• Journal of Intelligence and Information Systems
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.63-82
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• 2016

Individuals gather information online to resolve problems in their daily lives and make various decisions about the purchase of products or services. With the revolutionary development of information technology, Web 2.0 has allowed more people to easily generate and use online reviews such that the volume of information is rapidly increasing, and the usefulness and significance of analyzing the unstructured data have also increased. This paper presents an analysis on the lexical features of expert product reviews to determine their influence on consumers' purchasing decisions. The focus was on how unstructured data can be organized and used in diverse contexts through text mining. In addition, diverse lexical features of expert reviews of contents provided by a third-party review site were extracted and defined. Expert reviews are defined as evaluations by people who have expert knowledge about specific products or services in newspapers or magazines; this type of review is also called a critic review. Consumers who purchased products before the widespread use of the Internet were able to access expert reviews through newspapers or magazines; thus, they were not able to access many of them. Recently, however, major media also now provide online services so that people can more easily and affordably access expert reviews compared to the past. The reason why diverse reviews from experts in several fields are important is that there is an information asymmetry where some information is not shared among consumers and sellers. The information asymmetry can be resolved with information provided by third parties with expertise to consumers. Then, consumers can read expert reviews and make purchasing decisions by considering the abundant information on products or services. Therefore, expert reviews play an important role in consumers' purchasing decisions and the performance of companies across diverse industries. If the influence of qualitative data such as reviews or assessment after the purchase of products can be separately identified from the quantitative data resources, such as the actual quality of products or price, it is possible to identify which aspects of product reviews hamper or promote product sales. Previous studies have focused on the characteristics of the experts themselves, such as the expertise and credibility of sources regarding expert reviews; however, these studies did not suggest the influence of the linguistic features of experts' product reviews on consumers' overall evaluation. However, this study focused on experts' recommendations and evaluations to reveal the lexical features of expert reviews and whether such features influence consumers' overall evaluations and purchasing decisions. Real expert product reviews were analyzed based on the suggested methodology, and five lexical features of expert reviews were ultimately determined. Specifically, the "review depth" (i.e., degree of detail of the expert's product analysis), and "lack of assurance" (i.e., degree of confidence that the expert has in the evaluation) have statistically significant effects on consumers' product evaluations. In contrast, the "positive polarity" (i.e., the degree of positivity of an expert's evaluations) has an insignificant effect, while the "negative polarity" (i.e., the degree of negativity of an expert's evaluations) has a significant negative effect on consumers' product evaluations. Finally, the "social orientation" (i.e., the degree of how many social expressions experts include in their reviews) does not have a significant effect on consumers' product evaluations. In summary, the lexical properties of the product reviews were defined according to each relevant factor. Then, the influence of each linguistic factor of expert reviews on the consumers' final evaluations was tested. In addition, a test was performed on whether each linguistic factor influencing consumers' product evaluations differs depending on the lexical features. The results of these analyses should provide guidelines on how individuals process massive volumes of unstructured data depending on lexical features in various contexts and how companies can use this mechanism from their perspective. This paper provides several theoretical and practical contributions, such as the proposal of a new methodology and its application to real data.

• Cartoon and Animation Studies
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• s.33
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• pp.597-616
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• 2013

Character industry is not only knowledge-based industry chiefly with copyrights but also motive power for creative economy to take a role functionally over the fields of industries because it has industrial characteristic as complement product to promote sale value in manufacturing industry and service industry and increase profit on sales. Since 2003, the national policy related to character has aimed to maximize effect among connected industries, extend its business abroad, enforce copyrights through the improvement of marketing system, develop industrial infrastructure through raising quality of character products. With the result of this policy, the successful cases of connected contents have been crystallized and domestic character industry has stepped up methodically since 2007. It is needed to reset the scales of character industry and industrial stats because there are more know-how of self industry promotion and more related characters through strategy of market departmentalization starting with cartoon, animation, games, novels, movies and musicals. Especially, The Korea government set our target for 'Global Top Five Character Power' since 2009 and has started to carry out to find global star characters, support to establish network among connected industries, diversify promotion channels, and develop licensing business. Particularly, since 2013, There have been prospered the indoor character theme park with time management just like character experimental marketing or Kids cafes using characters, the demand market of digital character focusing on SNS emoticon, and the performance market for character musical consistently. Moreover, The domestic and foreign illegal black markets on off-line have been enlarged, so we need another policy alternative. To prepare for the era of exploding character demand market and diversifying platform, it is needed to set up a solid strategy that is required the elements of policy changes in character industry to vitalize character industry and support new character design and connected contents. the following shows that the elements of policy changes related to the existing policy, the current position of market. Nowadays, the elements of policy changes in domestic character industry are that variety of consumers in the digital character market according to platform diversification, Convergence contents of character goods for the Korean waves, legalization of the illegal black contents market, and controling the tendency of consumers in departmentalized market. This can help find the policy issue entirely deferent with the existing character powers like US, Japan or Europe. In its final analysis, the alternatives are the promotion of models with contract copyrights of domestic and foreign connected contents, the diversification of profit models of platform economy, the additive development of target market related to enlarging the Korean waves, and the strategy of character market for the age-specific tendency according to developing character demand market.

• Journal of Global Scholars of Marketing Science
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.27-39
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• 2009

Compulsive consumption is regarded as a global phenomenon that can adversely affect consumer well-being. Although the topic has been studied in different cultural settings, we have seen relatively little theory development and explanations of compulsive behavior Nearly all previous empirical studies attempt to explain this behavior by correlating measures of compulsive behavior with independent variables taken within the same time frame. However, recent developments in social sciences suggest that such a phenomenon may best understood in the context of the person's earlier-in-life experiences. Using the life course paradigm as an overarching framework, the present research extends previous work on this topic. Following hypotheses were drawn from literature review: H1: The earlier in childhood and adolescence a person experiences family dislocation, the greater his or her likelihood of exhibiting compulsive behaviors in adulthood. H2: The earlier in life the young person experienced family dislocation, the greater the number of family disruption events the young person experienced prior entering adulthood years. H3: Family dislocation leads to (a) increased frequency of socio.oriented family communications and (b) decreased frequency of concept-oriented family communication. H4: Young adults who were raised in families characterized by a strong socio-oriented communication structure are more likely to exhibit compulsive consumption tendencies than those who were raised in families characterized by a weak socio-oriented family communication structure. H5: Young adults who were raised in families characterized by a strong concept-oriented communication structure are less likely to exhibit compulsive consumption tendencies than those who were raised in families characterized by a week concept-oriented family communication structure. H6: The relationship between family disruption events experienced during adolescence and perceived stressfulness of these events is moderated by (a) global family support, (b) emotional family support, and (c) material family support. Those reporting higher levels of family support as teenagers are less likely to report experiencing stress due to family disruption events. H7: Perceived stressfulness of family disruption events experienced during adolescent years are associated with compulsive consumption tendencies in early adulthood. H8: The greater the number of family disruption events young adults experienced during their adolescent years the more frequent was their communication about consumption with their peers. H9: The more frequent was the young persons' communication with their peers about consumption during their adolescent years, the more likely they are to report compulsive buying tendencies as young adults. We use a sample of 120 Thai undergraduate students attending classes taught in English as part of a four-year international program. Product-moment correlations, hierarchical regression analysis and partial correlation were used to analyze data. Results of testing hypotheses showed that hypothesis 2, 4, 7 and 9 were supported and hypothesis 1, 3, 5, 6 and 8 were not supported. Our study did not find a significant relationship between the age when a person experienced family dislocation and their compulsive behavior tendencies expressed as young adults. We did not find a significant relationship between family dislocation and family communication structures. But we found a significant positive relationship between socio-oriented communication structure and compulsive buying and a significant relationship between our peer communication and compulsive buying measures. Also we found perceived stressfulness due to the disruptive events to have a significant positive relationship between the perceived stressfulness and compulsive buying. Implications from these findings, limitations of this research and future research suggestions were discussed.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Landscape Architecture
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• v.45 no.3
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• pp.80-91
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• 2017

This study identifies factors of Hanbok-trippers - a term for people who dress in Hanbok(Korean traditional costume) while going on a trip - who converge on Gyeongbokgung Palace by determining the characteristics of class, places to visit and preferred places. This study interprets the voluntary hobby activities of Hanbok-trippers from a viewpoint of a landscape prosumer and the meaning of the urban landscape. As a result of in-depth interviews, on-site survey, and observation surveys focused on Hanbok-trippers, there were various levels of participants. They are classified into three groups - leading group, entry group, temporary-experience group - according to their cognitions, types of Hanbok use, activities, etc. The leading group and entry group are a voluntary hobbyist class due to the ongoing tendencies of their participation. There are differences in the purpose and factors of visiting Gyeongbokgung Palace as a place for a Hanbok-trip. The leading group visited Gyeongbokgung Palace for cultural activities, regular get-together, public relations, and as a gathering place to go neighboring destinations. In this case, the main factors of the visit are the traditional landscape, convenient transportation, chances for traditional culture exhibitions and events in Gyeongbokgung Palace and its neighborhood. The entry group visits Gyeongbokgung Palace because of its traditional landscape and cultural activities nearby. The traditional landscape and many Hanbok-trippers are main factors of visiting Gyeongbokgung Palace for the Temporary-experience group. This study found that Gyeongbokgung Palace has a new sense of place of 'Introductory course of Hanbok-trip', 'Hanbok Playground' because temporary-experience group visits there to experience a Hanbok-trip for the first time. Hanbok-trippers consume places and landscape in actual places offline, producing a new landscape at the same time, and has the characteristics of a 'landscape prosumer' by producing landscape images online through their own personal or social media. Their colorful and voluntary movements contribute to the dynamism of the urban landscape and can become a new cultural asset for the city. The voluntary hobbyist class can be considered a new type of participants in bottom-up planning such as urban regeneration and place marketing. This study has significance in that it conceptualized the 'landscape prosumer' through the voluntary hobbyist class of Hanbok-trippers with the concept of the 'prosumer' that has been studied only in the consumer studies and marketing fields, and has identified the significance of the urban landscape.

• Asia pacific journal of information systems
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.71-96
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• 2011

Within the traditional medical delivery system, patients residing in medically vulnerable areas, those with body movement difficulties, and nursing facility residents have had limited access to good healthcare services. However, Information and Communication Technology (ICT) provides us with a convenient and useful means of overcoming distance and time constraints. ICT is integrated with biomedical science and technology in a way that offers a new high-quality medical service. As a result, rapid technological advancement is expected to play a pivotal role bringing about innovation in a wide range of medical service areas, such as medical management, testing, diagnosis, and treatment; offering new and improved healthcare services; and effecting dramatic changes in current medical services. The increase in aging population and chronic diseases has caused an increase in medical expenses. In response to the increasing demand for efficient healthcare services, a telehealth service based on ICT is being emphasized on a global level. Telehealth services have been implemented especially in pilot projects and system development and technological research. With the service about to be implemented in earnest, it is necessary to study its overall acceptance by consumers, which is expected to contribute to the development and activation of a variety of services. In this sense, the study aims at positively examining the structural relationship among the acceptance factors for telehealth services based on the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). Data were collected by showing audiovisual material on telehealth services to online panels and requesting them to respond to a structured questionnaire sheet, which is known as the information acceleration method. Among the 1,165 adult respondents, 608 valid samples were finally chosen, while the remaining were excluded because of incomplete answers or allotted time overrun. In order to test the reliability and validity of the assessment scale items, we carried out reliability and factor analyses, and in order to explore the causal relation among potential variables, we conducted a structural equation modeling analysis using AMOS 7.0 and SPSS 17.0. The research outcomes are as follows. First, service quality, innovativeness of medical technology, and social influence were shown to affect perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness of the telehealth service, which was statistically significant, and the two factors had a positive impact on willingness to accept the telehealth service. In addition, social influence had a direct, significant effect on intention to use, which is paralleled by the TAM used in previous research on technology acceptance. This shows that the research model proposed in the study effectively explains the acceptance of the telehealth service. Second, the research model reveals that information privacy concerns had a insignificant impact on perceived ease of use of the telehealth service. From this, it can be gathered that the concerns over information protection and security are reduced further due to advancements in information technology compared to the initial period in the information technology industry, and thus the improvement in quality of medical services appeared to ensure that information privacy concerns did not act as a prohibiting factor in the acceptance of the telehealth service. Thus, if other factors have an enormous impact on ease of use and usefulness, concerns over these results in the initial period of technology acceptance may become irrelevant. However, it is clear that users' information privacy concerns, as other studies have revealed, is a major factor affecting technology acceptance. Thus, caution must be exercised while interpreting the result, and further study is required on the issue. Numerous information technologies with outstanding performance and innovativeness often attract few consumers. A revised bill for those urgently in need of telehealth services is about to be approved in the national assembly. As telemedicine is implemented between doctors and patients, a wide range of systems that will improve the quality of healthcare services will be designed. In this sense, the study on the consumer acceptance of telehealth services is meaningful and offers strong academic evidence. Based on the implications, it can be expected to contribute to the activation of telehealth services. Further study is needed to assess the acceptance factors for telehealth services, such as motivation to remain healthy, health care involvement, knowledge on health, and control of health-related behavior, in order to develop unique services according to the categorization of customers based on health factors. In addition, further study may focus on various theoretical cognitive behavior models other than the TAM, such as the health belief model.

• Journal of Arbitration Studies
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.167-187
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• 2007

As Korea has reached a free trade agreement with the United States of America, it is required to provide an appropriate procedure to ".kr" domain name disputes based on the principles established in the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy(UDRP). Currently, Internet address Dispute Resolution Committee(IDRC) established under Article 16 of the Act on Internet Address Resources provides the dispute resolution proceedings to resolve ".kr" domain name disputes. While the IDRC's proceeding is similar to the UDRP administrative proceeding in procedural aspects, the Domain Name Dispute Mediation Policy that is established by the IDRC and that applies to disputes involving ".kr" domain names is very different from the UDRP for generic Top Level Domain (gTLD) in substantial aspects. Under the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement(KORUS FTA), it is expected that either the Domain Name Dispute Mediation Policy to be amended to adopt the UDRP or the IDRC to examine the Domain Name Dispute Mediation Policy in order to harmonize it with the principles established in the UDRP. It is a common practice of cybersquatters to warehouse a number of domain names without any active use of these domain names after their registration. The Domain Name Dispute Mediation Policy provides that the complainant may request to transfer or delete the registration of the disputed domain name if the registrant registered, holds or uses the disputed domain name in bad faith. This provision lifts the complainant's burden of proof to show the respondent's bad faith because the complainant is only required to prove one of the three bad faiths which are registration in bad faith, holding in bad faith, or use in bad faith. The aforementioned resolution procedure is different from the UDRP regime which requires the complainant, in compliance with paragraph 4(b) of the UDRP, to prove that the disputed domain name has been registered in bad faith and is being used in bad faith. Therefore, the complainant carries heavy burden of proof under the UDRP. The IDRC should deny the complaint if the respondent has legitimate rights or interests in the domain names. Under the UDRP, the complainant must show that the respondent has no rights or legitimate interests in the disputed domain name. The UDRP sets out three illustrative circumstances, any one of which if proved by the respondent, shall be evidence of the respondent's rights to or legitimate interests in the domain name. As the Domain Name Dispute Mediation Policy provides only a general provision regarding the respondent's legitimate rights or interests, the respondent can be placed in a very week foundation to be protected under the Policy. It is therefore recommended for the IDRC to adopt the three UDRP circumstances to guide how the respondent can demonstrate his/her legitimate rights or interests in the disputed domain name. In accordance with the KORUS FTA, the Korean Government is required to provide online publication to a reliable and accurate database of contact information concerning domain name registrants. Cybersquatters often provide inaccurate contact information or willfully conceal their identity to avoid objection by trademark owners. It may cause unnecessary and unwarranted delay of the administrative proceedings. The respondent may loss the opportunity to assert his/her rights or legitimate interests in the domain name due to inability to submit the response effectively and timely. The respondent could breach a registration agreement with a registrar which requires the registrant to submit and update accurate contact information. The respondent who is reluctant to disclose his/her contact information on the Internet citing for privacy rights and protection. This is however debatable as the respondent may use the proxy registration service provided by the registrar to protect the respondent's privacy.

• Journal of Distribution Research
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.117-140
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• 2011

The sales promotion strategy can be classified into two categories: cost-down and value-added promotions. Although many studies have been performed on sales promotion in the past, little attention has been given on cost-down promotion, and in particular on its strategy. Also there has been a renewed interest on value-added promotion strategy as means of attracting more customers and delivering value by providing a greater benefit. This study examines the effect of value-added promotion on the evaluation of promotional products. The topic is important because the value-added promotions are not always perceived as a benefit by consumers and they depend on the situational factors. We postulate three hypotheses on the basis of related literature. We conduct two studies: one employing experiment (study 1) and the other, quasi-experiment (study 2) to investigate the effect of two situational factors, namely the promotional package type and retailer uncertainty on the valuation of promotional products. Study 1 employs 2 promotional package types (bundled with freebie type vs. one-plus-one type) by 3 evaluation targets (overall package, a focal product and freebie) in experimental design. Also it is found that consumers devaluate the promotional product when the level of retailer uncertainty is high (t=-4.70, p=.000) as shown in Table 2. As depicted in Figure 2, the interaction effect of retailer uncertainty and package types on the evaluation of promotional product as a whole does not appear to be significant. However, when the level of retailer uncertainty is high, the focal product suffers from lower valuation if it is included in a bundle with freebie type package. The purpose of Study 2 is to cross-check the results of Study 1. The results of Study 2 also show that the consumers devaluate the promotional products as a whole when the level of retailer uncertainty is high. Furthermore, Study2 examines the consumers' willingness to purchase. The willingness to purchase of 2 different consumer groups divided by their reservation prices before and after exposure to a promotional stimuli shows no significant differences(t=1.911, p=.057). The results suggest that the consumers' reservation prices before the exposure to the promotion can be a reference prices of their's. But after the promotional events, the promotional price would become their reference prices. Furthermore, when the level of retailer uncertainty is high, consumers devaluate the promotional product as a whole. Because the promotional offerings activate the persuasion knowledge of consumers and make them incorporate negative inference about the firm's motives into their valuation and consequently, consumers tend to hesitate to purchase.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Landscape Architecture
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• v.44 no.6
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• pp.40-50
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• 2016

The objective of this study is to suggest basic data for establishing future urban agriculture vitalization policies, by analyzing the preference of urban agriculture types in accordance with lifestyle as the standard of living for urban residents is improved. A survey was conducted targeting residents of nine autonomous regions that have established grounds for supporting the urban agriculture vitalization by enacting an urban agriculture ordinance, among 25 autonomous regions of Seoul. It aimed to verify a causal relationship between lifestyle and preferred activity of urban agriculture. In the results of the study first, a 'Health pursuit-type' was significant within the 'urban type' urban agriculture. These urban residents, pursuing safe food and health, actively participated in urban agriculture educational programs, and also preferred urban agricultural activities such as planting plants, landscape crops for the improvement of natural scenery in the downtown, and also participating in urban agriculture fairs. Second, 'Leisure activity-type' was significant with the 'House advantage type' urban agriculture. Urban residents mostly emphasizing hobby and leisure activities preferred the 'House advantage type' urban agricultural activities such as tending a vegetable garden in indoor life or using the veranda space of an apartment. Third, 'Health pursuit-type' was significant with the 'Schooling type' urban agriculture and 'Farm and Park type' urban agriculture. Urban residents pursuing health preferred tending an educational-type vegetable garden and educational farm connected to schools, running private farms outside of the downtown, and actively participating in urban agriculture park. Fourth, 'The neighborhood type' was significant with the 'Schooling type' urban agriculture. 'The neighborhood type' urban residents preferred actively participating in diverse urban agriculture education activities. The significance of this study is to examine the tendency and preferred activities of end users of urban agriculture by suggesting the necessity of viewing urban agriculture from the aspect of a consumer, and then examining the influential relationship between lifestyle and preference of urban agriculture-types.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Landscape Architecture
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• v.44 no.6
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• pp.177-187
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• 2016

This study started with the question, "Is the cost of landscape construction work in residential areas measured by public enterprises, 'in response to the needs of consumers?" The study analyzed whether the landscape construction expenditure is being introduced at an appropriate ratio according to the value the residents have regarding landscape elements. Following this, research was conducted for the purpose of providing basic data for improving the efficiency of formulating apartment landscape construction costs in the future. This research proceeded based on a questionnaire survey of residents of apartments, and the content of the questionnaire used frequency analysis and descriptive statistics research methods. To take a look at a comparative analysis of value recognition, in particular, a comparative analysis was performed based on the actual input cost based on the ratio of landscape elements by layer. Conclusions were found as follows: First, the degree of interest in the apartment landscape of the tenants was high, and the value of the landscape was high but realistic satisfaction appeared comparatively low. Second, the awareness of residents' values regarding landscape elements appeared to give "plantings" more value than "facilities". Thirdly, as a result of a mutual comparison between the values recognized by the resident regarding landscape elements and the construction input fee, depending on the landscape elements, it appeared that there is a difference in the ratio of up to 52 times from 1.25. Fourth, the fact that there is a difference in the relative proportion of value recognition and inputting construction cost indicates that it is not possible to respond to the needs of tenants during the construction cost development process. It also shows that the utility of inputting construction costs is low. Therefore, a macro-level examination such as reflecting the existing inflation rate is necessary to develop the efficient landscape construction cost of apartment such as the awareness of the value of the residents regarding landscape elements, out of the customary construction cost formulation method based on the microscopic dimensions of the consumer side.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Landscape Architecture
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• v.44 no.6
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• pp.60-72
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• 2016

This study aims to suggest strategies of development and management for large parks by examining experimental cases of park governance models related to a shift away from public administration. The shifts towards governance as well as public-private partnership in city parks have involved the need for new public management. This study has analyzed two exemplary cases of Presidio Park and Sydney Harbour National Park in the aspects of planning process and management strategies, as the results derived the meaning and effect of park governance management and is also an essential prerequisite for the achievement of the model. There are six dimensions of research frames--namely policy, governance, partnership, finances and funds, design and maintenance-management, and evaluation-monitoring-taken as the basis for this study. Through the analysis, several key characteristics of these cases were elicited. First, the park planning process must be consistent in carrying a policy from planning to implementation, and furthermore, an independent operation body which can properly authorize an execution and uphold its responsibility from the public could serve in adaptable park services. Second, it has been suggested to build various partnerships with PAs and NGOs, private corporations, community groups, and academic institutes that allow it to expand the diversity of the park activities. Third, there has been experimental exploration to achieve a financially self-sufficient model by establishing internal revenue models and hence allow the reduction of reliance on public finances. The result of this type of park management would allow for improving park quality and make the park space a vital part of the local economy. Fourth, the strategies for a local community's participation are needed to allow the community to become a producer as well as a consumer. This study shows that the direction and significance of the park governance model regarding the fact that the plans sought by the two parks are extending the layout of public-centered discussion to the private sector and the third non-governmental sector including to the local community group. This shows both implications and limitations, such as the risk of privatization through non-governmental activities at the park or the violation of essential functions as a public good due to a profit-generating management policy for securing financial self-sufficiency. At the current point in which plans are under way for the development and management of large parks, a park governance model requires continuous study and expansion of discussion in the future.