Hyun J. Jin’s research while affiliated with Chung-Ang University and other places

Introduction This study analyzes the effects of food accessibility on fresh food intake and body mass index (BMI) in the lowest level of local government areas (LLGAs) of South Korea. Methods We used four sub-variables of physical food accessibility: access to food retailers, availability of public transportation, car ownership, and apartment residence. We used data from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Survey, which were matched with the number of food retail stores and the number of bus stops and subway exits in each respondent's LLGA. We divided the respondents into urban dwellers and rural dwellers in the path analysis. Results The access to food retailers and convenience in public transport were inferior in rural areas relative to urban areas. In urban areas, access to food retailers and public transportation did not affect fresh food intake and BMI, and there was no indirect effect of fresh food intake on BMI. In rural areas, fresh food intake decreased as access to food retailers decreased, which indirectly deteriorated BMI. Conclusions The issue of physical accessibility to food supplies in rural areas must be prioritized, and relevant policy interventions from local governments are necessary. Owning private automobiles increased the opportunity to eat fresh foods, and the effect was higher in rural areas, where car ownership lowered BMI indirectly. This suggests that the relative disadvantage of access to food retailers and inconvenient public transport in rural areas can be overcome through transport policies. By doing so, residents can be provided with better access to competitively priced, good-quality food.

The South Korean government's reversal of a ban on American beef imports in 2008 caused enormous political and social upheaval in the country. The government's acquiescence to the United States' request to resume imports of boned beef and beef from cattle slaughtered over the age of 30 months led to overwhelming negative publicity, as mass media described the decision as yielding to U.S. pressure at the expense of public health. Koreans gathered to demonstrate against the agreement; the resulting “candlelight protest” quickly intensified, spreading across the country from May 2008 through August 2008. Given the different opinions regarding the main causes of the event, this study revisits the issue by empirically testing for switches in meat demand for different types of meat among South Korean consumers. The results indicate that there was no structural change in meat demand around the candlelight protest period, which suggests that variations in meat demand during that period can be explained by changes in relative prices between different types of meat. This implies that unlike the findings of previous studies, the negative consumer reaction was not associated with risk‐averse behavior concerning the consumption of U.S. beef. [EconLit citations: C14; E20; Q11]

On January 1, 2015, the cigarette tax in South Korea increased sharply. In this study, we analyzed how the fresh food expenditures of low-income smoking households that spend relatively more on cigarettes changed between 2014 and 2015 compared to their demographically comparable non-smoking counterparts. We conducted the analysis using a difference-in-differences analysis from which we derived expenditure differences between smoking households and non-smoking households and then examined whether the differences increased from 2014 to 2015. In deriving the differences, we utilized the nearest-matching method to ensure that, besides smoking status, the socio-demographics of the two groups were matched. We used data from the Household Income and Expenditure Survey of South Korea. The analysis showed that smoking households spent less on fruits and vegetables than non-smoking households and that this difference increased after the tax increase. The change was more remarkable in the poorest households that spent relatively more on cigarettes. This suggests that cigarette expenditures have a crowding out effect on fresh food expenditures for smoking households, with a significantly larger effect for households in the poorest group that spend more on cigarettes.

Objectives: We reviewed the current status of healthy eating behaviors in South Korea and analyzed the influencing factors. Methods: A single-equation robust estimator and a seemingly unrelated regression were completed for the effects of access to food retailers, single households, and patients living in the household on healthy eating. Data were retrieved from a consumer survey of 3043 household members preparing food. Results: Better access to retailers is positively related to healthy eating status. Single households are least likely to practice healthy eating and the presence of a patient in the household is negatively related to healthy eating status. Conclusions: The 3 factors have significant effects on South Koreans' healthy eating status.

This study examines whether students’ experience in a food safety class affected their responses to the monosodium glutamate (MSG) issue and to message framing. We differentiated students into two groups depending on their involvement in a food safety class. The data were collected through in-class surveys in South Korea. A structural equation model was used where the dependent variable was students’ intention to avoid MSG; the mediating variables were knowledge, trust, attitude, and risk perception; and the exogenous variable was class experience. A difference-in-differences scheme was used to analyze the interaction between class experience and message frame. Empirical results show that students who took the class had relatively more knowledge of MSG along with lower risk perceptions or fears of MSG and thus a reduced intention to avoid it. The class experience also affected their trust in overall food safety in the domestic market as well as in food-related institutions and groups. Students showed sensitivity to message framing, although the sensitivity did not statistically differ by students’ class experience status. Our results imply that cultivating students’ knowledge of food additives through a food safety class enables them to respond more reasonably toward food additives.

This study investigates the effect of price promotions for musicals on consumer perception of fairness toward other similar musicals and the role of consumer involvement in performing arts as a moderating variable. A threshold regression estimation which was performed using data from a survey on South Korean consumers showed a decrease in consumers’ fairness perception once they became aware of discounts on similar performing arts and, consequently, a decrease in their intent to purchase tickets at regular prices. The results also showed that the samples can be split into low- and high-involvement groups, with the effect of fairness perception on purchase intention statistically significant for both groups, however, larger for the high-involvement group; the high-involvement group is expected to consume more performing arts products than the low-involvement group. These results imply that consumer perception of unfairness regarding ticket price discounts may negatively affect the long-term profits of performing arts suppliers.