=17.26-17.27$. The Middle Jurassic Palbong and Baekhwa granites belong to the medium- to high-K calc-alkaline series, and show LILE enrichment and HFSE depletion similar to the Keumkang granites, but exhibit significant negative anomalies in Ba, Sr, and Eu. Furthermore, they have elevated Y and Yb contents at any given $SiO_2$ content compared with other Jurassic granitoids from the Gyeonggi massif. The Palbong and Baekhwa granites have slightly less radiogenic Sr and more radiogenic Nd and Pb isotopic compositions [$(^{87}Sr/^{86}Sr)_i=0.70396-0.70908$, $(^{143}Nd/^{144}Nd)_i=0.511622-0.511660$, $({\varepsilon}_{Nd})_i=-15.4$ to -14.7, $(^{206}Pb/^{204}Pb)=17.56-17.76$] relative to the Keumkang granites. The Keumkang granites are considered to have formed in a post-collisional environment following the Permo-Triassic Songrim orogeny that records continent-continent collision between the North and South China blocks, and may have formed by fractional crystallization of metasomatized lithospheric mantle-derived mafic melts. The Palbong and Baekhwa granites may have been produced from a gabbroic assemblage at pressures of less than ~15 kbar, associated with subduction of the paleo-Pacific (Izanagi) plate at the Eurasian continental margin. Elevated ${\varepsilon}_{Nd}(t)$ values in the granitoids from the southwestern part of the Gyeonggi massif relative to those of the central and northern parts, together with the comparatively shallow depth of origin, imply the presence of an exotic block in the Korean lithosphere.

• Journal of Korean Philosophical Society
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• v.142
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• pp.265-294
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• 2017

In the early days of human history, the governing groups of rulers needed to justify their rule. The cause of rule became the ruling ideology. In China, the backbone of the ruling ideology was originally referred to as 'Di(帝)' or 'Shangdi(上帝)', who was later replaced by 'Tian(天)', Heaven. So there was a claim that Heaven gave the cause of the rule. This idea is the 'Tianming (天命)' idea. When the Zhou(周) Dynasty took control of the central government, the 'Tianming' idea had had a relatively sophisticated form. It was the 'Zhouli(周禮)' that organized the systematic order of the Zhou Dynasty. After this system collapsed, those who recognized 'Zhouli' as a desirable social system considered the collapse of 'Zhouli' as a situation of turbulent age. It was Qin(秦) State that unified all of the states of the period. However, after the unification, the Qin Dynasty fell sharply. The next dynasty was the Han(漢) Dynasty. The new ruling powers of the Han Dynasty needed to justify their regime. That means that it was necessary to establish the ruling ideology of the Han Dynasty. The representative of the ruling ideology of the Han Dynasty was Dongzhongshu, whose thought was based on Confucianism. His thought was related to "Chunqiugongyangzhuan(春秋公羊傳)", an interpretation of "Chunqiu(春秋)". This interpretation perspective is based on the idea of religious Heaven. Dongzhongshu thought that there were co-communions between Heaven and humans. His thought has the meaning of political theology in which rulers hold the basis of the rulers' sovereignty.

• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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• v.33
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• pp.162-181
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• 2000

This paper investigates sixteen rock-cut arhat images of the Koryo period at Sungbul-sa (成佛寺) in Chunan (天安), South Chungchung Province. These images, together with a Buddha triad in the center, are carved in thin relief on the large granite wall ($375cm{\times}248cm$), and below them is engraved a huge lotus petal which looks to be supporting all the images above. According to extant textual sources, arhats were popularly worshipped in the Koryo period. The Painting of Five Hundred Arhat Images was brought to Koryo from Later Liang (後梁) of the Five Dynasties (五代) in 923. From that time on, the cult of arhat had become gradually known in Koryo. More than thirty ceremonies worshipping arhats (羅漢齊) were officially held in Koryo court. The Sixteen Arhat images (十六羅漢像) were enshrined in many temples. In Boje-sa (普濟寺), which kings and aristocrats often visited for ritual ceremonies, had its main hall dominated by the Five Hundred Arhats, called Nahan-pocheon (羅漢寶殿). However, a limited number of arhat images of the Koryo period, originally made as sets of sixteen or five hundred arhats, are now extant. The Sixteen Arhat images at Sungbul-sa are unique examples that show all sixteen images in situ. The Sixteen Arhat images, though some of them are abraded, show various postures and gesture. One of them sits with his knee bent, and one arhat is sitting on a chair with his hand held upward. Each image is carved in a niche, just as the arhat images of Northern Song China are normally represented in niches of a cave, and are quite similar in style to the arhat images of the Northern Song period at Qinglindong (靑林洞) cave, Feilaifeng (飛來峰), Zejiang province (浙江省). This similarity between the arhat images of Sungbul-sa and those of Qinglindong certifies the strong impact of Song Buddhist art on Koryo frequently mentioned in texts. The Sixteen Arhat images surround the central Buddha raising his hand up to his chest. This Buddha triad could be ascribed to be either the Maitreya Buddha triad or the Sakyamuni Buddha triad based on the Lotus Sutra (妙法蓮華經). Still, the Sakyamuni Buddha triad was more often represented with sixteen or five hundred arhats in the Koryo period, as was seen in the record of Boje-sa where the Sakyamuni triad was enshrined with five hundred arhat images. The Sixteen Arhat images of Sungbul-sa arc most likely to be a rare example of Koryo Arhat images showing the Sakyamuni Buddha triad and the Sixteen Arhats who were predicted to be Buddhas by Sakyamuni in the Lotus Sutra.

• Yonsei Medical Journal
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• v.59 no.9
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• pp.1072-1078
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• 2018

Purpose: The Korean society has moved rapidly toward becoming a multicultural society. This study aimed to estimate the seroprevalence of hepatitis viruses and investigate hepatitis B virus (HBV) genotypic diversity in female marriage immigrants. Materials and Methods: Screening program was conducted at support centers for multicultural families in 21 administrative districts in Korea between July 2011 and January 2017. A total of 963 female marriage immigrants were included in this study. Blood samples were tested for hepatitis viral markers and HBV genotype. Results: Subjects' median age was 33 years (20-40 years), and they originated from nine countries including Vietnam (n=422, 43.8%), China (n=311, 32.3%), the Philippines (n=85, 8.8%), Cambodia (n=58, 6.0%), and Japan (n=39, 4.0%). About 30% (n=288) of subjects required hepatitis A vaccination. HBsAg positive rate was 5.4% (n=52). Positive HBsAg results were the highest in subjects from Southeast Asia (6.6%, n=38). Anti-HBs positive rate was 60.4% (n=582). About 34% (n=329) of subjects who were negative for anti-HBs and HBsAg required HBV vaccinations. Genotypes B and C were found in 54.6% (n=12) and 45.4% (n=10) of the 22 subjects with HBV, in whom genotypes were tested. Eight (0.8%) subjects were positive for anti-HCV. Positive anti-HCV results were the highest in subjects from Central Asia (7.9%, n=3). Conclusion: Testing for hepatitis viral marker (hepatitis A virus IgG and HBsAg/anti-HBs) is needed for female marriage immigrants. Especially, HBV genotype B is different from genotype C of Koreans. Therefore, interest and attention to vaccination programs for female marriage immigrants are necessary for both clinicians and public health institutes.

• Journal of Navigation and Port Research
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• v.44 no.6
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• pp.447-452
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• 2020

Extratropical cyclone in winter season is very important in safe operation of ships because it is a major cause of marine accidents due to its strong power. In this study, we used meteorological data, to analyze extratropical cyclones occurring near the 1st Pacific polar front from December 2019 to February 2020. The analysis results are as follows. During those three months, we recorded 41 extratropical cyclones, 8 of which were remarkably developed. The central pressure of the strongest cyclone was 947hPa. The highest number of cyclones were generated in the East P acific Ocean around J apan (16), followed by the areas around Korea, the East China Sea, and the southern Sea of J apan. The cyclones followed five major tracks with a common northeast pattern. We thus concluded that the optimal route for a ship encountering an extratropical cyclone in the North P acific in winter would be south of the cyclone's center traveling eastbound and north of the center traveling westbound.