• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.23 no.4 s.32
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• pp.416-427
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• 1990

Unfortunately, we have poor knowledge of medical technology in North Korea. This study has thus attempted to identify the level and status of medical technology development through analyzing the contents of medical textbooks currently in use. This study has assumed that three factors are influencing the level and status of medical technology in a society ; the level of socio-economic development in general, the level of scientific technology revolution and health policy. Forty textbooks are collected for this purpose. The main findings are summarized as follows : 1) North Korea s strengths in that (1) its herb drugs, which are in a broad use, are cheaper, more safe and more attainable than bio-equivalent chemical ones, and (2) the development of its medical technology was carried out with emphasis on the practical and basic health needs. 2) North Korea has weaknesses in that (1) its medical diagnostic method largely depends on manual procedures, (2) the R & D investment in the development of chemical drugs, especially antibiotics, is very small, (3) the amount of medical equipments is in a absolute shortage, and (4) the medical technology is destitute of specialty, caused mainly by the overemphasis on Juche-Uihak or herb medicine. 3) Medical technology has two faces, positive and negative so that it cannot be successfully evaluated by one. It eventually acts a positive function for public health through developments of drug, equipment and new medical treatment method. But it is also true that it has negative effects such as the dehumanization of high cost medical technology, cost hike due to over-investments in expensive equipment and the absence of wholistic care from overspecialization. 4) We have to consider economic status and the social needs of medical care in order to evaluate the medical technology of a society. It is also the case with North Korea. A whole picture of the North Korean medical technology could be understood only if further comprehensive studies of medical technology are to be carried out for North Korea.

• Journal of Radiopharmaceuticals and Molecular Probes
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.95-98
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• 2018

Recently, South and North Korea summits agreed to implement the cooperation and promotion of medical healthcare at the third inter-Korean summit in Pyeongyang on September 18, 2018. Therefore, the South Korean government and its affiliated organizations have been looking for ways to establish a specific plan for support and exchanges in the field of healthcare and medical technology. In the background of the above new policy, radiation medicine technology can also contribute to the exchange in the field of healthcare and science & technology for the peaceful coexistence of one Korea. In this review, we analyzed and showed the status of healthcare and radiation medicine infrastructure in North Korea in order to further develop a plan to share the benefits of radiation medicine with North Korea in the exchange of healthcare and science & technology.

• Korean Medical Education Review
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.110-121
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• 2015

Competency-based medical education (CBME) is an outcome-oriented curriculum model for medical education that organizes learning activities and assessment methods according to defined competencies as the learning outcomes of a given curriculum. CBME emerged to address the accountability of medical education in response to growing concerns about the patient safety in North America in the 1970s, and the number of medical schools adopting CBME has dramatically increased since 1990. In Korea, CBME has been under consideration as an alternative curriculum model to reform medical education since 2006. The purpose of this paper is three-fold: (1) to review the literature on CBME to identify the challenges and benefits reported in North America, (2) to summarize the process and experiences of planning and implementing CBME at Inje University College of Medicine, and finally (3) to provide recommendations for Korean medical schools to be better prepared for the successful adoption of CBME. In conclusion, one of the key factors for successful CBME implementation in Korea is how well an individual school can modify the current curriculum and rearrange the existing resources in a way that will enhance students' competencies while maximizing the strengths of the school's existing curriculum.

• Korean Medical Education Review
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.111-118
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• 2014

Over the last century, medical education in North America has evolved by identifying educational challenges within its own socio-cultural context and by appropriately responding to these challenges. A discipline-based curriculum, organ-system or integrated curriculum, problem-based curriculum, and competency-based curriculum are historical examples of the educational solutions that have been developed and refined to address specific educational challenges, such as students' lack of basic scientific knowledge, lack of integration between scientific knowledge and clinical practice, and lack of clinical practice. In contrast, Korean medical education has evolved with the influence of two forces: (1) the adoption of educational solutions developed in North America by pioneers who have identified urgent needs for medical education reform in Korea over the last three decades, and (2) the revitalization of Korean medical schools' curricula through medical education accreditation and national medical licensing examination. Despite this progressive evolution in Korean medical education, we contend that it faces two major challenges in order to advance to the next level. First, Korean medical education should identify its own problems in medical education and iteratively develop educational solutions within its own socio-cultural context. Secondly, to raise reflective doctors who have scientific knowledge and professional commitment to deal with different types of medical problems within a continuum from well-defined to ill-defined, medical education should develop innovative ways to provide students with a balanced spectrum of clinical problems, including uncertain, ill-defined problems.

• Research in Community and Public Health Nursing
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.437-449
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• 2001

Purpose: To understand the development of nursing education of North Korea after 1945. Method: First, collecting primary sources published in NK. Second, collecting secondary sources published in South Korea. Third, interview with South Korean medical personnels who visited NK. Forth, interview with medical personnels who escaped NK. Result: After 1945 NK increased health care facilities in short time and had the policy of training medical personnel in short time. Nursing education was focused on the basic practice. NK could begin free medical treatment for the laborer in 1947. Post Korean War restoration and free medical treatment system of national level in 1950s and 1960s served to the health promotion of NK population. The medical personnel training policy continued and the number of R.N. in NK had increased 13 times in 15 years. NK has tried to increase the quality of health care service and medical personnel since 1970s. Nursing education in medical colleges is three-year course but 6 month training courses in general hospitals continue. They focus on primary prevention and oriental medicine in nursing curriculum reflecting the characteristics of NK medial care. But English and high technology is very poor, and there is no computer related curriculum. Conclusion: nursing education in NK has developed reflecting the changes of NK society and health care since 1945. After 1980s NK is in deep economic depression and it is hard to recover from the state with their hands. In this state, we cannot expect the development of nursing education in NK.

• Journal of Information Science Theory and Practice
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.14-30
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• 2023

The purpose of this study is to compare research trends in the information and communication technology (ICT) field between North and South Korea and analyze the differences by using data mining. Frequency analysis, clustering, and network analysis were performed using keywords from seven South Korean and two North Korean ICT academic journals published for five years (2015-2019). In the case of South Korea (S. Korea), the frequency of research on image processing and wireless communication was high at 16.7% and 16.3%, respectively. North Korea (N. Korea) had a high frequency of research, in the order of 18.2% for image processing, 16.9% for computer/Internet applications/security, and 16.4% for industrial technology. N. Korea's natural language processing (NLP) sector was 11.9%, far higher than S. Korea's 0.7 percent. Student education is a unique subject that is not clustered in S. Korea. In order to promote exchanges between the two Koreas in the ICT field, the following specific policies are proposed. Joint research will be easily possible in the image processing sector, with the highest research rate in both Koreas. Technical cooperation of medical images is required. If S. Korea's high-quality image source is provided free of charge to N. Korea, research materials can be enriched. In the field of NLP, it calls for proposing exchanges such as holding a Korean language information conference, developing a Korean computer operating system. The field of student education encourages support for remote education contents and management know-how, as well as joint research on student remote evaluation.

• Journal of dental hygiene science
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.63-69
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• 2021

Background: This study aimed to identify the role of dental hygienists in exchanges between North and South Korea to lower gaps in the level of dental healthcare between the two countries by conducting a Delphi survey with specialists and identifying alternative policies regarding the utilization of dental hygienists in such exchanges. Methods: Two Delphi surveys were conducted with the participation of nine specialists, and descriptive statistical analyses including mean and standard deviation were performed on the collected data. Results: Among methods of exchange and cooperation regarding oral healthcare under the current North Korean medical system, the issue considered most urgent was the "establishment of oral healthcare infrastructure." The most important short-term strategy was identified as the "selection and formation of partnerships in the field of inter-Korean oral health exchange and cooperation." The mid-term strategy was identified as the "establishment of cooperation in the dental industry, centered on educational cooperation projects." The long-term strategy included "joint R&D projects, oral health surveys, and business development." In order to determine how best to use dental hygienists during inter-Korean exchanges and cooperation, the respondents placed urgency on the "establishment of joint cooperation projects for oral health promotion and early examination and the treatment of dental diseases and planning of community research projects" and "the role of oral health education and media development for residents." Conclusion: Cooperation is necessary regarding the preparation of oral healthcare exchanges that aim to encourage unity between North and South Korea and reduce the gaps between the North and South regarding oral health conditions. Therefore, continuous and reasonable discussions and research are needed regarding the utilization of dental hygienists in such exchanges.

• Convergence Security Journal
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.159-164
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• 2017

The international community recognizes North Korea's nuclear and missile provocation as a real threat. This is due to the analysis and evaluation that has developed nuclear electro magnetic pulse of domestic and overseas North Korea experts, intelligence agencies related to electro magnetic pulse. Electro magnetic pulse experts are concerned about North Korea's nuclear electro magnetic pulse in the following aspects. First, industrial, military, medical, and living facilities in modern society are constructed with electrical and electronic systems. So, All electrical and electronic appliances will become neutralization if North Korea's nuclear electro magnetic pulse was set off over the world(i.e. Korean Peninsula, United States etc). Second, North Korea will judge that possibility of criticism by the international community is low from the point of view of an attacker. Because nuclear electro magnetic pulse aim to destroy only the electronic equipment of the opposite nation and cause damage rather than taking life. Finally, nuclear electro magnetic pulse is more threatening than weapons like mass destruction because it does not need to hit targets accurately and can strike a wide area with nuclear weapon of the low technology levels. In this respect, we will analyze and evaluate nuclear and missile development and make a prospects about nuclear electro magnetic pulse developed by North Korea.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.44 no.4 s.140
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• pp.285-294
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• 2006

Changing patterns of the reemerging Plasmodium vivax malaria in the Republic of Korea (South Korea) during the period 1993 to 2005 are briefly analyzed with emphasis on the control measures used and the effects of meteorological and entomological factors. Data were obtained from the Communicable Diseases Monthly Reports published by the Korea Center for Disease Control and Prevention, and webpages of World Health Organization and United Nations. Meteorological data of Kangwon-do (Province) were obtained from local weather stations. After its first reemergence in 1993, the prevalence of malaria increased exponentially, peaking in 2000, and then decreased. In total, 21,419 cases were reported between 1993 and 2005 in South Korea. In North Korea, a total of 916,225 cases were reported between 1999 and 2004. The occurrence of malaria in high risk areas of South Korea was significantly (P < 0.05) correlated with the mosquito population but not with temperature and rainfall, Control programs, including early case detection and treatment, mass chemoprophylaxis of soldiers, and international financial aids to North Korea for malaria control have been instituted. The situation of the reemerging vivax malaria in the Republic of Korea is remarkably improving during the recent years, at least in part, due to the control activities undertaken in South and North Korea.

• Journal of Pharmaceutical Investigation
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• v.34 no.5
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• pp.427-433
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• 2004

With the Sunshine policy, exchange of materials and cultures inter Koreas has been broadened and expectancy of reunification is getting higher. Especially, medical supplies and medicines are one of the biggest parts in the exchange goods. So, preparing an unified official drug standard preparing new medical administration system is required. We compared the Korean pharmacopoeia with North Korean Pharmacopoeia. Two pharmacopoeias have been developed in different direction and have many differences in the nomenclature and format. In this study, we compared general notices, general rules for preparations and crude drugs, monographs, general tests, processes and apparatus.