• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• 제51권2호
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• pp.109-120
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• 2018

Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the current status of infectious disease research in North Korea by analyzing recent trends in medical journals from North Korea in comparison with research from South Korea. Methods: Three medical journals (Preventive Medicine, Basic Medicine, and Chosun Medicine) were analyzed from 2012 to 2016. Articles on tuberculosis (TB), malaria, and parasitic diseases were selected and classified by their subtopics and study areas. Two medical journals published in the South Korea were selected for a comparative analysis of research trends. Results: Of the 2792 articles that were reviewed, 93 were extracted from North Korea journals. TB research in North Korea was largely focused on multi-drug resistant TB and extrapulmonary TB, whereas research in South Korea more frequently investigated non-tuberculous mycobacteria. Research on parasitic diseases in North Korea was focused on protozoan and intestinal nematodes, while the corresponding South Korea research investigated various species of parasites. Additionally, the studies conducted in North Korea were more likely to investigate the application of traditional medicine to diagnosis and treatment than those conducted in South Korea. Conclusions: This study presents an analysis of research trends in preventive medicine in North Korea focusing on infectious diseases, in which clear differences were observed between South and North Korea. Trends in research topics suggest a high prevalence of certain parasitic diseases in North Korea that are no longer widespread in South Korea. The large proportion of studies examining traditional medicine implies a lack of affordable medicine in North Korea.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• 제41권6호
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• pp.365-372
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• 2008

Objectives : There are very few researches on North Korea's academic activities. Furthermore, it is doubtful that the available data are reliable. This study investigated research activities and knowledge structure in the field of Preventive Medicine in North Korea with a network analysis using co-authors and keywords. Methods : The data was composed of the North Korean Journal of preventive medicine ranged from Vol. 1 of 1997 to Vol. 4 of 2006. It was the matrix of 1,172 articles by 1,567 co-authors. We applied R procedure for keywords abstraction, and then sought for the outcome of network forms by spring-KK and shrinking network. Results : To comprehend the whole networks explicitly demonstrated that the academic activities in North Korea s preventive medicine were predisposed to centralization as similar as South Korea's, but on the other aspect they were prone to one-off intermittent segmentation. The principal co-author networks were formulated around some outstanding medical universities seemingly in addition to possible intervention by major researchers. The knowledge structure of network was based on experimentation judging from keywords such as drug, immunity, virus detection, infection, bacteria, anti-inflammation, etc. Conclusions : Though North Korea is a socialist regime, there were network of academic activities, which were deemed the existence of inducive mechanism affordable for free research. Article keywords has laid greater emphasis on experiment-based bacterial defection, sustainable immune system and prevention of infection. The kind of trend was a consistent characteristic in preventive medicine of North Korea haying close correlation with Koryo medical science.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• 제33권3호
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• pp.373-382
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• 2000

Objectives : The most frequently cited health related slogan in North Korea is that socialistic medicine is preventive medicine. It implies that North Korea puts preventive medicine at the operational center of its national health care system. This study aimed at examining and comparing preventive medicine practices in North Korea with those of South Korea. Methods : Efforts have been made to obtain a textbook for analysis its contents. Many people have iassisted in the study by joining the interview. Some of these people are as follows : a former professor of PyongYang Medical School, NK physicians living in South Korea, WHO staffs, diplomatic officials, etc. The major items of analysis consisted of industrial medicine and hygiene, nutrition, school health, epidemiology, health statistics and heath policy & management. Results : Public health philosophy is finely noted and well integrated in the operation of the North Korean national health care system, particularly in the area of industrial medicine and hygiene. Preventive medicine with a strong health surveillance system spanning a number of broad social organizations is a major tool to improve the health of the people in North Korea. The emphasis on preventive medicine has a close relationship with the 'Juche Philosophy' and the shortage of pharmaceuticals and medical equipment. To cope with the shortage problem, North Korean health workers are encouraged to grow medicinal herbs. We have found that they put little effort into teaching newly emerging diseases, such as AIDS, VDT syndrome, hazards of EMF, and agricultural chemical poisonings. Of the subjects of the preventive medicine text, 78.9% coincide with those of South Korean industrial health manuals and 34.2% with South Korean epidemiology texts. However, an absolute difference was found to exist between the health policies and management systems. Conclusion : In North Korea, the concept of preventive medicine functions as the basic philosophic strategy of the national health care system. It differs greatly from the South Korean system in both practice and educational content. Its contribution to society is simply incomparable to that of South Korea. More communication and further study is called for in order to improve the preventive medicine practices in the future.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• 제46권3호
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• pp.111-117
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• 2013

This article evaluates the overall current disease burden of North Korea through the recent databases of international organizations. It is notable that North Korea as a nation is exhibiting a relatively low burden from deaths and that there is greater burden from deaths caused by non-communicable diseases than from those caused by communicable diseases and malnutrition. However, the absolute magnitude of problems from communicable diseases like TB and from child malnutrition, which will increase the disease burden in the future, remains great. North Korea, which needs to handle both communicable and nutritional conditions, and non-communicable diseases, whose burden is ever more increasing in the nation, can now be understood as a country with the 'double-burden' of disease.

• Health Policy and Management
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• 제25권1호
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• pp.22-30
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• 2015

Background: This study investigated the health behaviors of North Korean, multicultural, and Korean family adolescents in Korea. Methods: The study subjects were from the Korea youth risk behavior web-based survey (2011-2013) dataset. We identified 1,954 multicultural family adolescents and twice as many Korean family adolescents. Frequency analysis was used to assess nativity and nationality of the parents, and the chi-square test was used to compare the general characteristics and health behavior of the multicultural and Korean families. Conditional multiple logistic regression was used to compare health behavior between multicultural and Korean families. Results: Of the 5,862 multicultural and Korean family adolescents, current smoking in North Korean family adolescents was higher than Korean family adolescents (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 2.32; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.60-3.35) after adjusting for sex, school year, perceived school record, family structure, father's education, mother's education, perceived economic status, place of residence, and survey year. A high drinking rate was significantly greater in North Korean family adolescents compared to Korean family adolescents (aOR, 2.94; 95% CI, 1.89-4.57). Odds ratios for sufficient physical activity of vigorous intensity (aOR, 1.82; 95% CI, 1.31-2.54) were significantly higher in North Korean family adolescents than in Korean family adolescents. Fast food intake (aOR, 1.96; 95% CI, 1.34-2.86) was significantly higher in North Korean family adolescents compared to Korean family adolescents. Conclusion: There were differences in health behavior between North Korean, multicultural, and Korean family adolescents. Further studies are needed to investigate the factors associated with these differences.

• Journal of Society of Preventive Korean Medicine
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• 제25권2호
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• pp.33-43
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• 2021

Objectives : This study seeks to grasp the current status of Koryo medical research in North Korea, by focusing on researchers and research topics. Methods : A network analysis of co-authors and keyword which were extracted from Koryo Medicine - a North Korean traditional medicine journal, was conducted. Results : The results of author network analysis was a sparse network due to the low correlation between authors. The domain-wide network density of co-authors was 0.001, with a diameter of 14, average distance between nodes 4.029, and average binding coefficient 0.029. The results of the keyword network analysis showed the keyword "traditional medicine" had the strongest correlation weight of 228. Other keywords with high correlation weight was common acupuncture (84) and intradermal acupuncture(80). Conclusions : Although the co-authors of the Koryo Medicine did not have a high correlation with each other, they were able to identify key researchers considered important for each major sub-network. In addition, the keywords of the Koryo Medicine journals had a very high linkage to herbal medicines.

• Journal of Society of Preventive Korean Medicine
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• 제4권2호
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• pp.108-118
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• 2000

According to the North Korean documents , North Korean government have emphasized the development of the Koryo medicine (traditional korean medicine) and encouraged the combination of the Koryo and the modern medicine. It is regarded that this attitude arose from the ruler's will toward independency in the medical field and at the same time the lack of modern medical resources . Combinations of the Koryo medicine and the modern medicine in the clinical textbooks are classified as follows: first, mixed medication of the Koryo and the modern medicine. Second, combination of the traditional acupuncture(or moxibustion) and the medication of modern medicines. Third, injection of modern medicines at acupoints. Forth, an intramuscular or an intravenous injection of the Koryo medicine. Fifth, anesthesia using Koryo medicine. Sixth, simple surgery at the acupoints. Lastly, combination of injection and the traditional therapy(eg. acupuncture, moxibustion and cupping) Despite of many achievements in the field of combined medical treatment, recent economic failure and severe famine for several years caused collapse of the health care delivery system in North Korea, and it is hard to find combined practices actually.

• Journal of Society of Preventive Korean Medicine
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• 제24권3호
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• pp.15-25
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• 2020

Background : Mutual understanding between North and South Korea is essential for the engagement of Inter-Korean exchange and cooperation. However, the two Koreas have been divided for 70 years where Korean evolved differently within the two countries. This created a gap in the most basic foundation for mutual understanding, language. Fostering exchange and cooperation in the traditional medicine field requires a higher understanding of the specialized traditional medicine terminologies. Objectives : The purpose of this study is to formulate a future management plan for the "Comparative Terminology of Korean Medicine in South and North Korea," providing a foundation for standardizing Korean medicine terminology of the two Koreas. Methods : The study collected case studies of Korean medicine terminology management and standardization from government and international organization websites and documents. It provided future terminology management strategies based on this data. Results : The project for the standardization of Korean medicine terminology between North and South Korea can be divided into 4 stages according to the level of exchange and cooperation. The first step is to "establish a foundation for terminology standardization." The second step is "term comparison." If the exchanges and cooperation between North and South Korea, the third step will be to promote the "terminology standardization" project through Inter-Korean dialogue. Finally, after incorporating discussion on terminology standardization, the Inter-Korean Medicine Terminology can be published. Conclusions : This requires a system to support and facilitate Inter-Korean medicine exchange and cooperation. It is important to provide a support system that can provide results in a timely fashion by training relevant experts, collecting data and information, communicating with experts in the industry, academia and research institutes. This system will be able to ensure the continuity of the terminology standardization project.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• 제46권3호
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• pp.134-138
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• 2013

This road map aims to establish a stable and integrated healthcare system for the Korean Peninsula by improving health conditions and building a foundation for healthcare in North Korea through a series of effective healthcare programs. With a basic time frame extending from the present in stages towards unification, the roadmap is composed of four successive phases. The first and second phases, each expected to last five years, respectively, focus on disease treatment and nutritional treatment. These phases would thereby safeguard the health of the most vulnerable populations in North Korea, while fulfilling the basic health needs of other groups by modernizing existing medical facilities. Based on the gains of the first two phases, the third phase, for ten years, would prepare for unification of the Koreas by promoting the health of all the North Korean people and improving basic infrastructural elements such as health workforce capacity and medical institutions. The fourth phase, assuming that unification will take place, provides fundamental principles and directions for establishing an integrated healthcare system across the Korean Peninsula. We are hoping to increase the consistency of the program and overcome several existing concerns of the current program with this roadmap.

• 대한예방의학회:학술대회논문집
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• 대한예방의학회 2000년도 제52차 추계학술대회 연제집
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• pp.332-333
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• 2000