Capitalist landownership and state policy in 1989-1990 in Korea

In 1989, the Korea government enacted the new land acts to remedy-land speculation. And following that successively in 1990, the government ordered that large capitalists (chaebol) sell their large landholding to others who are end users. Examining changes in the Korean land policy promulgated in those years, this paper argues that land-owning chaebol prevented any substantial social transformation. Referring to these experiences, the author concludes that land-owning chaebol are likely to hinder the implementation of progressive land reforms under the Kim government

Environmental Movements Against Golf Course Development in Korea since the Late 1980s

This paper examines environmental activism against the development of golf courses in Korea from 1980 to 1990. The author demonstrates that golf course development is accelerated by profit-seeking land developers or speculators and that windfall gains resulting from land value increments further the development of golf course. This study shows that in terms of golf course development the state and capitalists have almost the same interests as the developers, and that, farmers, as the victims, have organized an environmental movement against the development. In the course of the movement, the nature of the movement has changed from a reparation one to an environmental one. At the same time, the organizations have grown from the villagewide level to the province-wide level. Despite this development, the organizations at the province-wide level do not work well, and their strategies are not well-developed, resulting in a failure to mobilize. In addition, though the water pollution from golf course development can threaten the life of urban people, citizens of the Seoul metropolitan area have not actively participated in these movements; therefore, coalition between farmers and citizens has been hard to mobilize

Increased Risk of Dementia in Patients with Atopic Dermatitis: A Nationwide Population-Based Cohort Study

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronic inflammatory skin disorder with bimodal incidence peaks in early childhood and middle-aged and older adults. Few studies have focused on the risk of dementia in AD. The aims of this study were to analyse the incidence, and risk factors for dementia in patients with AD. This nationwide population-based retrospective cohort study enrolled 38,391 adults ≥ 40 years of age with AD and 2,643,602 controls without AD from the Korean National Health Insurance System (NHIS) database from 2009 to 2016. The cumulative incidence probability of all-cause dementia, Alzheimer\u27s disease, or vascular dementia at 8 years was 50, 39, and 7 per 1,000 person-years in patients with AD, respectively. The adjusted risks of all-cause dementia (hazard ratio (HR), 1.072; 95% confidence interval (95% CI) 1.026-1.120), and Alzheimer\u27s disease (HR 1.051; 95% CI 1.000-1.104) were increased in patients with AD. The effect of AD on the development of all-cause dementia and Alzheimer\u27s dementia varied according to age and diabetes mellitus (all p for interaction, \u3c 0.05). The risks of all-cause dementia and Alzheimer\u27s disease were increased in patients with AD. Management of modifiable risk factors is important for preventing dementia in patients with AD

Atopic Dermatitis and the Risk of Myocardial Infarction and All-Cause Mortality: A Nationwide Population-Based Cohort Study

PURPOSE: Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronic inflammatory skin disorder associated with various comorbidities. However, inconsistent results on the risk of myocardial infarction (MI) and mortality have been reported in patients with AD. This study was aimed to evaluate the risk of MI and all-cause mortality in patients with AD. METHODS: This nationwide population-based retrospective cohort study enrolled 56,205 adults ≥ 20 years of age with AD and 3,825,609 controls without AD from the Korean National Health Service (NHIS) database from 2009 to 2016. RESULTS: The risk of MI (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR], 1.111, 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.050-1.176) was increased in patients with AD. By AD severity, patients with moderate-to-severe AD had a higher risk of MI (aHR, 1.163, 95% CI, 1.080-1.251) than individuals without AD. The risk of all-cause mortality was only increased for patients with moderate-to-severe AD (aHR, 1.096, 95% CI, 1.040-1.155) compared to individuals without AD. In subgroup analysis, an increased risk of MI was observed in female, non-obese, non-smoking, non-diabetic, and non-dyslipidemic patients with moderate-to-severe AD compared to individuals without AD. An increased risk of all-cause mortality was observed in patients with moderate-to-severe AD compared to non-AD controls among individuals ≥60 years of age and non-smokers. CONCLUSIONS: The risk of MI and all-cause death was increased in patients with moderate-to-severe AD. Even without well-known risk factors for MI and mortality, patients with AD require the proper management and screening for comorbidities to prevent MI and decrease all-cause mortality

How to Use Community Conditional Cash Transfers and Inter-Village Competition for Rural Development, South Korea (1970–1979)

The “Saemaul Undong” (New Village Movement) was an iconic national rural development program undertaken in the early phases of rapid economic growth in the Republic of Korea. Begun in 1970, the Saemaul Undong was implemented by the national government in partnership with rural villagers. The government provided physical and technological resources to support development projects that were carried out and proposed by villages; at the same time, the government played a role in suggesting priority programs for villages to undertake. In 1970, the government launched the Saemaul Undong to direct additional efforts to rural areas, where most Koreans still resided. A key aspect of the Saemaul Undong was the use of community conditional cash transfer (CCCT) mechanisms to facilitate and incentivize grassroots-level engagement. The conditional cash transfers aimed to encourage villagers to develop an entrepreneurial, self-reliant mindset, and to undertake development activities: after the initial infusion of resources in the program’s first phase, cash transfers were given only to villages that met preset government criteria, such as reaching a household income target, and the establishment of infrastructure in individual households and farming facilities. The amount of money held by the village development fund—a community credit cooperative for village development activities—was another criterion. The differentiated amount of cash transfers between villages then led to inter-village competition to secure further resources for development. This case study (prepared by Do Hyun Han and Casper Hendrik Claassen) and delivery note (adapted by Yoon Jung Lee from the original case study

Monitoring of multi-frequency polarization of gamma-ray bright AGNs

We started two observing programs with the Korean VLBI Network (KVN) monitoring changes in the flux density and polarization of relativistic jets in gamma-ray bright AGNs simultaneously at 22, 43, 86, 129 GHz. One is a single-dish weekly-observing program in dual polarization with KVN 21-m diameter radio telescopes beginning in 2011 May. The other is a VLBI monthly-observing program with the three-element VLBI network at an angular resolution range of 1.0--9.2 mas beginning in 2012 December. The monitoring observations aim to study correlation of variability in gamma-ray with that in radio flux density and polarization of relativistic jets when they flare up. These observations enable us to study the origin of the gamma-ray flares of AGNs.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, Proceedings of the conference "The innermost regions of relativistic jets and their magnetic fields", Granada, Spai

Effect of Chronic Rhinosinusitis With or Without Nasal Polyp on Quality of Life in South Korea: 5th Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey Korean

Objectives This is the first study of its kind to investigate the relationship between chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) with or without nasal polyps (NP) and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in the general adult Korean population. We sought to evaluate the association after adjustment for confounding factors. We also evaluated HRQoL according to presence of NP in CRS patients. Methods In this cross-sectional study we used nationally representative samples from the 5th Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2010–2012). A total of 17,490 participants were included in the study, of which 613 were diagnosed with CRS. Univariate analysis was conducted on healthy versus CRS groups, segregated by gender with weighted prevalence of demographic characteristics, socioeconomic status, and comorbid diseases. Subanalysis was carried out to evaluate the relationship between CRS with or without NP and HRQoL using EuroQol 5-dimension (EQ-5D) and visual analog scale (EQ-VAS). The odds ratios for EQ-5D were estimated by multiple logistic regression analyses with confounder adjustment. Results Weighted prevalence of CRS of adult male was found to be 3.7% and CRS with nasal polyps (CRSwNP) 0.5%, while female CRS was 3.3% and CRSwNP 0.3%. There was no significant difference between the groups (P#x0003d;0.332). The scores for female, EQ-5D index (P for trend<0.001) and EQ-VAS (P for trend=0.002) showed decreasing trend from healthy participants to CRS without nasal polyps (CRSsNP) and from CRSsNp to CRSwNP. After adjusting for demographic characteristics, socioeconomic status, and comorbid diseases, EQ-5D scores; EQ-5D index (P<0.001) and EQ-VAS (P<0.001) exhibited poorer HRQoL compared to healthy participants, exclusively within the female group. Conclusion These data suggest that female patients with CRS are at higher risk of poor HRQoL. In addition, HRQoL of female CRSwNP was lower compared to those of CRSsNP and healthy participants

TSLP Induces Mast Cell Development and Aggravates Allergic Reactions through the Activation of MDM2 and STAT6

Thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP) is known to promote T helper type 2 cell–associated inflammation. Mast cells are major effector cells in allergic inflammatory responses. We noted that the population and maturation of mast cells were reduced in TSLP-deficient mice (TSLP-/-). Thus, we hypothesized that TSLP might affect mast cell development. We found that TSLP induced the proliferation and differentiation of mast cells from bone marrow progenitors. TSLP-induced mast cell proliferation was abolished by depletion of mouse double minute 2 (MDM2) and signal transducers and activators of transcription 6 (STAT6), as an upstream activator of MDM2. TSLP-/-, in particular, had a considerable deficit in the expression of MDM2 and STAT6. Also, the TSLP deficiency attenuated mast cell–mediated allergic reactions through the downregulation of STAT6 and MDM2. In an antibody microarray chip analysis, MDM2 expression was increased in atopic dermatitis patients. These observations indicate that TSLP is a factor for mast cell development, and that it aggravates mast cell–mediated immune responses