Geologic and Geographic Science (지질 및 지리과학 /Chijil mit Chiri Kwahak)
Geologic and Geographic Science
지질 및 지리과학 / Chijil mit Chiri Kwahak
Translation and backgrounder by Stephen Mercado
A quarterly journal covering science and technology related to the earth’s physical structure and features, published by the Science and Encyclopedia Publishing House.
Journal Title: The journal title has various renderings. Geologic and Geographic Science 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. In the English table of contents (TOC), the name appears in all capital letters as JIJIL MIT JIRIKWAHAK, followed in the next line by the translation between parentheses: (Geologic and Geographic Science). In North Korean media, the journal’s title is transliterated Jijil mit Jirigwahak and has also been translated as Geology and Geography.
Author Information: Editorials and anecdotes of the Revolution (혁명 일화) are unsigned. 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. The journal’s title suggests possible author affiliations with the State Academy of Sciences (SAS) Geology Institute and relevant academic departments.
Author affiliation and other details are available on the Internet for those who have published abroad. For example, Kim Kang Sop cited in Issue 3, 2022, of the journal an article of his published in the Journal of Applied Physics in 2018. That article included an alternate rendering of his name, Gang-Sop Kim, along with his affiliation with the Kim Chaek University of Technology (KCUT), his email, [email protected], and a possible affiliation via a Chinese co-author with the China University of Geosciences in Wuhan. Further online research using the alternate rendering of his name revealed, via ResearchGate, that Kim was a member of the KCUT Department of Earth Science and Technology.
Subject Matter: The articles have to do with developments in fields of geology mining and energy and the application of such techniques as remote sensing.
References: Authors publishing in this journal tend to cite domestic, Chinese, and Western journal articles and monographs. Domestic citations include Kim Il Sung University Publishing House’s 2015 work 간석지토양개량학 [Tideland Soil Improvement] and the Industrial Publishing House’s 2011 reference 조선지질총서(7) [Korean Geology Series (7)]. Cited Chinese journals include 矿床地质 (Mineral Deposits) and 国土资源遥感 (Remote Sensing for Land & Resources). Western sources referenced include articles from Environmental Earth Sciences, the IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Letters, and the International Journal of Remote Sensing.
Sections: Each issue comprises a front cover, an unnumbered page with a framed quotation of one of the three generations of the Kim family; a TOC in Korean; the articles; an English TOC; the publishing information; and the back cover. Regime messages/propaganda appear throughout the journal.
In recent years, the front cover shows a slogan over the journal title, under which is the name of the publisher, the issue number and year of issue, and the corporate logo. The TOC in Korean starts with two or three items, each either an editorial or an anecdote of the Revolution (연구론문). Next are the main articles of the section “Research Papers” (연구론문). There follows some number of articles under the section “Research Data” (연구자료) and such other sections as “Science Debate” (과학토론) and “Legal Commentary” (법무해설). Next is the English TOC, which only lists articles of the section “Research Papers.” Following the last item is the publishing information. The back cover shows the periodical publication number and the journal’s International Standard Serial Number over a bar code in recent years.
Publisher: The publisher’s name in English is the Science and Encyclopedia Publishing House. It is the Kwahak Paekkwa Sajon Chulpansa in simplified M-R and 과학백과사전출판사 in Korean. The publisher’s name appears in Korean on the journal’s cover and in English on the copyright line on the publishing information page. In addition, the front cover includes the publisher’s logo: a globe, with a representation of the atom imposed at the top and an abbreviated version of the publisher’s Korean name, 백과 (Paekkwa), at the bottom.
Prior to Issue 3, 2018, the publisher’s name printed on the front cover was 과학기술출판사 (Kwahak Kisul Chulpansa, the Science and Technology Publishing House). Confusingly, the front cover for 2016, 2017, and the first two issues of 2018 show the Science and Technology Publishing House name together with the Paekkwa corporate logo.
The publisher publishes an issue each quarter, starting in January, for a total of four issues per year. Issue 3 (July), 2022, according to the table of contents and the publishing information page, was cumulative issue number 287. The publishing information page also indicated that there was an editorial committee (no members named), the publisher was the Science and Encyclopedia Publishing House, the place of printing was the Moranbong Printing Plant, the date of printing was 10 July Juche 111 (2022), and the date of issue was 25 July Juche 111 (2022). The copyright line was © Science and Encyclopedia Publishing House 2022, DPR Korea. In previous issues, the journal displayed no copyright information, ISSN or telephone number.