Bulletin of Forest Science and Technology (산림과학기술통보/ Sallim Kwahak Kisul Tongbo)

Bulletin of Forest Science and Technology
산림과학기술통보/ Sallim Kwahak Kisul Tongbo
Translation and backgrounder by Stephen Mercado

A quarterly bulletin of science and technology related to forest conservation and management, published by the Forest Institute’s Data Report Office

Cover of Bulletin of Forest Science and Technology (산림과학기술통보/ Sallim Kwahak Kisul Tongbo), no. 4 (2022).

Journal Title: The journal title has various renderings. Bulletin of Forest Science and Technology is the name in English. Its name in a simplified version of the standard McCune-Reischauer (M-R) transliteration system and the actual title in Korean are listed above. Its full M-R transliteration, as used in catalogs of the Library of Congress and other major libraries, is Sallim kwahak kisul t’ongbo.

Author Information: The research papers show author names but lack other information common to science papers, such as academic or professional affiliation, academic titles, areas of research or author biography. Given that the journal’s publisher is the Forest Institute, it would be reasonable to think that many of the authors are affiliated with that organization.

Subject Matter: The articles have to do with the science and technology of forest establishment, management, use and conservation.

References: Authors publishing in this journal lean heavily towards domestic citations, including the Agricultural Publishing House’s 2021 book 생태환경보호 [Ecological and Environmental Protection] and the journal 국토관리[Land Management]. Cited Chinese sources include the journals 世界林业研究 (World Forestry Research) and 植物生理学通报 (Plant Physiology Journal). Among the referenced Western journals are Forest Ecology and Management and the Journal of Environmental Horticulture.

Sections: Each issue comprises a front cover; in some cases, an unnumbered page with a framed quotation of one of the three generations of the Kim family; a TOC in Korean; the articles; the publishing information; and the back cover. Regime messages/propaganda appear throughout the journal.

The front cover shows the journal title, under which is the issue number, year of issue and name of the publisher. The TOC—under a slogan (in some issues), the title, issue number, year of issue, and cumulative issue number—starts with the section “Technical Data” (기술자료), followed by “Trends Data” (추세자료), “Foreign Data” (외국자료) and “News Briefs” (단신). Following the articles, the journal ends with the publishing information section.

A page of the Korean TOC.

Publisher: The publisher’s literal name in English is the Data Report Office, Forest Institute, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. It is the Choson Minjujui Inmin Konghwaguk Sallim Yonguwon Charyo Tongbosil in simplified M-R and 조선민주주의 인민공화국 산림연구원 자료통보실 in Korean.

The publisher publishes an issue each quarter, starting in March, for a total of four issues per year. Issue 2 (June), 2022, the latest issue available, was cumulative issue number 106. The publishing information page also indicated that there was an editorial committee (no members named), the publisher was the Forest Institute, the place of printing was the Moranbong Printing Plant, the date of printing was 5 June Juche 111 (2022), and the date of issue was 12 June Juche 111 (2022). There was no copyright line or International Standard Serial Number (ISSN). The publishing information has shown changes over time; for example, in Issue 1, 2018, the earliest issue available, the listed address differs from previous newer publications.