• Title/Summary/Keyword: NATURAL RESOURCE

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Sex Ratios, Size and Growth Variation, and Spatial and Age Distribution between the Sexes in Natural Populations of Three Species of Dioecious Rhus(Anacardiaceae) (자웅이주성(雌雄異株性) 옻나무속(屬) 3수종(樹種)의 자연집단(自然集團)에서 성비(性比)와 성간(性間) 생장량(生長量) 및 공간적(空間的) 분포(分布))

  • Kim, Sam-Shik;Lee, Jeong-Hwan;Chung, Jae-Min
    • Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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    • v.87 no.2
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    • pp.201-210
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    • 1998
  • Sex ratios, and patterns of tree size and growth variation, resource allocation, spatial and age class distribution between the sexes were investigated in natural populations of the sexual trees, R. trichocarpa and R. sylvestris, and the mainly asexual, clonal tree, R. javanica of the dioecious Rhus (Anacardiaceae) distributed in Korea. Sex ratios for three species exhibited a significant degree of female bias, but among the populations, sex ratios were seen to vary quite widely. The measurement of tree size and annual increment of male trees in R. trichocarpa and R. sylvestris were significantly higher than those of female trees, but not significantly different in R. javanica. In all of the species, flowering branch number per individual and inflorescence number per branch of males outnumbered those of females. Branch number per individual, rachis(leaf) number per branch and rachis(leaf) number per inflorescence were more in females than in males. These results were considered as reproductive efforts to increase the pollen supply in males and the fruit production in females. Spatial distribution analysis in two different populations of R. trichocarpa indicated that males and females were randomly distributed in space, but seedlings were clumped around parental trees. Analysis of age class distributions between the sexual reproduction trees, R. triclaocarpa and R. sylvestris, and the asexual, clonal tree, R. javanica showed a different distribution in frequencies of males and females in each age class. These results showed that sexual and asexual reproduction tree species had almost different preference of habitats, and different sex ratio and annual growth.

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Evaluation of the Storage Characteristics of Kangjung Added with Gromwell Extracts (지치 추출물 첨가에 의한 강정의 저장성 연장 효과)

  • Kim, Jin-Sook;Kim, Tae-Young;Kim, Sang-Bum
    • Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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    • v.35 no.6
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    • pp.791-800
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    • 2006
  • This study examined the effects of gromwell (Lithospermum erythrorhizon) extracts on the storage characteristics of Kangjung. At an increase of $0{\sim}0.25%$, there was no significant difference in the moisture content of wild and cultivated gromwell extract added to Kangjung, whereas there was a significant difference when increased to 0.5%. When compared, the occurrence of lipid oxidation among the controlled gromwell extract group stored at $60^{\circ}C$, resulted in peroxide values exceeding 40 meq/kg which is a maximum value for Hankwa within 12 hours of storage. However, at an increase of 0.25%, the cultivated gromwell extract added group reached limits within 16 hours. Furthermore, at a 0.5% increase in cultivated gromwell and 0.25% in wild gromwell, extract added groups exceeded this limit within 20 hours of storage. Gromwell added Kangjung, a fried food, showed efficiency in suppressing oxidation of fat, more so in the wild gromwell than the cultivated gromwell. In addition, efficiency in suppressing oxidation of fat increased at the 0.5% level than the 0.25% level. In conclusion, it is believed that an unused pigment resource called Lithospermum erythrorhizon, normally reserved for medicinal use, can be distributed as a safe food additive. In addition, as Lithospermum erythrorhizon is a natural antioxidant in fried foods, we believe this satisfies the demand for natural food.

Effect of Garlic Enzymatic Hydrolysates and Natural Color Resource Composites on Lipid Metabolism in Rat Fed a High Fat Diet (마늘 효소분해물과 천연색소 소재의 복합물이 고지방 식이성 흰쥐의 지질대사에 미치는 영향)

  • Hwang, Cho-Rong;Kang, Jae-Ran;Shim, Hye-Jin;Kang, Min-Jung;Shin, Jung-Hye
    • Journal of Life Science
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    • v.25 no.6
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    • pp.663-672
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    • 2015
  • The study was performed to investigate the effects of enzyme treated garlic (EG) and its natural resources composites on lipid levels in serum and liver of rats fed a high fat diet. Four different types of EG-composite extracts prepared: EG and EG + grape peel (EGG), EG + Persimmon (EGP) and EG + Catechu (EGC) by mixed 9.5:0.5, 9:1 and 8:2 (w/w) ratios, respectively. DPPH and ABTS radical scavenging activity in vitro, show the highest in EG + Catechu (EGC) composite by mixed 8:2 (w/w). EG and EG-composites extracts (8:2, w/w) were administered orally to SD-male rats at a concentration of 2.5 g/kg/day for 5 weeks. Total lipid and cholesterol contents in serum were significantly lower in EGC group than control group, and triglyceride content was the lowest in EGP group by 54.29 mg/dL. HDL-cholesterol contents were significantly higher in EGP and EGC groups. LDL-cholesterol content was lower in EG group than EG-composite groups, and VLDL cholesterol content was the lowest in EGP group. GOT, GPT and ALP activity was significantly lower in EGP group. Total lipid, cholesterol and triglyceride contents in liver were significantly lower in EGP and EGC group than control group. Antioxidant activity in serum was the highest in EGC groups by 50.86%, in liver was the highest in EGP groups. TBARS content in serum and liver was the lowest in EGP group. In these results, we suggest that EGP composites could have hypolipidemic and anti-obesity effects in rats fed a high fat diet.

Single Dose Oral Toxicity Test of Ethanol Extracts of Schisandrae fructus and Mori folium, and their Mixture in ICR Mice (ICR 마우스를 이용한 오미자, 상엽 에탄올 단독추출물 및 복합추출물의 단회경구투여 독성시험)

  • Choi, Eun Ok;Kwon, Da Hye;Kim, Min Young;Hwang-Bo, Hyun;Kim, Hong Jae;Ahn, Kyu Im;Jeong, Jin-Woo;Lee, Ki Won;Kim, Ki Young;Kim, Sung Goo;Choi, Young Whan;Hong, Su Hyun;Park, Cheol;Choi, Yung Hyun
    • Journal of Life Science
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    • v.26 no.10
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    • pp.1207-1213
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    • 2016
  • Schisandrae fructus (SF) and Mori folium (MF) have been used as traditional medicines for thousands of years in parts of Asia, including Korea, China, and Japan. Recent researches on SF and MF have documented a wide spectrum of therapeutic properties, including anti-microbial, anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidative, immunomodulatory and anti-angiogenesis effects. However, the toxicity and safety of SF and MF, and their mixture (medicinal herber mixture, MHMIX) were not confirmed. Therefore, this study was performed to evaluate the acute toxicity and safety of SF, MF and MHMIX. SF, MF and MHMIX were orally administered at a dose of 5,000 mg/kg in ICR mice. Animals were monitored for the mortality and changes in the body weight, clinical signs and gross observation during the 14 days after dosing, upon necropsy. We also measured parameters of organ weight, clinical chemistry, and hematology. No dead and no clinical signs were found during the experiment period after administration of a single oral dose of SF, MF and MHMIX. There were no adverse effects on clinical signs, body weight, or organ weight and no gross pathological findings in any treatment group. Therefore, LD50 value of SF, MF and MHMIX may be over 5,000 mg/kg and it may have no side toxic effect to ICR mice. The results on the single-dose toxicity of SF, MF and MHMIX indicate that it is not possible to reach oral dose levels related to death or dose levels with any harmful side effects.

A Study on the Selection of Evaluation Indicators of Amenities (국토 어메니티 평가지표 개발)

  • Lee, Jae-Joon;Choi, Seok-Hwan;Kim, Sun-Hee
    • Journal of the Korean Institute of Landscape Architecture
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    • v.38 no.1
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    • pp.25-38
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    • 2010
  • This study aims to, first, classify the approach system of utilizing national and local amenities into three groups: evaluation of the level of the amenity, evaluation of the value of amenity resources, and utilization of amenity resources. Secondly, the study aims to derive an evaluation index which is required according to the approach system. As for a strategy of utilizing amenities, the self-diagnosis based on the evaluation of the level of local amenities is required. In this study, three sectors, ten items and 43 detailed items have been derived though specialists, FGIs(Focus Group Interview), and the cases within and outside of the country. In the survey with specialists, a unit-space key index which can be used in accordance with the unit-space characteristics(such as urban and rural area, fishing villages, mountain villages, and littoral areas), environmental area, important index and optional index have been derived. As for the evaluation index which is needed for the development of typical local amenities resources, 14 detailed evaluation indexes from three sectors have been derived. These have been classified again into six key indexes, six important indexes and two optional indexes. In the evaluation index of amenity resources, natural and environmental value-such as ecological value of preservation, uniqueness of aesthetic landscape and ecological value of restoration-historic and cultural value of preservation and individuality of the resources, and aesthetic and cultural values are derived as being important. As for utilization of amenity resources, 15 items from three sectors-such as reservation, restoration, intentional use, and industrial use-have been derived. Also, through a survey with specialists, key indexes and important indexes were derived by unit-space. As a result, in urban areas, seven items-including creative development of space, aesthetic landscape control and development of cultural contents-have been derived as key indexes; in rural areas, mountain villages, fishing villages and littoral areas, eight items-including brand of region, brand of the products, and brand of tourism resources-have been derived. In environmental areas, six items-including reservation of natural resources, historic and cultural heritage, and restoration of ecosystem-have been derived. Indexes derived from this study can be utilized in order to establish a strategy for amenity plans and an implementation strategy, but can be readjusted, allowing for various regional characteristics. It is, thus, advisable that local governments selectively utilize indexes according to regional characteristics or newly develop them for the maximum utilization of regional amenities.

Landscape of Erosional Basin in Korea -In case of land-use changes of hills- (우리 나라 침식분지의 경관 -구릉지의 토지이용 변화를 중심으로-)

  • Son, Myoung-Won
    • Journal of the Korean association of regional geographers
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    • v.6 no.2
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    • pp.83-96
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    • 2000
  • Erosional basins formed in middle and upper reaches of Korean great rivers have been main life space of local small and middle cities, but previous studies on erosional basins are widely apart from residents' life and are in shortage with the endeavor to elucidate the man and environment relationship. This paper analyzes the factors and the modes of land-use changes of hills in the erosional basin. In this paper four erosional basins with different geological conditions are selected to elucidate the effect of geological factor(Geochang: granite, Chogye: metamorphic rock, Angye: gravelly sedimentary rock, Maseong: limestone). And the distribution of land use on the transverse and longitudinal cross-section map of the hill is described. The landscape of erosional basin is consisted of surrounding mountains, hills, dissected valleys, and incoming river's floodplain. Dissected valleys and incoming river's floodplain were reclaimed early as paddy field and hills have been used as woodland up to recently. Residents have a new appreciation of hills as a productive hill out of a traditional holy space[mountain] by influence of capitalistic thought that 'natural environment is a sort of productive resource'. Population increase is the another pressure of hill reclamation. The modes of landscape changes due to natural conditions are as follow: (1) In Geochang basin with dense tectolineament spacing, the gentle part of hill is used as field, orchard and agricultural-industrial complex site and the steep part is as woodland. (2) Hills in Angye basin with sparse tectolineament spacing are relatively flat because of maintaining a part of original denudational surface, and are used as orchids, field, paddy fields and agricultural-industrial complex site. The dissection valleys between hills are gentle concave and are used as paddy fields. (3) Hills in Maseong basin are wide and flat, and are used as fields, orchards, and agricultural-industrial complex site. (4) Because hills in Chogye basin, a closed type, are weared by affluents and are narrow and short. Hills are used as woodland and wide dissected valleys are reclaimed as paddy fields.

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Two Points for the Successful Representation of Performing Art Festivals:Artistic Characteristics and Festivity - in the Case of the 'Festival d'Avignon' (공연예술축제를 구성하는 '예술성'과 '축제성'의 특성 분석 - 아비뇽 페스티벌의 사례를 중심으로)

  • RYOO, Jeung-ah
    • (The) Research of the performance art and culture
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    • no.22
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    • pp.253-285
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    • 2011
  • The number of "Performing Arts Festivals" is growing increasingly in South Korea. This trend is mainly held in large cities which are difficult to communicate closely among residents. South Korea, while the pace of city life and speed of development are very fast, increasing number of "Performing Arts Festivals" with communal characteristics is in the natural process of festival evolution in large cities. In the evolution of the contemporary festival, it is natural to see some increase of modern festival after the development of traditional and folk festivals. It is important that the "Performing Arts Festivals" express the two elements, artistic character and festivity, not only in distinctively but also in harmony. The "Performing Arts Festivals" should consider the process of the organization, human resources, networking systems of the human communication process, resource use, etc. For the success of the festival, we must obtain the complementary effects between two attributes:festival characteristics and artistic senses. Therefore, we chose the 'Festival d'Avignon' as the reference of the total representation of artistic characteristics and festivity. From the case of the Festival d'Avignon, we get the implications of the development of performing arts festival in South Korea. To explain the festival value and artistic significance of the Festival d'Avignon, we explained the spontaneity and openness to public participation, the relationship between spectators and works, the representation of memory and communicative image, etc. To explain the artistic attributes of the 'Festival d'Avignon', we explained the mission to reconcile the artistic and the popular, to promote the artistic know-how, understanding how to communicate with the public, to consider more artistic quality than commercial benefits. Essentially, this study shows the meaning and the vision to forecast the future as well as the recent proliferation in various fields of Performing Arts Festivals. This study may help to improve analytical precision of Performing Arts Festivals.

The Royal and Sajik Tree of Joseon Dynasty, the Culturo-social Forestry, and Cultural Sustainability (근세조선의 왕목-사직수, 문화사회적 임업, 그리고 문화적 지속가능성)

  • Yi, Cheong-Ho;Chun, Young Woo
    • Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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    • v.98 no.1
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    • pp.66-81
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    • 2009
  • From a new perspective of "humans and the culture of forming and conserving the environment", the sustainable forest management can be reformulated under the concept of "cultural sustainability". Cultural sustainability is based on the emphasis of the high contribution to sustainability of the culture of forming and conserving the environment. This study extracts the implications to cultural sustainability for the modern world by investigating a historical case of the culturo-social pine forestry in the Joseon period of Korea. In the legendary and recorded acts by the first king Taejo, Seonggye Yi, Korean red pine (Pinus densiflora) was the "Royal tree" of Joseon and also the "Sajik tree" related intimately with the Great Sajik Ritual valued as the top rank within the national ritual regime that sustained the Royal Virtue Politics in Confucian political ideology. Into the Neo-Confucian faith and royal rituals of Joseon, elements of geomancy (Feng shui), folk religion, and Buddhism had been amalgamated. The deities worshipped or revered at the Sajik shrine were Earth-god (Sa) and crop-god (Jik). And it is the Earth god and the concrete entity, Sajik tree, that contains the legacy of sylvan religion descended from the ancient times and had been incorporated into the Confucian faith and ritual regime. Korean red pine as the Royal-Sajik tree played a critical role of sustaining the religio-political justification for the rule of the Joseon's Royalty. The religio-political symbolism of Korean red pine was represented in diverse ways. The same pine was used as the timber material of shrine buildings established for the national rituals under Neo-Confucian faith by the royal court of Joseon kingdom before the modern Korea. The symbolic role of pine had also been expressed in the forms of royal tomb forests, the Imposition Forest (Bongsan) for royal coffin timber (Whangjangmok), and the creation, protection, conservation and bureaucratic management of the pine forests in the Inner-four and Outer-four mountains for the capital fortress at Seoul, where the king and his family inhabit. The religio-political management system of pine forests parallels well with the kingdom's economic forest management system, called "Pine Policy", with an array of pine cultivation forests and Prohibition Forests (Geumsan) in the earlier period, and that of Imposition Forests in the later period. The royal pine culture with the economic forest management system had influenced on the public consciousness and the common people seem to have coined Malrimgat, a pure Korean word that is interchangeable with the Chinesecharacter words of prohibition-cultivation land or forest (禁養地, 禁養林) practiced in the royal tomb forests, and Prohibition and Imposition Forests, which contained prohibition landmarks (Geumpyo) made of stone and rock on the boundaries. A culturo-social forestry, in which Sajik altar, royal tomb forests, Whangjang pine Prohibition and Imposition forests and the capital Inner-four and Outer-four mountain forests consist, was being put into practice in Joseon. In Joseon dynastry, the Neo-Confucian faith and royal rituals with geomancy, folk religion, and Buddhism incorporated has also played a critical humanistic role for the culturo-social pine forestry, the one higher in values than that of the economic pine forestry. The implications have been extracted from the historical case study on the Royal-Sajik tree and culturo-social forestry of Joseon : Cultural sustainability, in which the interaction between humans and environment maintains a long-term culturo-natural equilibrium or balance for many generations, emphasizes the importance that the modern humans who form and conserve environment need to rediscover and transform their culturo-natural legacy into conservation for many generations and produce knowledge of sustainability science, the transdisciplinary knowledge for the interaction between environment and humans, which fulfills the cultural, social and spiritual needs.

Burqanism from the Origin of the Pastoral Nomadic Koryo Region and the Vision of Korean Livestock Farming (고려의 원시영역 유목초지, 그 부르칸(불함)이즘과 한국축산의 비전)

  • Chu Chae Hyok
    • Journal of The Korean Society of Grassland and Forage Science
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    • v.25 no.1
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    • pp.71-82
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    • 2005
  • Khori(高麗) refers to the Chaabog(reindeer) that live on lichens(蘚) on Mt. Soyon(鮮) in which pastures are the cold and dry plateau of North Eurasia. Thus, the origin region of the Khori or Koguryo that are the ancestors of the reindeer-herding pastoral nomads(馴鹿 遊牧民) can be said to be the Steppe-Taiga-Tundra pastoral areas of North Eurasia and North America. When the pastoral nomads moved on to the great mountain(大山) zone of the Jangbaek(長白) to the Baekdu(白頭) Mountains, they could have been in contact with pastoral farmers or agricultural farmers living there and they became the farmers remaining on agricultural farms. They were the Koryo people, the ancestors of Korea. Staying in one place, they gradually forgot the origin of their reindeer-herding pastoral nomadic history in the Northwest area of Mt. Soyon, the small mountain(小山) zone of the Steppe-Taiga-Tundra pastoral areas. In other words, they lost their identity as reindeer-herding pastoral nomads when they entered the agricultural area after leaving the pastoral area. However, since their basic genes had already formed when they lived on the cold and dry plateau of North Eurasia, it is possible to study their pastoral nomadic history focusing on 'the minority living in the broad area(廣域少數)', by utilizing highly advanced biotechnological science and focusing on genes and information technology innovation, and removing various past hindrances in research. Therefore, it is not so difficult to restore the reindeerherding pastoral nomadic history of the Koguryo(高句麗) people and secure their pastoral nomadic identity, of which the first steps have already been taken into their historical stages. The Eurasian continent and the Korean peninsula, especially the cold and dry plateau of North Eurasia and the Korean peninsula have been closely related to each other ecologically and historically. They can never be a separate space at all. The Eurasian continent lies horizontally east to west and thus, the continent forms an isothermal zone. Also, since the time of producing their own foods, it was relatively easy for people with their technology to move to other places owing to the pastoral nomadic characteristic of mobility. Unlike the Chungyen(中原) region, western Asia and the regions covering the Siberia-Manchu-Korean peninsula where food production revolution was first made were connected to the Mongolian lichens route(蘚苔之路: Ni, ukinii jam) and steppe roads. Although the ecological conditions of nature have changed a bit throughout a long history, it was natural for the many tribes in North Asia living on the largest Steppe-Taiga-Tundra area in the world to have believed 'the legends related to animals in relation to their founders and ancestors(獸祖傳說)'. Assuming that Siberian tigers and the tigers living on Mt. Baekdu were connected ecologically and genetically because of the ecological characteristics of the animals, and their migration from plateau to plateau, we would suspect that the Chosun(朝鮮) tribe living on Mt. Baekdu were ethnically and culturally more closely connected to the farther removed Ural-Altai tribes that lived on the cold and dry plateau region than to the Han(i14;) tribe who lived in Chungyen(中原) that was close to Mt. Baekdu. More evidence is the structure of the Korean language which has the form of 'Subject + Object + Verb', which is assumed to have originated from the speedy lifestyle of the reindeer-herding pastoral nomads. The structure is quite different from that of the Han(漢) language, which is based on agricultural life. Also, it is natural for reindeer riding reindeerherding pastoral nomads or horse-riding sheep-herding pastoral nomads(騎馬, 羊遊牧民) to have held military and political power over the region and eventually to have established an ancient pastoral nomadic empire in the process of their conquest of agricultural regions. The stages for founding global empires in the history of mankind maybe largely divided into two, in terms of ecological conditions and occupations. They are the steppes and the oceans. Of course, the steppe-based empires were established based on the skills to deal with horses and the ability to shoot arrows while riding horses, along with the use of iron ware in the 8th century BC. The steppe-based empires became the foundation for an oceanic empire, which could have been established by the use of warships and warship guns since the 15th Century. Based on those facts, we know that Chosun, Puyo(夫餘), and Koguryo are the products of a developmental process of pastoral nomadic empires on the steppes. Maybe we can easily find the pastoral nomadic identity of the Koguryo more than we expected when we trace the origins and history of the Korean tribe living in the pastures located in the northwest area of Mt. Jangbaek by focusing on pastoral nomadic mobility and organization just as we have investigated the historic origins of Anglo-Saxons in America by focusing on the times before the 15th Century. In the process, we should keep in mind that English culture originated from the Industrial Revolution and was directly delivered to the American continent, although America was far from England and was not an intermediate point on long sojourns either. Further, American culture came back to England in a more advanced form later. The most important thing currently to be resolved is to cause Koreans to look back on their own history in a freer way of thinking and with diverse, profound, and sharp insight, taking away the old and existing conventional recognition that is entangled with complicated interests with Korean people and other countries. The meanings of Chosun, Khori, and Solongos have been interpreted arbitrarily without any historic evidence by the scholars who followed conventional tradition of fixed-minded aristocrats in an agricultural society. If the Siberian cultural properties of the stone age, the earthenware age, the bronze age, and the iron age are analyzed in such a way, archaeological discovery will never be able to contribute to the restoration of the Koguryo's pastoral nomadic identity. One should transcend the errors that tend to interpret the cultural properties discovered in the pastoral nomadic regions as not being differentiated from those of agricultural regions and just interpret them altogether from the agricultural point of view. A more careful intention is required in the interpretation of cultural properties of ancient Korean empires that seem to have been formed due to mutual interactions of pastoral nomadic and agricultural cultures. Also, it is required that the conventional recognition chain of 'reverse-genes' be severed, which has placed more weight on agricultural properties than pastoral nomadic ones, since their settlement on agricultural farms was made after the establishment of their ancient pastoral nomadic empires. There is no reason at all to place priority on stoneware, earthenware, bronze ware, and iron ware than on wooden ware(木器) and other ware which were made of animal skins(皮器), bones and horns(骨角器), in analyzing the history in the regions of reindeer or sheep pastures. Reading ancient Korean history from the perspective of pastoral nomadic history, one feels strongly the instinctive emotions to return to the natural 'mother place'. The reindeer-herding pastoral nomadic identity of the Koguryo people that has been accumulated in volumes in their genes and hidden deep inside and have interacted organically could be reborn with Burqanism(Burqan refers to 不咸 in Chinese), which was their religion by birth and symbolized as the red willow(紅柳=不咸). The mother place of the Koguryo's people is the endless vast green pastures of North Eurasia and North America, where we anticipated the development of Korean livestock farming following the inherent properties in the genes of the reindeer-herding pastoral nomads with Korean ancestors. We anticipate that the place would be the core resource that could contribute to the development of life of living creatures following the inherent properties of their genes and biotechnological factors. In other words, biotechnology used for a search for clues on the well-being of humans could be the fruit brought by Burqanism of the Koguryo people and the fruit of the globalization of Korean livestock farming. It is the Chosun farmer in China come from the vast nomadic reindeer pastures of North Eurasia that resolved the food problem of a billion Chinese people with lowland paddy rice seeds (水稻) by transforming Heilongjiang Province(黑龍江省) into an oceanic lowland paddy rice field(水田). Even Mao Tse-tung(毛擇東) could not resolve the food problem by his revolution campaigns for tens of years. Today is the very time that requires the development of special livestock farming following the inherent properties of the ancient Korean reindeer-herding pastoral nomads that respected the dignity of life on the cold and dry plateau of North Eurasia and the America continent. I suggest that research should be started from the pastures of the Dariganga Steppe in East Mongolia that was the homeland of Hanwoo(韓牛) and the central horse-herding steppe place(牧馬場) of Chingis Khan's Mongolia. The Dariganga Steppe is awash with an affluent natural environment for pastoral nomadic living however, the quality of life of the pastoral nomads there is still low. I suggest we Koreans, the descendents of the Koguryo, should take our first steps for our livestock farming business project and develop the Northern nomadic pastures, here at the pastures of the Dariganga Steppe, which is the Mongolian core place of state-of-the-art technology for military weapons.

The Concentration of Economic Power in Korea (경제력집중(經濟力集中) : 기본시각(基本視角)과 정책방향(政策方向))

  • Lee, Kyu-uck
    • KDI Journal of Economic Policy
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    • v.12 no.1
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    • pp.31-68
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    • 1990
  • The concentration of economic power takes the form of one or a few firms controlling a substantial portion of the economic resources and means in a certain economic area. At the same time, to the extent that these firms are owned by a few individuals, resource allocation can be manipulated by them rather than by the impersonal market mechanism. This will impair allocative efficiency, run counter to a decentralized market system and hamper the equitable distribution of wealth. Viewed from the historical evolution of Western capitalism in general, the concentration of economic power is a paradox in that it is a product of the free market system itself. The economic principle of natural discrimination works so that a few big firms preempt scarce resources and market opportunities. Prominent historical examples include trusts in America, Konzern in Germany and Zaibatsu in Japan in the early twentieth century. In other words, the concentration of economic power is the outcome as well as the antithesis of free competition. As long as judgment of the economic system at large depends upon the value systems of individuals, therefore, the issue of how to evaluate the concentration of economic power will inevitably be tinged with ideology. We have witnessed several different approaches to this problem such as communism, fascism and revised capitalism, and the last one seems to be the only surviving alternative. The concentration of economic power in Korea can be summarily represented by the "jaebol," namely, the conglomerate business group, the majority of whose member firms are monopolistic or oligopolistic in their respective markets and are owned by particular individuals. The jaebol has many dimensions in its size, but to sketch its magnitude, the share of the jaebol in the manufacturing sector reached 37.3% in shipment and 17.6% in employment as of 1989. The concentration of economic power can be ascribed to a number of causes. In the early stages of economic development, when the market system is immature, entrepreneurship must fill the gap inherent in the market in addition to performing its customary managerial function. Entrepreneurship of this sort is a scarce resource and becomes even more valuable as the target rate of economic growth gets higher. Entrepreneurship can neither be readily obtained in the market nor exhausted despite repeated use. Because of these peculiarities, economic power is bound to be concentrated in the hands of a few entrepreneurs and their business groups. It goes without saying, however, that the issue of whether the full exercise of money-making entrepreneurship is compatible with social mores is a different matter entirely. The rapidity of the concentration of economic power can also be traced to the diversification of business groups. The transplantation of advanced technology oriented toward mass production tends to saturate the small domestic market quite early and allows a firm to expand into new markets by making use of excess capacity and of monopoly profits. One of the reasons why the jaebol issue has become so acute in Korea lies in the nature of the government-business relationship. The Korean government has set economic development as its foremost national goal and, since then, has intervened profoundly in the private sector. Since most strategic industries promoted by the government required a huge capacity in technology, capital and manpower, big firms were favored over smaller firms, and the benefits of industrial policy naturally accrued to large business groups. The concentration of economic power which occured along the way was, therefore, not necessarily a product of the market system. At the same time, the concentration of ownership in business groups has been left largely intact as they have customarily met capital requirements by means of debt. The real advantage enjoyed by large business groups lies in synergy due to multiplant and multiproduct production. Even these effects, however, cannot always be considered socially optimal, as they offer disadvantages to other independent firms-for example, by foreclosing their markets. Moreover their fictitious or artificial advantages only aggravate the popular perception that most business groups have accumulated their wealth at the expense of the general public and under the behest of the government. Since Korea stands now at the threshold of establishing a full-fledged market economy along with political democracy, the phenomenon called the concentration of economic power must be correctly understood and the roles of business groups must be accordingly redefined. In doing so, we would do better to take a closer look at Japan which has experienced a demise of family-controlled Zaibatsu and a success with business groups(Kigyoshudan) whose ownership is dispersed among many firms and ultimately among the general public. The Japanese case cannot be an ideal model, but at least it gives us a good point of departure in that the issue of ownership is at the heart of the matter. In setting the basic direction of public policy aimed at controlling the concentration of economic power, one must harmonize efficiency and equity. Firm size in itself is not a problem, if it is dictated by efficiency considerations and if the firm behaves competitively in the market. As long as entrepreneurship is required for continuous economic growth and there is a discrepancy in entrepreneurial capacity among individuals, a concentration of economic power is bound to take place to some degree. Hence, the most effective way of reducing the inefficiency of business groups may be to impose competitive pressure on their activities. Concurrently, unless the concentration of ownership in business groups is scaled down, the seed of social discontent will still remain. Nevertheless, the dispersion of ownership requires a number of preconditions and, consequently, we must make consistent, long-term efforts on many fronts. We can suggest a long list of policy measures specifically designed to control the concentration of economic power. Whatever the policy may be, however, its intended effects will not be fully realized unless business groups abide by the moral code expected of socially responsible entrepreneurs. This is especially true, since the root of the problem of the excessive concentration of economic power lies outside the issue of efficiency, in problems concerning distribution, equity, and social justice.

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