We introduce KRED (Korea Research Economic Database), a FRED-MD-compatible monthly macroeconomic database for Korea designed for data-rich policy analysis and cross-country comparison. KRED contains 125 monthly series from ECOS, KOSIS, and administrative labor-market sources, with coverage back to 1960. Using a balanced panel of 104 series over 2009:06--2025:12, principal-components analysis extracts four factors that explain about 30% of total variation. These factors correspond to financial conditions, real activity, housing and real-estate credit, and labor-market and price pressures, and their diffusion indices summarize major Korean macroeconomic episodes. We then use KRED in two empirical applications. First, factor-augmented VARs show that U.S. monetary tightening transmits strongly to Korea and that factor augmentation yields a more coherent inflation response than a low-dimensional VAR. Second, a grouped U.S.--Korea tensor autoregression shows that cross-country dependence is concentrated in financially oriented blocks, with stronger transmission from the U.S. financial block to Korea than in the reverse direction, while spillovers in real activity and housing are much wea
Higher education has expanded worldwide, with women outpacing men in many regions. While educational attainment is consistently linked to better physical health, its mental health effects - particularly for women - remain underexplored, and causal evidence is limited. We estimate the impact of college completion on depression among middle-aged women in South Korea, leveraging the 1993 higher education reform, which raised women's college attainment by 45 percentage points (pp) over the following decade. We use two nationally representative datasets to triangulate evidence, including the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES, 2007-2021) for physician-diagnosed depression, and the Korean Longitudinal Survey of Women and Families (KLoWF, 2007-2022) to validate findings using self-reports of depressive symptoms. We implement two-stage least squares (2SLS) with a birth-cohort instrument based on exposure to the reform (within 3 years of the cutoff in KNHANES and within 1 to 3 years in KLoWF). In KNHANES, college completion lowers physician-diagnosed depression by 2.4 pp, attenuating to 1.6 pp after adjusting for income, employment, and physical health. In KLoWF
Mental health difficulties among elementary school students represent a growing public health concern in South Korea, yet analytical tools for identifying school-specific vulnerability patterns from item response data remain limited. We propose the hierarchical latent space item response model (HLSIRM), which adds hierarchical respondent effects and an inner-product latent interaction for signed respondent-item associations, yielding a unified interaction map that separates school, individual main effects from school/individual-item interactions. We apply HLSIRM to mental health vulnerability data from 2,210 elementary school students across 35 schools in Incheon, South Korea. Clustering item vectors by directional similarity identifies four empirically derived vulnerability domains. School-level analysis reveals that the absence of counseling experience is the primary vulnerability domain aligned with most school vectors, while stress, depression, and smartphone dependency concentrate in specific schools. Within-school analysis demonstrates how individual student positions in the interaction map translate into targeted intervention strategies that address school-specific needs.
The Electron-Ion Collider (EIC) is a next-generation particle accelerator facility designed to probe the fundamental structure of matter such as the origins of nucleon mass, spin, and the dynamic behavior of quarks and gluons within nucleon and nucleus. As the electromagnetic calorimeter in the barrel region, the Barrel Imaging Calorimeter (BIC) is tasked with precise energy measurements of electrons and photons as well as efficient separation of these particles from background pions. The BIC integrates Pb/SciFi sampling layers and AstroPix silicon pixel sensors for three-dimensional shower imaging. The Korean group has actively contributed through silicon chip testing, module assembly, prototype development, beam test, readout system design, and detailed simulations. This presentation highlights the recent progress and plans for the R\&D of the Barrel Imaging Calorimeter in Korea.
Hallucination in large language models (LLMs) remains a significant challenge for their safe deployment, particularly due to its potential to spread misinformation. Most existing solutions address this challenge by focusing on aligning the models with credible sources or by improving how models communicate their confidence (or lack thereof) in their outputs. While these measures may be effective in most contexts, they may fall short in scenarios requiring more nuanced approaches, especially in situations where access to accurate data is limited or determining credible sources is challenging. In this study, we take North Korea - a country characterised by an extreme lack of reliable sources and the prevalence of sensationalist falsehoods - as a case study. We explore and evaluate how some of the best-performing multilingual LLMs and specific language-based models generate information about North Korea in three languages spoken in countries with significant geo-political interests: English (United States, United Kingdom), Korean (South Korea), and Mandarin Chinese (China). Our findings reveal significant differences, suggesting that the choice of model and language can lead to vastly
Social media use has been shown to be associated with low fertility desires. However, we know little about the discourses surrounding childbirth and parenthood that people consume online. We analyze 219,127 comments on 668 short videos related to reproduction and parenthood from Douyin and Tiktok in China, South Korea, and Japan, a region famous for its extremely low fertility level, to examine the topics and sentiment expressed online. BERTopic model is used to assist thematic analysis, and a large language model QWen is applied to label sentiment. We find that comments focus on childrearing costs in all countries, utility of children, particularly in Japan and South Korea, and individualism, primarily in China. Comments from Douyin exhibit the strongest anti-natalist sentiments, while the Japanese and Korean comments are more neutral. Short video characteristics, such as their stances or account type, significantly influence the responses, alongside regional socioeconomic indicators, including GDP, urbanization, and population sex ratio. This work provides one of the first comprehensive analyses of online discourses on family formation via popular algorithm-fed video sharing plat
Digital gift-giving has become a key means of maintaining social relationships, but most existing research has focused on gifting within global e-commerce or social media platforms. The emergence of messenger-based gifting in East Asia, where Korea, Japan, and China each have distinct and deeply rooted gifting traditions, remains underexplored. This study examines how in-app gifting services on the most widely used messaging platforms in South Korea (KakaoTalk), Japan (LINE), and China (WeChat) reflect and reshape culturally embedded gifting practices. Through semi-structured interviews with 26 university students, we found that KakaoTalk facilitates frequent, informal exchanges aligned with Korea's emphasis on broad social ties; LINE supports selective and carefully presented gifts, reflecting Japanese norms of formality and sincerity; and WeChat's Hongbao feature enables playful, communal monetary exchanges largely detached from traditional, obligation-driven gifting. Drawing on these findings, we propose the Channel-Oriented Gifting Cycle model, which extends classical gift-exchange theory by showing that the choice of gifting platform is not merely logistical but a culturally m
Tropical cyclone-induced coastal hazards can significantly damage coastal infrastructure, and these risks may intensify under future climate change. As a result, there is increasing interest in conducting comprehensive assessments of coastal hazards-including storm surge, storm wind, storm rainfall, and their combined impacts-associated with tropical cyclone events. Risk assessments that overlook the compounding nature of these hazards may lead to ineffective or insufficient mitigation strategies. This study seeks to identify and evaluate the available data, models, and methodologies for assessing both individual and compound typhoon-induced hazards in South Korea. Particular effort is devoted to exploring how established approaches from the North Atlantic region can be adapted, integrated, and extended for application in the South Korean context. Multiple sites across South Korea are analyzed to illustrate the strengths and limitations of these methods.
ALICE 3 is the proposed next-generation heavy-ion experiment at the CERN Large Hadron Collider (LHC), envisioned for operation during Run 5. The tracking system of ALICE 3 will consist of a high-precision vertex detector integrated into a retractable structure inside the beam pipe, complemented by a large-area outer tracker covering a broad pseudorapidity range. Both systems will be based on the Monolithic Active Pixel Sensor (MAPS) technology, building upon the developments realized for the recently upgraded ALICE Inner Tracking System (ITS2) and the future ITS3 upgrade. The total silicon area of the ALICE 3 tracking system is expected to be approximately five times larger than that of ITS2, presenting significant challenges in terms of large-scale sensor testing and module production. To address these challenges, research and development activities have been initiated in Korea, including the adaptation of an automated die-attach machine, commonly used in the semiconductor packaging industry, for efficient sensor-to-substrate assembly. This contribution presents the ongoing efforts of the Korea ALICE group toward the development and production of the ALICE 3 silicon tracker. The s
This paper analyzes the excessive risk perception of Korea as one of the causes of the international dispute over the import of Fukushima food between Korea and Japan. To do this, it compares the perception of Fukushima food among Koreans and people from other countries through a survey and identifies the factors that affect the perception through a linear regression analysis. As a result, it finds that Koreans have a higher negative perception of Fukushima food than people from other countries and that this is related to the level of knowledge about radiation and the evaluation of the Fukushima nuclear power plant accident response. It also presents the subjective opinion of the author that political conflicts between Korea and Japan may affect the perception gap and international disputes. This paper proposes a model of risk perception and decision-making process for Fukushima food and emphasizes the need to improve the risk perception of Koreans through public education and publicity campaigns.
Improved hygiene and infant vaccinations have led to age specific variations in hepatitis A antibody prevalence in Korea, with lower rates among individuals in their 20s to 40s. Given that the fatality rate of hepatitis A increases for those aged 50 and older, the low immunity level among younger adults indicates a future risk of increased deaths in older age groups without additional preventive measures.We developed an age structured transmission model to assess the impact of adult vaccination, assuming it begins in 2025. The 20s age group was modeled with an additional compartment to account for hepatitis A vaccination administered to military recruits. Vaccination strategies targeting the 20s to 30s and 40s to 50s age groups were compared, considering antibody testing costs for the latter in Korea and focusing on projected deaths over approximately 50 years. When the total vaccination cost is fixed, targeting the 40s to 50s group covers 20% fewer individuals than the 20s to 30s group but yields a 1.3 to 1.5 fold greater reduction in deaths. When the total vaccine supply is fixed, targeting the 40s to 50s group is 1.2 times more expensive but yields a 1.7 to 1.8 fold greater redu
The adoption of open science has quickly changed how artificial intelligence (AI) policy research is distributed globally. This study examines the regional trends in the citation of preprints, specifically focusing on the impact of two major disruptive events: the COVID-19 pandemic and the release of ChatGPT, on research dissemination patterns in the United States, Europe, and South Korea from 2015 to 2024. Using bibliometrics data from the Web of Science, this study tracks how global disruptive events influenced the adoption of preprints in AI policy research and how such shifts vary by region. By marking the timing of these disruptive events, the analysis reveals that while all regions experienced growth in preprint citations, the magnitude and trajectory of change varied significantly. The United States exhibited sharp, event-driven increases; Europe demonstrated institutional growth; and South Korea maintained consistent, linear growth in preprint adoption. These findings suggest that global disruptions may have accelerated preprint adoption, but the extent and trajectory are shaped by local research cultures, policy environments, and levels of open science maturity. This paper
This study examines the feasibility and profitability of utilizing surplus electricity for Bitcoin mining. Surplus electricity refers to the remaining electricity after net metering, which can be repurposed for Bitcoin mining to improve Korea Electric Power Corporation's (KEPCO) energy resource efficiency and alleviate its debt challenges. Net metering (or net energy metering) is an electricity billing mechanism that allows consumers who generate some or all of their own electricity to use that electricity when they want, rather than when it is produced. Using the latest Bitcoin miner, the Antminer S21 XP Hyd, the study evaluates daily Bitcoin mining when operating at 30,565 and 45,439 units, incorporating Bitcoin network hash rates to assess profitability. To examine profitability, the Random Forest Regressor and Long Short-Term Memory models were used to predict the Bitcoin price. The analysis shows that the use of excess electricity for Bitcoin mining not only generates economic revenue, but also minimizes energy loss, reduces debt, and resolves unsettled payment issues for KEPCO. This study empirically investigates and analyzes the integration of electricity surplus in South Ko
The Bank of Korea (BoK) regularly publishes the Economic Outlook, offering forecasts for key macroeconomic variables such as GDP growth, inflation, and unemployment rates. This study examines whether the BoK's inflation forecasts exhibit bias, specifically a tendency to align with its inflation target. We extend the Holden and Peel (1990) test to incorporate state-dependency, defining the state of the economy based on whether realized inflation falls below the target at the time of the forecast. Our analysis reveals that the BoK's inflation forecasts are biased under this state-dependent framework. Furthermore, we examine a range of bias correction strategies based on AR(1) and mean error models, including their state-dependent variants. These strategies generally improve forecast accuracy. Among them, the AR(1)-based correction exhibits relatively stable performance, consistently reducing the root mean square error.
This study of literature focusing on 'AI Policy' over the past decade, found that citations of preprints, publications on platforms such as arXiv, have increased from five percent to forty percent across three major regions: the U.S., U.K. & E.U., and South Korea. We compare regional responses of preprint citations across the global disruptions of COVID-19 and the release of ChatGPT. We discuss driving factors and risks of preprint normalization, which follows the trend in computer science.
During the last decade, we have witnessed a sustained growth of South Korea's research output in terms of the world share of publications in the Science Citation Index database. However, Korea's citation performance is not yet as competitive as publication performance. In this study, the authors examine the intellectual structure of Korean S&T field based on social network analysis of journal-journal citation data using the ten Korean SCI journals as seed journals. The results reveal that Korean SCI journals function more like publication places, neither research channels nor information sources among national scientists. Thus, these journals may provide Korean scholars with access to international scientific communities by facilitating the respective entry barriers. However, there are no citation relations based on their Korean background. Furthermore, we intend to draw some policy implications which may be helpful to increase Korea's research potential.
South Korea has become one of the most important economies in Asia. The largest Korean multinational firms are affiliated with influential family-owned business groups known as the chaebol. Despite the surging academic popularity of the chaebol, there is a considerable knowledge gap in the bibliometric analysis of business groups in Korea. In an attempt to fill this gap, the article aims to provide a systematic review of the chaebol and the role that business groups have played in the economy of Korea. Three distinct bibliometric networks are analyzed, namely the scientific collaboration network, bibliographic coupling network, and keyword co-occurrence network.
Wearing face mask is an effective measure to reduce the risk of COVID-19 infections and control its transmission, thus its usage survey is important for better policy decision to mitigate the epidemic spread. Current existing worldwide surveys are mostly self-reported, whose accuracies are hard to guaranteed, and may exaggerate the percentage of face mask wearing. Therefore, we collected busking videos with a large amount on YouTube from December 2019 to December 2020, mainly from South Korea, and reported an objective investigation of face mask use in the crowds outdoor. It is found that the face mask wearing rate has an obvious positive correlation with effective reproductive number (Rt) in the South Korea, which indicates that the people in South Korea kept sensitive to the COVID-19 epidemic. The face mask wearing rate in South Korea is higher than some other countries, and two rate droppings in June and September also corresponds to the temporary remission in 2020. This study shows significant potentials to utilize public big video data to make an accurate worldwide survey of face mask use with the support of deep learning technology.
Path-finding is one of the most popular subjects in the field of computer science. Pathfinding strategies determine a path from a given coordinate to another. The focus of this paper is on finding the optimal path for the bus transportation system based on passenger demand. This study is based on bus stations in Incheon, South Korea, and we show that our modified A* algorithm performs better than other basic pathfinding algorithms such as the Genetic and Dijkstra. Our proposed approach can find the shortest path in real-time even for large amounts of data(points).
Hyper-Kamiokande consists of two identical water-Cherenkov detectors of total 520~kt with the first one in Japan at 295~km from the J-PARC neutrino beam with 2.5$^{\textrm{o}}$ Off-Axis Angles (OAAs), and the second one possibly in Korea in a later stage. Having the second detector in Korea would benefit almost all areas of neutrino oscillation physics mainly due to longer baselines. There are several candidate sites in Korea with baselines of 1,000$\sim$1,300~km and OAAs of 1$^{\textrm{o}}$$\sim$3$^{\textrm{o}}$. We conducted sensitivity studies on neutrino oscillation physics for a second detector, either in Japan (JD $\times$ 2) or Korea (JD + KD) and compared the results with a single detector in Japan. Leptonic CP violation sensitivity is improved especially when the CP is non-maximally violated. The larger matter effect at Korean candidate sites significantly enhances sensitivities to non-standard interactions of neutrinos and mass ordering determination. Current studies indicate the best sensitivity is obtained at Mt. Bisul (1,088~km baseline, $1.3^\circ$ OAA). Thanks to a larger (1,000~m) overburden than the first detector site, clear improvements to sensitivities for solar