Abstract

Abstract Overview

In a detailed study conducted in South Korea, electric field strengths in the mobile communication bands were measured across different areas distinguished by their population densities. The areas selected for measurement were Seoul, Gwangju (Gyeonggi province), and Yangpyeong (Gyeonggi province).

• Seoul showed a high population density of approximately 15,550 individuals per square kilometer.
• Gwangju reported a moderate density of 856 individuals per square kilometer.
• Yangpyeong had a low density of 133 individuals per square kilometer.

Measurements were recorded by mounting an SRM3006 antenna on a vehicle, which was driven about 40 kilometers within each region.

Important Findings

The study's findings suggest that the median total downlink electric field strength varied with location, showing higher values in densely populated areas:

• Seoul: 1.75 V/m
• Gwangju: 0.75 V/m
• Yangpyeong: 0.61 V/m

The difference in downlink EF levels between Gwangju and Yangpyeong was minor, whereas Seoul's levels were significantly higher.

Discussion and Conclusions

The analysis predicts that regardless of the connection status to the 5G network, the SSB beam from 5G NR base stations, which is always active, significantly impacts the levels of radiated EMF. Future studies are planned to further analyze and compare these levels, particularly considering the ongoing changes in base station distributions across different mobile network generations in South Korea.