Exploring Geological Research Themes and Trends in South Korea Using Topic Modeling

Since the mid-20th century, geology in South Korea has expanded rapidly, driven by interdisciplinary research. This study explores the key themes and historical trends of geological research in South Korea, analyzing interconnections among topics using a dataset of 10,380 research publications from 10 geological journals (1964 – 2024). Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) identified 18 distinct topics, categorized into emerging (n = 10), classic  (n = 3), and stable topics (n = 5). Additionally, the scope of the research topics was analyzed, revealing broad (n = 14) and narrow topics (n = 4). Topics were grouped into four clusters (“Engineering group”, “Environment group”, “Field survey group”, and “Chemistry group”) based on Euclidean distance, and network analysis visualized their relationships and interaction strengths. The study revealed shifts in research focus: “Economic geology”, “Petrology”, and “Stratigraphy” dominated before 1996, while “Environmental geology” and “Hydrogeology” gained prominence afterward. Among clusters, the “Engineering group” showed the strongest connections (mean weight = 5.18). These findings highlight the evolving focus of geological research in South Korea, providing insights into interdisciplinary collaboration opportunities and future research directions.

Acknowledgment: This research was supported by Global - Learning & Academic research institution for Master’s·PhD students, and Postdocs(LAMP) Program of the National Research Foundation of Korea(NRF) grant funded by the Ministry of Education(No. RS-2023-00301702).