• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
• /
• v.110 no.1
• /
• pp.82-90
• /
• 2021

In this study, the validity of the forest therapy process, in which forest activities using forest therapy factors lead to immunity promotion and health promotion, was analyzed theoretically and qualitatively to refine and systemize the forest therapy concept. Research and analysis data were collected from the websites of institutions related to forest therapy; 33 theses and 33 original research articles from 2000 to March 2020 were searched for forest therapy key words, as well as the prize winning work of the 2016 forest therapy experience essay. A word cloud was generated by frequency of nouns and adjectives and from the key words in the web pages, theses, articles, and the forest therapy experience essay. Through interpretation of word frequency, the systemic flow of forest therapy was defined. The results suggest that the source of forest therapy's power was a positive experience of the forest and an improved attitude toward nature as well as forest therapeutic factors. The therapeutic effect is maximized through the forest healing program, leading to physical and mental resilience and resistance; consequently, health and immunity are promoted. From this study, forest therapy is proposed as "a health promotion activity for the psychological, physical, and spiritual resilience of the subjects through various environmental factors of the forest, positive experiences, and attitudes toward the forest."

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
• /
• v.31 no.6
• /
• pp.595-605
• /
• 2017

This study was intended to investigate the effects of after-school forest healing programs on the pro-social behavior and self-efficacy of young children using the attributes of forest and the forest healing factors. The children attending a kindergarten located in ${\bigcirc}{\bigcirc}$ - dong, Cheongju city were divided into a test group which participated in the forest healing program activities and a control group which participated in the regular programs of the kindergarten but not in the forest healing program. Each group consisted of 20 boys and girls aged 3 to 5 years. The forest healing program was conducted once a week from 10 April to 10 July in 2017 for a total of 12 sessions, and each session lasted one hour (60 minutes). The pro-sociality behavior and self-efficacy test of the children was conducted before and after the forest healing program, and the data were analyzed using SPSS 18.0 program. The result showed that the pro-social behaviors that indicated the ability to execute the positive action and the self-efficacy that indicated the self-confidence were statistically significant (p<0.05). The young children who participated in the forest healing program improved their self-esteem through positive thoughts from being with their peer in nature. Moreover, they increased not only ecological knowledge but also consideration for others and cooperative spirit. They also greatly improved the ability to control personal emotion and the ability to form the personal relationship which are the sub-factors of pro-sociality, the ability to adapt to the early childhood education institution, and the physical efficacy which is the sub-factor of self-efficacy. It was concluded that the after-school forest healing program had a positive impact on pro-social behavior and self-efficacy.

• Hwankyungkyoyuk
• /
• v.25 no.1
• /
• pp.35-49
• /
• 2012

The purpose of this study was to investigate satisfaction of student, adult and forest interpreters about facilities and program of children's garden, which was constructed as edutainment space within Korea National Arboretum on May 2011. The results are as follows. First, an information about construction of children's garden should be provided actively, because 70.8% student and 68.6% adult of respondent did not know existence of children's garden. Second, it has been analysed that a fundamental conception of GREEN-I be reflected in construction children's garden, especially, reflecting conception of Enjoy and Edutainment was comparatively high. Third, It was found that ecological experiencing activities program of children's garden was positively to develop environmental literacy for student. Fourth, It was found that satisfaction of uncommon planting area was very low among planting area and satisfaction of forest interpreters was very low about place of ecological experience learning using five senses. Finally, for effective operation of children's garden, children's garden should be provided planting for environmental education connected with the school curriculum and ecological experiencing activities program to enjoy time with the family. Therefore, these results will be applied to improve children's garden and could be applied to construct other children's garden in botanical gardens.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
• /
• v.34 no.1
• /
• pp.72-84
• /
• 2020

The purpose of this study is to provide a reference for the development of forest therapy programs for subfertile women. This exploratory study identifies the emotional characteristics of subfertile women and the demands for forest therapy according to the emotional characteristics and provides basic data for the development and operation of forest therapy programs. This study surveyed 200 subfertile women who visited a subfertility hospital in Seoul on 33 items of subfertile women's emotional characteristics and requirements of forest therapy programs. We conducted the frequency analysis, cross-analysis, and one-way ANOVA to determine the correlation and importance between the emotional characteristics of subfertile women and the demands for forest therapy programs using the SPSS 21.0 program. Emotional traits of subfertile women included pressure on pregnancy, anxiety/fear, depression, hopelessness, helplessness, loneliness, sadness, shame/guilt, impatience/frustration, and anger/hypersensitivity. Of these traits, pressure on pregnancy, depression, hopelessness, helplessness, loneliness, sadness, anger/hypersensitivity, and anxiety/fear were particularly high among subfertile women. The demands for forest therapy programs also differed according to the emotional characteristics of subfertile women. There was a significant difference in the operation mode of the subfertile couple's forest therapy program according to the pressure, shame, and guilt of pregnancy. There was a significant difference in the experience of participating in a program according to anxiety and fear and in the reason for not being able to participate in the forest therapy program according to depression, hopelessness, helplessness, loneliness, and sadness. There was a significant difference in couples participating the in the forest therapy program according to impatience and frustration. There was a significant difference in the experience of participating in the forest therapy program and the effect of self-help groups through the forest therapy program for subfertile women according to anger and hypersensitivity. We expect that the results of this study would be useful as the reference data for developing forest therapy programs for the improvement of the mental health of subfertile women.

• Journal of Korea Entertainment Industry Association
• /
• v.13 no.4
• /
• pp.185-194
• /
• 2019

The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of short-term foresters on brain waves and pulse waves. For this purpose, 484 foresters who visited the natural recreation forest located in Cheongpyeong city, Gyeonggi province, measured the before and after experiences of EEG and pulse waves, and the following results were obtained. First, foresters have been shown to be effective on concentration, brain activity, and brain stress. Second, foresters had positive effects on cardiac health and autonomic health. In other words, when various substances released from the forest come into the body through the respiratory system, it firstly affects the heart activity positively, and it seems to be able to expect various improvements by acting on the emotional side of the brain. Therefore, based on the scientific basis of the forest experience, it is expected that the experience of forests will be widely used as a guide for healthy life by creating conditions for participation by many people. In addition, the mechanism of respiration, heartbeat, and brain interaction is also possible, and various experimental studies on the forest experience in the future are important.

• The Journal of the Korean Institute of Forest Recreation
• /
• v.22 no.4
• /
• pp.35-48
• /
• 2018

This research was carried out to provide a good quality forest healing program as a basic source of development by researching the general characteristics of users of Geiji Mountain in North Jeolla Province, the recognition of forest healing and regional preference programs. As a result of the survey, Geigisan Mountain is used as a natural place for recreation and leisure of residents of Jeonju. The most important factors in the selection of forest healing programs for visitors were the activities, organization and chronology of the program, and the main purpose was to improve health. Week-by-week programs utilizing weekends were preferred for management of forest healing programs. It was revealed that sports programs prefer to enjoy natural scenery, forest experience programs, healing programs, forest therapy programs, meditation programs, and listening to forest music. The outcome of this study is expected to be used as a basic source for developing and researching a program for forest healing in the area of Mt. Meanwhile, the limit on the composition of suitable forest healing programs according to preference is required for continuous and continuous integrated study of the forest healing program for the future of the forest healing program.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Rural Health Nursing
• /
• v.18 no.2
• /
• pp.99-105
• /
• 2023

Purpose: This study aims to develop a shared forest walking program and verify its effects on self-esteem, life satisfaction, and depression among older adults living alone in rural communities. Methods: Participants were assigned to an experimental or a control group, with 20 participants each. Data collected during August 1~3, 2022, before the program, and October 29~31, 2022, after the program. In this study, the shared forest walking program was conducted twice a week for a total of 24 sessions, with each session lasting one hour. All data were analyzed using SPSS version 18.0, x² tests, and t-tests. Results: The experimental group participating in the sharing forest walking program showed higher self-esteem and life satisfaction than the control group, along with a decrease in depression. Additionally, there were statistically significant differences in self-esteem (t=5.97, p<.001), life satisfaction (t=7.78, p<.001), and depression (t=-7.58, p<.001). Conclusion: The shared forest walking program, developed based on the results of this study, improved self-esteem and; life satisfaction; and reduced depression among older adults living alone in rural communities. We propose the development of a continuous program to assist older adults living alone in underprivileged rural areas to experience retirement with reduced depression, increased self-esteem, and enhanced life satisfaction.

• Journal of People, Plants, and Environment
• /
• v.22 no.3
• /
• pp.289-298
• /
• 2019

As part of the free semester program, the 'Gardener for a day' program in the Korea National Arboretum was newly developed in 2018. The program was developed as a free semester program reflecting the works of a 'gardener' who performs the planning, preparation, maintenance and management of exhibition gardens. This 'Gardener for a day' program was applied to a total of 106 middle school students in October 2018. Educational elements were extracted from Korea National Arboretum exhibition gardens and career exploration of gardeners. The program was designed to provide education on theory and practices, including watching the gardener video, visiting the gardener booth, meeting with actual gardeners at Korea National Arboretum, visiting two exhibition gardens, and participating in three types of practical training as a gardener. A survey about program satisfaction and education was conducted after the program to analyze the students' satisfaction with the program (contents, management, instructor), free semester program (career planning, occupational attitude, independence), and education (awareness of forest biospecies, preservation will). The analysis showed that the following results: satisfaction with the program (score 4.0), free semester program (score 3.8), and education (score 4.0). Comparative analysis of the pretest-posttest questionnaires showed that there were significant educational effects in career planning, occupational attitude, and awareness of forest biospecies.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
• /
• v.99 no.3
• /
• pp.380-390
• /
• 2010

This research was conducted to investigate the consciousness of demander on National Forest Management System and to seek for solution to activate it by measuring the variables such as the extent of goal achievement on the system, the extent of importance on function of national forest, benefit for participation of the system, and the extent of importance on the system as well as the extent of demander recognition and intention of participation on the system like, Cooperative Forest Program and People's Forest Program. The target of this investigation is to categorize consumers of National Forest Management System (NFMS) into four types such as environmental organization that do not participate in the system, environmental organization that participate in the team, company to publish a white paper on environmental and local government. As a result, the intention of participation was showed in C Type (62.7%), among fields that respondents interested in participation were tree planting and forest tending (56.2%). However, the rest of the participants were reluctant participate in the NFMS due to more benefit (72.2%) of corporate social responsibility from other fields than those from the field utilizing forestry. If only, diverse facilities related to national forest and active supporting policy are provided by Korea Forest Service, social participation using forest resources would be considered. Although 61% among A Type recognized NFMS in advance, the prime reason for not utilizing are the problems with reserving place for participates in and the inconvenience to participate in on-site. Type D shows slightly high interest in People's Forest Program (3.69). Also, it shows high interest in Forest Recreation (4.15) and Forest Reports (3.90). Particularly, it indicates that GyeongGi-Do and GangWon-Do local government prefers Forest Experience, and Cheolla, ChungCheong and GyeongSang local government prefer Forest Reports. Based on the above study, we finally suggest that legal alignment of the system, and the provision of incentive for inducement of voluntary participation by Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), and establishment of new exclusive nongovernmental organization be able to operate the system as the solution to activate NFMS in terms of the consumer.

• Journal of People, Plants, and Environment
• /
• v.22 no.3
• /
• pp.321-332
• /
• 2019

The purpose of this study is to investigate the changes of sensory and visual perception of children with intellectual disabilities by conducting psychomotorik (psychomotor activity) in the forest and indoor treatment rooms. Accordingly, this study divided 18 children with intellectual disabilities living in the facility for persons with disabilities located in Seoul into three groups: the experimental group participating in psychomotorik in the forest, the comparative group participating in psychomotorik in the treatment room, and the control group without any treatment at all. The program was conducted for 32 weeks, 4 hours a month. The results showed that psychomotorik promoted the sensory and visual development of children with disabilities. Psychomotorik in the forest showed significant effects on touch and activity level, form constancy and eye-hand coordination. Psychomotorik in the treatment room showed significant improvement in figure-ground with reduced motion. This suggests that psychomotorik in the forest as well as indoors is a positive factor for sensory adaptation reaction and visual development of children with intellectual disabilities.