• The Journal of the Petrological Society of Korea
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.325-334
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• 2016

Both 1900 years of historic literature and recent instrumental seismic records indicate the Korean Peninsula has repeatedly experienced small and large earthquakes. This study has used historical and instrumental records of Korea to investigate the characteristics of earthquakes in the peninsula. Results of GIS spatial analyses indicate Pyongyang, the capital of North Korea, is more vulnerable to the earthquake hazard than that of other regions in the Korean Peninsula. It is also noted that Pyongyang is exposed to high risks of other natural and social disasters because of the high population density and concentrated infra structures. Scenario shake map drawn up assuming a magnitude 6.7 earthquake, which was experienced in A.D. 502 in the area, indicates that 51.1% of the city are exposed to PGA 0.24 g or higher. Recent statistics by the Statistics Korea also indicates the North Korea is far more vulnerable to disasters than those in the South Korea. Results of the preliminary study provide essential information for comprehensive understanding of earthquake hazard estimation in Korea including the North Korea.

• Proceedings of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea Conference
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• 1997.04a
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• pp.94-97
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• 1997

The December 13, 1996 Yeongweol earthquake of magnitude 4.5 was felt almost everywhere in southern part of the Korean Peninsula and Cheju Island, even though not feld in Tsushima Island at other places in Japan near to Korea. Production lines of semiconductor disk in electronic engineering companies of Gumi manufacturing complex were seriously affected by the shake of this earthquake. Total 17 earthquakes of magnitude 4 or above occurred within the area of 50km radius from Yeongweol in the period from the year 1400 to 1996. This group of earthquakes includes 12 events of magnitude 5.0 or above and 3 events of magnitude 6.0 or above. Among these events, 13 earthquakes are historical events of years 1400-1904. Most of them occurred in 15-16 centuries. The February 21, 1596 Jungseon-Pyeongchang event of magnitude 6.5 is the largest one up to now in the area. There are four instrumental earthquakes (years 1905-1996) of magnitude 4.0 or above in this area. An earthquake of magnitude 4.4 occurred on 5th of November, 1919 at almost the same place as the December 13, 1996 earthquake of magnitude 4.5. Thus this event is preceded with the previous one by 77 years.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.45-58
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• 1995

A probabilistic seismic risk in the Korean Peninsula is calculated from the instrumental eaathquake data. For the purpose, an instrumental earthquake catalogue since 1905 m which parameters are readjusted to have uniformity and homogeneity in description is cornpiled through the review of all available data. The maximum potential earthquake expected in the Korean Peninsula for 100, 1000, and 4000 years are estimated to be 6.3, 7.2 and 7.8 in magnitude, respectively, from Gumbel's extreme value theory. In addition, contour rnaps representing the maximum ground acceleration expected for 100 and 1000 years are prepared using the return period method. Seismic hazart] curves in which maximum ground acceleration expressed in terms of probability of occurrence are also presented for the major populated areas.

• Proceedings of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea Conference
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• 2006.03a
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• pp.33-40
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• 2006

Since early 1990's, several Quaternary faults have been found in the southeastern part of the Korean peninsula with reference to fault activity. Because some of these faults could be considered a capable fault, it is a very delicate matter, which need to be deal with carefully in assessing the seismic hazard. In determining whether or not a faults are capable, because of the low rate of seismicity and insufficient relationship between instrumental macro-seismicity and fault, there has been considerable debate among geologists and geophysicists in Korea. In this study, we discuss the criteria and probabilistic approaches that are used to assess whether or not a fault is seismogenic. And, we preliminarily also suggest the probability of fault activity from the spatial association between faults and earthquake epicenters, fault slip and tectonic stress, and geological evidence for multiple episodes of reactivation.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.1-8
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• 2018

A new site classification system and site coefficients based on local site conditions in Korea were developed and implemented as a part of minimum design load requirements for general seismic design. The new site classification system adopted bedrock depth and average shear wave velocity of soil above the bedrock as parameters for site classification. These code provisions were passed through a public hearing process before it was enacted. The public hearing process recommended to modify the naming of site classes and adjust the amplification factors so that the level of short-period amplification is suitable for economical seismic design. In this paper, the new code provisions were assessed using dynamic centrifuge tests and by comparing the design response spectra (DRS) with records from 2016 Gyeongju earthquake, the largest earthquake in history of instrumental seismic observation in Korea. The dynamic centrifuge tests were performed to simulate the representative Korean site conditions, such as shallow depth to bedrock and short-period amplification characteristics, and the results corroborated with the new DRS. The Gyeongju earthquake records also showed good agreement with the DRS. In summary, the new code provisions are reliable for representing the site amplification characteristic of shallow bedrock condition in Korea.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.1 no.2
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• pp.141-158
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• 2005

A new design of distributed crack sensors based on the topological change of transmission line cables is presented for the condition assessment of reinforced concrete (RC) structures during and immediately after an earthquake event. This study is primarily focused on the performance of cable sensors under dynamic loading, particularly a feature that allows for some "memory" of the crack history of an RC member. This feature enables the post-earthquake condition assessment of structural members such as RC columns, in which the earthquake-induced cracks are closed immediately after an earthquake event due to gravity loads, and are visually undetectable. Factors affecting the onset of the feature were investigated experimentally with small-scale RC beams under cyclic loading. Test results indicated that both crack width and the number of loading cycles were instrumental in the onset of the memory feature of cable sensors. Practical issues related to dynamic acquisition with the sensors are discussed. The sensors were proven to be fatigue resistant from shake table tests of RC columns. The sensors continued to show useful performance after the columns can no longer support additional loads.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.42 no.1
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• pp.55-64
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• 2010

The KIER's Korean historical earthquake catalog was revised for MMI${\geq}$VI events recorded from the years 27 A.D. to 1904. the magnitude of each event was directly determined from the criteria suggested by Seo. The criteria incorporated the damage phenomena of the Japanese historical earthquake catalog, recent seismological studies, and the results of tests performed on ancient structures in Korea. Thus, the uncertainty of the magnitudes of the Korean historical earthquakes can be reduced. Also, the Gutenberg-Richter parameter values were estimated based on the revised catalog of this study. It was determined that the magnitudes of a maximum inland and minimum offshore event were approximately 6.3 and 6.5, respectively. The Gutenberg-Richter parameter pairs of the historical earthquake catalog were estimated to be a=5.32${\pm}$0.21, b=0.95${\pm}$0.19, which were somewhat lower than those obtained from recent complete instrumental earthquakes. No apparent change in the Gutenberg-Richter parameter is observed for the $16^{th}-17^{th}$ centuries of the seismically active period.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.153-184
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• 2015

Most damaging earthquakes come as complex sequences characterized by strong aftershocks, sometimes by foreshocks and often by multiple mainshocks. Complex earthquake sequences have enormous seismic hazard, engineering and societal implications as their impact on buildings and infrastructures may be much more severe at the end of the sequence than just after the mainshock. In this paper we examine whether historical sources can help characterizing the rare earthquake sequences of pre-instrumental times in full, including fore-, main- and aftershocks. Thanks to the its huge documentary heritage, Italy relies on one of the richest parametric earthquake catalogues worldwide. Unfortunately most current methods for assessing seismic hazard require that earthquake catalogues be declustered by removing all shocks that bear some dependency with those identified as mainshocks. We maintain that this requirement has led most modern historical seismologists to focus mainly on mainshocks rather than also on the fore- and aftershocks. To shed light onto major earthquake sequences of the past, rather than onto individual mainshocks, we investigated 10 damaging earthquake sequences ($M_w$ 4.7-7.0) that hit the L'Aquila area and central Abruzzo from the 14th to the 20th century. We find that most of the results of historical research are important for modern seismology, yet their rendering by the current parametric catalogues causes most information to be lost or not easily transferred to the potential users. For this reason we advocate a change in current strategies and the creation of a more flexible standard for storing and using all the information made available by historical seismology.

• Journal of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.59-69
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• 2021

Historical records of earthquakes are generally used as a basis to extrapolate the instrumental earthquake catalog in time and space during the probabilistic seismic hazard analysis (PSHA). However, the historical catalogs' input parameters determined through historical descriptions rather than any quantitative measurements are accompanied by considerable uncertainty in PSHA. Therefore, quantitative assessment to verify the historical earthquake parameters is essential for refining the reliability of PSHA. This study presents an approach and its application to constrain reliable ranges of the magnitude and corresponding epicenter of historical earthquakes. First, ranges rather than specific values of ground motion intensities are estimated at multiple locations with distances between each other for selected historical earthquakes by reviewing observed co-seismic natural phenomena, structural damage levels, or felt areas described in their historical records. Based on specific objective criteria, this study selects only one earthquake (July 24, 1643), which is potentially one of the largest historical earthquakes. Then, ground motion simulations are performed for sufficiently broadly distributed epicenters, with a regular grid to prevent one from relying on strong assumptions. Calculated peak ground accelerations and velocities in areas with the historical descriptions on corresponding earthquakes are converted to intensities with an empirical ground motion-intensity conversion equation to compare them with historical descriptions. For the ground motion simulation, ground motion prediction equations and a frequency-wavenumber method are used to consider the effects of possible source mechanisms and stress drop. From these quantitative calculations, reliable ranges of epicenters and magnitudes and the trade-off between them are inferred for the earthquake that can conservatively match the upper and lower boundaries of intensity values from historical descriptions.

• Geophysics and Geophysical Exploration
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.185-192
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• 2017

A sequence of earthquakes with the main shock $M_L$ 5.8 occurred on September 12 2016 in the Gyeongju area. The main shock was the largest earthquakes in the southern part of the Korean peninsula since the instrumental seismic observation began in the peninsula in 1905 and clearly demonstrated that the Yangsan fault is seismically active. The mean focal depth of the foreshock, main shock, and aftershock of the Gyeongju earthquakes estimated by the crustal model of single layer of the Korean peninsula without the Conrad discontinuity turns out to be 12.9 km, which is 2.8 km lower than that estimated based on the IASP91 reference model with the Conrad discontinuity. The distribution of the historical and instrumental earthquakes in the Gyeongju area indicates that the Yangsan fault system comprising the main Yangsan fault and its subsidiary faults is a large fracture zone. The epicenters of the Gyeongju earthquakes show that a few faults of the Yangsan fault system are involved in the release of the strain energy accumulated in the area. That the major earthquakes of Gyeongju earthquakes occurred not on the surface but below 10 km depth suggests the necessity of the study of the distribution of deep active faults of the Yangsan fault system. The magnitude of maximum earthquake of the Gyeongju area estimated based on the earthquake data of the area turns out to be 7.3. The recurrence intervals of the earthquakes over magnitudes 5.0, 6.0 and 7.0 based on the earthquake data since 1978, which is the most complete data in the peninsula, are estimated as 80, 670, and 5,900 years, respectively. The September 2016 Gyeongju earthquakes are basically intraplate earthquakes not related to the Great East Japan earthquake of March 11 2011 which is interplate earthquake.