• Journal of Distribution Science
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• v.8 no.3
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• pp.17-26
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• 2010

Recently concerns have been raised due to the unbalanced supply of crops: the price of crops has been unstable and at one point the price went up so high that the word Agflation(agriculture+ inflation) was coined. Korea, in particular, is a small-sized country and needs to secure the stable supply of crops by investing in the produce importation at a national level. Investment in foreign produce importation is becoming more important as a measure for sufficient supply of crops, limited supply of domestic crops, weakened farming conditions worldwide, as well as recent changes in the use of crops due to the development of bio-fuels, influence of carbon emission on crops, the price increase in crops, and influx of foreign hot money. However, there are many problems with investing in foreign produce importation: lack of support from the government; lack of farming information and technology; difficulty in securing the capital; no immediate pay-off from the investment and insufficient management. Although foreign produce is originally more price-competitive than domestic produce, it loses its competiveness in the process of importation (due to high tariffs) and poor distribution system, which makes it difficult to sell in Korea. Therefore, investment in foreign produce importation is being questioned for feasibility; to make it possible, foreign produce must maintain the price-competitiveness. Especially, harvest of agricultural products depends on natural and geographical conditions of each country and those products have indigenous properties, so distribution system according to import and export of agricultural products should be treated more carefully than that of other industries. Distribution costs are differentiated into each item and include cost of sorting and wrapping, cost of wrapping materials, cost of domestic transport, cost of international transport and cost of clearing customs for import and export. So transporting and storing agricultural products generates considerable costs compared with other products. Also, due to upgrade of dietary life, needs for stability, taste and visible quality toward food including agricultural products are being raised and wrong way of storage causes decomposition of food and loss of freshness, making the storage more difficult than that in room temperature, so storage and transport in distribution of agricultural products needs specialty. In addition, because lack of specialty in distribution and circulation such as storage and wrapping does not solve limit factors in distance, the distribution and circulation has been limited to a form of import and export within short-distant region. Therefore, need for distribution out-sourcing which can satisfy specialty in managing distribution and circulation and it is needed to establish more effective distribution system. However, existing distribution system of agricultural products is exposed to various problems including problems in distribution channel, making distribution and strategy for distribution and those problems are as follows. First, in case of investment in overseas agricultural industry, stable supply of the products is difficult because areas of production are dispersed widely and influenced by outer factors due to including overseas distribution channels. Also, at the aspect of quality, standardization of products is difficult, distribution system is quite complicated and unreasonable due to long distribution channels according to international trade and financial and institutional support is not enough. Especially, there are quite a lot of ineffective factors including multi level distribution process, dramatic gap between production cost and customer's cost, lack of physical distribution facilities and difficulties in storage and transport due to lack of wrapping containers. Besides, because import and export of agricultural products has been manages under the company's own distribution according to transaction contract between manufacturers and exporting company, efficiency is low due to excessive investment in fixed costs and lack of specialty in dealing with agricultural products causes fall of value of products, showing the limit to lose price-competitiveness. Especially, because lack of specialty in distribution and circulation such as storage and wrapping does not solve limit factors in distance, the distribution and circulation has been limited to a form of import and export within short-distant region. Therefore, need for distribution out-sourcing which can satisfy specialty in managing distribution and circulation and it is needed to establish more effective distribution system. Second, among tangible and intangible services which promote the efficiency of the whole distribution, a function building distribution environment which includes distribution information, system for standard and inspection, distribution finance, system for diversification of risks, education and training, distribution administration and tax system is wanted. In general, such a function building distribution environment is difficult to be changed and supplement innovatively because its effect compared with investment does not appear immediately despite of its necessity. Especially, in case of distribution of agricultural products, as a function of collecting and distributing is performed individually through various channels, the importance of distribution information and standardization is getting more focus due to the problem of repetition of work and lack of specialty. Also, efficient management of distribution is quite difficult due to lack of professionals in distribution, so support to professional education is needed. Third, though effort to keep self-sufficiency ratio of staple food, rice is regarded as important at the government level, level of dependency on overseas of others crops is high. Therefore, plan for stable securing food resources aside from staple food is also necessary. Especially, governmental organizations of agricultural products distribution in Korea are production-centered and have unreasonable structure whose function at the aspect of distribution and consumption is quite insufficient. And development of new distribution channels which can deal with changes in distribution environment and they do not achieve actual results of strategy for distribution due to non-positive strategy for price distribution. That is, it implies the possibility that base for supply will become vulnerable because it does not mediate appropriate interests on total distribution channels such as manufacturers, wholesale dealers and vendors by emphasizing consumer protection excessively in the distribution of agricultural products. Therefore, this study examined fundamental concept and actual situation for our investment to overseas agriculture, drew necessities, considerations, problems, etc. of overseas agricultural investment and suggested improvements at the level of distribution for price competitiveness of agricultural products cultivated in overseas under five aspects; government's indirect support, distribution's modernization and distribution information function's strengthening, government's political support for distribution facility, transportation route, load and unloading works' improvement, price competitiveness' securing, professional manpower's cultivation by education and training, etc. Here are some suggestions for foreign produce importation. First, the government should conduct a survey on the current distribution channels and analyze the situation to establish a measure for long-term development plans. By providing each agricultural area with a guideline for planning appropriate production of crops, the government can help farmers be ready for importation, and prevent them from producing same crops all at the same time. Government can sign an MOU with the foreign government and promote the importation so that the development of agricultural resources can be stable and steady. Second, the government can establish a strategy for an effective distribution system by providing farmers and agriculture-related workers with the distribution information such as price, production, demand, market structure and location, feature of each crop, and etc. In order for such distribution system to become feasible, the government needs to reconstruct the current distribution system, designate a public organization for providing distribution information and set the criteria for level of produce quality, trade units, and package units. Third, the government should provide financial support and a policy to seek an efficient distribution channel for foreign produce to be delivered fresh: the government should expand distribution facilities (for selecting, packaging, storing, and processing) and transportation vehicles while modernizing old facilities. There should be another policy to improve the efficiency of unloading, and to lower the cost of distribution. Fourth, it is necessary to enact a new law covering exceptional cases for importing produce in order to maintain the price competitiveness; currently the high tariffs is keeping the imported produce from being distributed domestically. However, the new adjustment should be made carefully within the WTO regulations since it can create a problem from giving preferential tariffs. The government can also simplify the distribution channels in order to reduce the cost in the distribution process. Fifth, the government should educate distributors to raise the efficiency and to modernize the distribution system. It is necessary to develop human resources by educating people regarding the foreign agricultural environment, the produce quality, management skills, and by introducing some successful cases in advanced countries.

• Journal of Global Scholars of Marketing Science
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.68-79
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• 2009

The interplay between hedonic and utilitarian attributes has assumed special significance in recent years; it has been proposed that consumption offerings should be viewed as experiences that stimulate both cognitions and feelings rather than as mere products or services. This research builds on previous work on hedonic versus utilitarian benefits, regulatory focus theory, customer satisfaction to address two question: (1) Is the shopping goal at the point of purchase different from the shopping value? and (2) Is the customer loyalty after the use different from the shopping value and shopping goal? We surveyed 345 peoples those who have bought the electronic-goods within 6 months. This research dealt with the shopping value which is consisted of 2 types, hedonic and utilitarian. Those who pursue the hedonic shopping value may prefer the pleasure of purchasing experience to the product itself. They tend to prefer atmosphere, arousal of the shopping experience. Consistent with previous research, we use the term "hedonic" to refer to their aesthetic, experiential and enjoyment-related value. On the contrary, Those who pursue the utilitarian shopping value may prefer the reasonable buying. It may be more functional. Consistent with previous research, we use the term "utilitarian" to refer to the functional, instrumental, and practical value of consumption offerings. Holbrook(1999) notes that consumer value is an experience that results from the consumption of such benefits. In the context of cell phones for example, the phone's battery life and sound volume are utilitarian benefits, whereas aesthetic appeal from its shape and color are hedonic benefits. Likewise, in the case of a car, fuel economics and safety are utilitarian benefits whereas the sunroof and the luxurious interior are hedonic benefits. The shopping goals are consisted of the promotion focus goal and the prevention focus goal, based on the self-regulatory focus theory. The promotion focus is characterized into focusing ideal self because they are oriented to wishes and vision. The promotion focused individuals are tend to be more risk taking. They are more sensitive to hope and achievement. On the contrary, the prevention focused individuals are characterized into focusing the responsibilities because they are oriented to safety. The prevention focused individuals are tend to be more risk avoiding. We wanted to test the relation among the shopping value, shopping goal and customer loyalty. Customers show the positive or negative feelings comparing with the expectation level which customers have at the point of the purchase. If the result were bigger than the expectation, customers may feel positive feeling such as delight or satisfaction and they would want to share their feelings with other people. And they want to buy those products again in the future time. There is converging evidence that the types of goals consumers expect to be fulfilled by the utilitarian dimension of a product are different from those they seek from the hedonic dimension (Chernev 2004). Specifically, whereas consumers expect the fulfillment of product prevention goals on the utilitarian dimension, they expect the fulfillment of promotion goals on the hedonic dimension (Chernev 2004; Chitturi, Raghunathan, and Majahan 2007; Higgins 1997, 2001) According to the regulatory focus theory, prevention goals are those that ought to be met. Fulfillment of prevention goals in the context of product consumption eliminates or significantly reduces the probability of a painful experience, thus making consumers experience emotions that result from fulfillment of prevention goals such as confidence and securities. On the contrary, fulfillment of promotion goals are those that a person aspires to meet, such as "looking cool" or "being sophisticated." Fulfillment of promotion goals in the context of product consumption significantly increases the probability of a pleasurable experience, thus enabling consumers to experience emotions that result from the fulfillment of promotion goals. The proposed conceptual framework captures that the relationships among hedonic versus utilitarian shopping values and promotion versus prevention shopping goals respectively. An analysis of the consequence of the fulfillment and frustration of utilitarian and hedonic value is theoretically worthwhile. It is also substantively relevant because it helps predict post-consumption behavior such as the promotion versus prevention shopping goals orientation. Because our primary goal is to understand how the post consumption feelings influence the variable customer loyalty: word of mouth (Jacoby and Chestnut 1978). This research result is that the utilitarian shopping value gives the positive influence to both of the promotion and prevention goal. However the influence to the prevention goal is stronger. On the contrary, hedonic shopping value gives influence to the promotion focus goal only. Additionally, both of the promotion and prevention goal show the positive relation with customer loyalty. However, the positive relation with promotion goal and customer loyalty is much stronger. The promotion focus goal gives the influence to the customer loyalty. On the contrary, the prevention focus goal relates at the low level of relation with customer loyalty than that of the promotion goal. It could be explained that it is apt to get framed the compliment of people into 'gain-non gain' situation. As the result, for those who have the promotion focus are motivated to deliver their own feeling to other people eagerly. Conversely the prevention focused individual are more sensitive to the 'loss-non loss' situation. The research result is consistent with pre-existent researches. There is a conceptual parallel between necessities-needs-utilitarian benefits and luxuries-wants-hedonic benefits (Chernev 2004; Chitturi, Raghunathan and Majaha 2007; Higginns 1997; Kivetz and Simonson 2002b). In addition, Maslow's hierarchy of needs and the precedence principle contends luxuries-wants-hedonic benefits higher than necessities-needs-utilitarian benefits. Chitturi, Raghunathan and Majaha (2007) show that consumers are focused more on the utilitarian benefits than on the hedonic benefits of a product until their minimum expectation of fulfilling prevention goals are met. Furthermore, a utilitarian benefit is a promise of a certain level of functionality by the manufacturer or the retailer. When the promise is not fulfilled, customers blame the retailer and/or the manufacturer. When negative feelings are attributable to an entity, customers feel angry. However in the case of hedonic benefit, the customer, not the manufacturer, determines at the time of purchase whether the product is stylish and attractive. Under such circumstances, customers are more likely to blame themselves than the manufacturer if their friends do not find the product stylish and attractive. Therefore, not meeting minimum utilitarian expectations of functionality generates a much more intense negative feelings, such as anger than a less intense feeling such as disappointment or dissatisfactions. The additional multi group analysis of this research shows the same result. Those who are unsatisfactory customers who have the prevention focused goal shows higher relation with WOM, comparing with satisfactory customers. The research findings in this article could have significant implication for the personal selling fields to increase the effectiveness and the efficiency of the sales such that they can develop the sales presentation strategy for the customers. For those who are the hedonic customers may be apt to show more interest to the promotion goal. Therefore it may work to strengthen the design, style or new technology of the products to the hedonic customers. On the contrary for the utilitarian customers, it may work to strengthen the price competitiveness. On the basis of the result from our studies, we demonstrated a correspondence among hedonic versus utilitarian and promotion versus prevention goal, WOM. Similarly, we also found evidence of the moderator effects of satisfaction after use, between the prevention goal and WOM. Even though the prevention goal has the low level of relation to WOM, those who are not satisfied show higher relation to WOM. The relation between the prevention goal and WOM is significantly different according to the satisfaction versus unsatisfaction. In addition, improving the promotion emotions of cheerfulness and excitement and the prevention emotion of confidence and security will further improve customer loyalty. A related potential further research could be to examine whether hedonic versus utilitarian, promotion versus prevention goals improve customer loyalty for services as well. Under the budget and time constraints, designers and managers are often compelling to choose among various attributes. If there is no budget or time constraints, perhaps the best solution is to maximize both hedonic and utilitarian dimension of benefits. However, they have to make trad-off process between various attributes. For the designers and managers have to keep in mind that without hedonic benefit satisfaction of the product it may hard to lead the customers to the customer loyalty.

• Journal of Korean Society of Archives and Records Management
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.27-48
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• 2005

This study investigates the current preservation and management of four records and documentary heritage in Korea that is in the UNESCO's Memory of the World Register. The study analyzes their problems and corresponding solutions in digitizing those world records heritages. This study also reviews additional four documentary books in Korea that are in the wish list to add to UNESCO's Memory of the World Register. This study is organized as the following: Chapter 2 examines the value and meanings of world records and documentary heritage in Korea. The registry requirements and procedures of UNESCO's Memory of the World Register are examined. The currently registered records of Korea include Hunmin-Chongum, the Annals of the Choson Dynasty, the Diaries of the Royal Secretariat (Seungjeongwon Ilgi), and Buljo- Jikji-Simche-Yojeol (vol. II). These records heritage's worth and significance are carefully analyzed. For example, Hunmin-Chongum("訓民正音") is consisted of unique and systematic letters. Letters were delicately explained with examples in its original manual at the time of letter's creation, which is an unparalleled case in the world documentary history. The Annals of the Choson Dynasty("朝鮮王朝實錄") are the most comprehensive historic documents that contain the longest period of time in history. Their truthfulness and reliability in describing history give credits to the annals. The Royal Secretariat Diary (called Seungjeongwon-Ilgi("承政院日記")) is the most voluminous primary resources in history, superior to the Annals of Choson Dynasty and Twenty Five Histories in China. Jikji("直指") is the oldest existing book published by movable metal print sets in the world. It evidences the beginning of metal printing in the world printing history and is worthy of being as world heritage. The review of the four registered records confirms that they are valuable world documentary heritage that transfers culture of mankind to next generations and should be preserved carefully and safely without deterioration or loss. Chapter 3 investigates the current status of preservation and management of three repositories that store the four registered records in Korea. The repositories include Kyujanggak Archives in Seoul National University, Pusan Records and Information Center of National Records and Archives Service, and Gansong Art Museum. The quality of their preservation and management are excellent in all of three institutions by the following aspects: 1) detailed security measures are close to perfection 2) archiving practices are very careful by using a special stack room in steady temperature and humidity and depositing it in stack or archival box made of paulownia tree and 3) fire prevention, lighting, and fumigation are thoroughly prepared. Chapter 4 summarizes the status quo of digitization projects of records heritage in Korea. The most important issue related to digitization and database construction on Korean records heritage is likely to set up the standardization of digitization processes and facilities. It is urgently necessary to develop comprehensive standard systems for digitization. Two institutions are closely interested in these tasks: 1) the National Records and Archives Service experienced in developing government records management systems; and 2) the Cultural Heritage Administration interested in digitization of Korean old documents. In collaboration of these two institutions, a new standard system will be designed for digitizing records heritage on Korean Studies. Chapter 5 deals with additional Korean records heritage in the wish list for UNESCO's Memory of the World Register, including: 1) Wooden Printing Blocks(經板) of Koryo-Taejangkyong(高麗大藏經) in Haein Temple(海印寺); 2) Dongui-Bogam("東醫寶鑑") 3) Samguk-Yusa("三國遺事") and 4) Mugujeonggwangdaedaranigyeong. Their world value and importance are examined as followings. Wooden Printing Blocks of Koryo-Taejangkyong in Haein Temple is the worldly oldest wooden printing block of cannon of Buddhism that still exist and was created over 750 years ago. It needs a special conservation treatment to disinfect germs residing in surface and inside of wooden plates. Otherwise, it may be damaged seriously. For its effective conservation and preservation, we hope that UNESCO and Government will schedule special care and budget and join the list of Memory of the Word Register. Dongui-Bogam is the most comprehensive and well-written medical book in the Korean history, summarizing all medical books in Korea and China from the Ancient Times through the early 17th century and concentrating on Korean herb medicine and prescriptions. It is proved as the best clinical guidebook in the 17th century for doctors and practitioners to easily use. The book was also published in China and Japan in the 18th century and greatly influenced the development of practical clinic and medical research in Asia at that time. This is why Dongui Bogam is in the wish list to register to the Memory of the World. Samguk-Yusa is evaluated as one of the most comprehensive history books and treasure sources in Korea, which illustrates foundations of Korean people and covers histories and cultures of ancient Korean peninsula and nearby countries. The book contains the oldest fixed form verse, called Hyang-Ka(鄕歌), and became the origin of Korean literature. In particular, the section of Gi-ee(紀異篇) describes the historical processes of dynasty transition from the first dynasty Gochosun(古朝鮮) to Goguryeo(高句麗) and illustrates the identity of Korean people from its historical origin. This book is worthy of adding to the Memory of the World Register. Mugujeonggwangdaedaranigyeong is the oldest book printed by wooden type plates, and it is estimated to print in between 706 and 751. It contains several reasons and evidence to be worthy of adding to the list of the Memory of the World. It is the greatest documentary heritage that represents the first wooden printing book that still exists in the world as well as illustrates the history of wooden printing in Korea.

• The Korean Journal of Air & Space Law and Policy
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.163-186
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• 2009

The missile technology and its development in south Korea have been restrained to the limit of 180 km by America which instead provided to Korea with security protection. In the same vein, America pressured South Korea to abort its nuclear weapons program so as to prevent another possible military encounter that can easily develop into a war between South and North Korea. This restraint was a bit relaxed when South Korea joined the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) in 2001 whereby the limit was 300 km. The situation of South Korea is in much contrast with its neighbor, North Korea, which has fired Taepo Dong 1 and Taepo Dong 2 to put its alleged satellite respectively into the Earth orbit. The range of this rocket believed to be reaching more than 5,500 km, a range of the intercontinental ballistic missile, without any rein. South Korea that has just geared its full powers for its outer space industry, with the current space projects of putting its satellites into the low Earth orbit, will in future put its satellite into the geostationary orbit, 36,000 km above the Earth. To do so, such restraint had better be resolved. Korean space industry, as it is alike in other countries, started with putting and manufacturing sounding rockets, producing satellites but relying on foreign launching facilities, and learning launching capacities. Experiencing three time launchings of KITSAT, the current satellite projects of Korea are undertaken as follows: - Koreasat - STSAT - Komsat - MBSAT - COMS (Communication, Ocean, and Meteorological Satellite) Koreans waked up to the things of outer space in 2008 with the first Korean astronaut Li So-yeon, a lady bio systems engineer. Although the first Korean made rocket in cooperation with a Russian company to fire last August 2009 was a failure, it should be considered as an inevitable process for future endeavors. There are currently three outer space related laws of Korea: Aerospace Industry Development Promotion Act 1987, Outer Space Development Promotions Act 2005, and Space Damage Compensation Act 2008. The first two stemming from the two different ministries are, however, overlapping in many aspects and have some shortcomings to be improved.

• Korean Journal of Childcare and Education
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.65-88
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• 2006

This study intended to activate public education, researched and analyzed real conditions of preschool education to know desirable directions of public education and help parents recognize public education. The final purpose is to offer basic materials to reestablish preschool education in the public education system. First, parents' recognition concerning preschool education in the public education system was much different from that of teachers. As for definitions of preschool education as a public education, parents understood that it means 'the nation and self-governing bodies manage aid both the public and private kindergartens', and teachers recognized that it means that 'the nation and self-governing bodies not only found operate public kindergartens but also aid manage educational funds of private kindergartens. Second, the examination of educational environments of kindergartens told that teachers and parents thought that opportunity to enter the kindergarten is not equal for all children in our country, and quality of kindergarten teachers is satisfactory. Also, they thought that curriculums of preschool educational organs have been set well according to children's developmental stages, education quality is different according to preschool education organs' foundation-types. They recognized that facilities and apparatus of preschools are satisfactory, security and neatness of preschools are satisfactory, too. Third, the examination of developmental directions of preschool education as a public education proved following facts; as for foundation-types of kindergartens in the future when promoting preschool education as a public education, parents answered financial support and supervision by the government, teachers answered aid and management of operational fees as well as support for teacher personnel expenses.

• Journal of dental hygiene science
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.65-71
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• 2008

The purpose of this study was to examine people's awareness of health insurance in a bid to help improve the management of dental health insurance coverage. The subjects in this study were 1,036 people who included experts in that field and medical consumers. The findings of the study were as follows: 1. In regard to the demographic characteristics of the expert group including gender and age, the female experts outnumbered the males, as the former accounted for 84.7 percent. And the experts in their 20s made up the largest age group, followed by the 30-39 age group and those in their 40s. As to the demographic characteristics of the medical consumers, the rates of the men and women stood at 49.8 percent and 50.2 percent respectively, which were similar. By age, the largest number of the medical consumers were in their 20s, followed by in their 30s and in their 40s. 2. Concerning opinions on the procurement of finance for health insurance, many respondents in both groups agreed that the health insurance coverage should be enlarged by securing more finance, and that items involved in the coverage should be prioritized again. Regarding a means of securing financial resources, the experts placed the most emphasis on extended budgetary support from the government, followed by establishing a social security system and budget compilation by local governments. The medical consumers attached the most importance to extended budgetary backing from the government, followed by budget compilation by local governments and determining contribution according to income level. 3. As for general view of the dental health insurance, the experts believed that the amounts of copayment and self-payment by the insured were appropriate(2.47), and they found the number of benefitted items to be proper(2.29) as well. The medical consumers thought that the benefit percentage of the dental health insurance in the overall health insurance budget was appropriate(2.26), and they also considered the number of benefitted items adequate(2.16). But this group didn't give a lot of marks to the appropriateness of those things. 4. As to perception about the dental health insurance, both groups took a similar view of it. Specifically, they felt the strong need for a dental health insurance system. In terms of satisfaction level, both groups were dissatisfied with it, and there was a strong tendency for them to be discontented with the health insurance coverage.

• Korea and Global Affairs
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• v.1 no.2
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• pp.171-208
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• 2017

This paper is to analyze the type characteristics and prospects of the North Korean nuclear strategy. To this end, the paper is composed of 5 chapters titled introduction; the concept and type of nuclear strategy; the nuclear capabilities of North Korea and the declarative nuclear strategy; the operational characteristics and prospects of the North Korean nuclear strategy; and conclusion. Recently, the deployment of nuclear weapons and the enhancement of nuclear capabilities in North Korea have raised serious problems in our security and military preparedness. Nuclear strategy means military strategy related to the organization, deployment and operation of nuclear weapons. The study of North Korea's nuclear strategy begins with a very realistic assumption that the nuclear arsenal of North Korea has been substantiated. It is a measure based on North Korea's nuclear arsenal that our defense authorities present the concepts of preemptive attack, missile defense, and mass retaliation as countermeasures against the North Korean nuclear issue and are in the process of introducing and deploying them. The declared nuclear declaration strategy of the DPRK is summarized as: (1)Nuclear deterrence and retaliation strategy under the (North Korea's) Nuclear Weapons Act, (2)Nuclear preemptive aggression, (3)The principle of 'no first use' of nuclear weapons in the 7th Congress. And the intentions and operational characteristics of the North Korean nuclear strategy are as follows: (1)Avoiding blame through imitation of existing nuclear state practices, (2)Favoring of nuclear strategy through declarative nuclear strategy, (3)Non-settlement of nuclear strategy due to gap between nuclear capability and nuclear posture. North Korea has declared itself a nuclear-weapon state through the revised Constitution(2012.7), the Line of 'Construction of the Nuclear Armed Forces and the Economy'(2013.3), and the Nuclear Weapons Act(2013.4). However, the status of "nuclear nations" can only be granted by the NPT, which is already a closed system. Realistically, a robust ROK-US alliance and close US-ROK cooperation are crucial to curbing and overcoming the North Korean nuclear threat we face. On this basis, it is essential not only to deter North Korea's nuclear attacks, but also to establish and implement our own short-term, middle-term and long-term political and military countermeasures for North Korea's denuclearization and disarmament.

• Journal of the Economic Geographical Society of Korea
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.329-352
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• 2017

Since the late 2000s Korean foreign direct investors in North Korea and China border regions have gone through the closure of outward processing trade(OPT) networks and changes in their location due to UN security council resolution and Korean independent sanctions against North Korea's nuclear and missile tests. However, the introduction of new Chinese OPT policy has led to the invigoration of domestic market-based OPT networks towards North Korea. The main aim of this paper is to identify the exceptional characteristics of Dandong in Liaoning province, a North Korea and China border region by analyzing OPT networks towards North Korea. Fundamentally the establishment of OPT networks towards North Korea is likely to be based on the utilization of a plenty of low wages in North Korea. The main reasons for this are fallen into two perspectives: geo-economics and geo-politics. The first perspective is geo-economics centering on the consolidation of economic exchange between North Korea and China, and North Korean economic development. For example, the introduction of Chinese OPT in border region has enabled Chinese local firms based on domestic market to access a plenty of low wage in North Korea in formal and institutional contexts. The second is geo-politics for the stability of North Korean regime based on the means of geo-economics. As the invigoration of domestic market-based OPT networks might make North Korea possible promoting foreign money earning, it enable North Korea to be sustainable as a buffering region between capitalist and socialist regime for China. It shows Chinese geo-strategic attempts to deal with the economic and regime stability of North Korean as a buffering state. In other words, OPT networks in North Korea should be concerned with the discourse practice of geo-economics and geo-politics which might lead to various and contingent spatial economies in border region. As a consequence, North Korea and China border regions could defined as a space in which is applicable to exceptional institutions and policies, and an exploitative space in which create surplus and rents by utilizing a plenty of low wages in North Korea through OPT networks.

• Journal of the Institute of Electronics Engineers of Korea SP
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• v.43 no.2 s.308
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• pp.19-29
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• 2006

As the security of personal information is becoming more important in mobile phones, we are starting to apply iris recognition technology to these devices. In conventional iris recognition, magnified iris images are required. For that, it has been necessary to use large magnified zoom & focus lens camera to capture images, but due to the requirement about low size and cost of mobile phones, the zoom & focus lens are difficult to be used. However, with rapid developments and multimedia convergence trends in mobile phones, more and more companies have built mega-pixel cameras into their mobile phones. These devices make it possible to capture a magnified iris image without zoom & focus lens. Although facial images are captured far away from the user using a mega-pixel camera, the captured iris region possesses sufficient pixel information for iris recognition. However, in this case, the eye region should be detected for accurate iris recognition in facial images. So, we propose a new fast iris detection method, which is appropriate for mobile phones based on corneal specular reflection. To detect specular reflection robustly, we propose the theoretical background of estimating the size and brightness of specular reflection based on eye, camera and illuminator models. In addition, we use the successive On/Off scheme of the illuminator to detect the optical/motion blurring and sunlight effect on input image. Experimental results show that total processing time(detecting iris region) is on average 65ms on a Samsung SCH-S2300 (with 150MHz ARM 9 CPU) mobile phone. The rate of correct iris detection is 99% (about indoor images) and 98.5% (about outdoor images).

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.39 no.3
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• pp.127-133
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• 2014

North Korea's uranium enrichment facility is a matter of international concern. It is of particular alarming to South Korea with regard to the security and safety of the country. This situation requires continuous monitoring of the DPRK and emergency preparedness on the part of the ROK. To assess the detectability of an undeclared uranium enrichment plant in North Korea, uranium concentrations in the air at both a short and a long distance from the enrichment facility were estimated. $UF_6$ source terms were determined by using existing information on North Korean facility and data from the operation experience of enrichment plants from other countries. Using the calculated source terms, two atmospheric dispersion models (Gaussian Plume Model and HYSPLIT models) and meteorological data were used to estimate the uranium particle concentrations from the Yongbyon enrichment facility. A maximum uranium concentration and its location are dependent upon the meteorological conditions and the height of the UF6 release point. This study showed that the maximum uranium concentration around the enrichment facility was about $1.0{\times}10^{-7}g{\cdot}m^{-3}$. The location of the maximum concentration was within about 0.4 km of the facility. It has been assumed that the uranium sample of about a few micrograms (${\mu}g$) could be obtained; and that few micrograms of uranium can be easily measured with current measurement instruments. On the contrary, a uranium concentration at a distance of more than 100 kilometers from the enrichment facility was estimated to be about $1.0{\times}10^{-13}{\sim}1.0{\times}10^{-15}g{\cdot}m^{-3}$, which is less than back-ground level. Therefore, based on the results of our paper, an air sample taken within the vicinity of the Yongbyon enrichment facility could be used to determine as to whether or not North Korea is carrying out an undeclared nuclear program. However, the air samples taken at a longer distance of a few hundred kilometers would prove difficult in detecting a clandestine nuclear activities.