• Journal of Forest and Environmental Science
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.318-325
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• 2020

This study was carried out to find the effects of aromatherapy using natural fragrance on reducing stress and improving job satisfaction of transportation workers in the taxi industry. A total of 120 workers were divided into the experimental group and the control group according to the inhalation of the fragrance and tested for 2 weeks. After 2 weeks, the difference of emotional change, stress analysis, and evaluation of job satisfaction according to aromatherapy were compared between the two groups. The result showed that the experimental group had a higher interest in scent products than the control group and that they wanted to encounter a lot of real scents, indicating that aromatherapy caused positive interest in general scent likability. In addition, the experimental group said that the inhalation of fragrance would refresh the feeling of the passengers in the vehicle and smoothly communicate with the passengers. Especially, it showed a significant difference between the two groups in terms of tension relief, pleasure and good mood by inhalation of fragrance, indicating the positive effect on job satisfaction.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
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• v.50 no.4
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• pp.735-747
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• 2023

This study was conducted to identify the appropriate space requirements for forest healing program for physical and mental health care of female cancer survivors in their 40s and 60s. From September to November 2023, 12 cancer survivors were surveyed at Chungnam National University Forest and Daejeon Healing Forest. One Forest Therapy instructor and two researchers conducted a forest healing program once a week for eight sessions of two hours each, Perceptions and satisfaction with the program and space were assessed using pre and post program questionnaires, and the effect of participation in the forest healing program on mood status was evaluated. The satisfaction survey results were supplemented by qualitative studies conducted through post-interviews. Result of the analysis showed that the satisfaction of the participants was very high (4.8/5.0). There was a notable increase in vigor and a decrease in total mood disturbance after participation in the program. Toilets and water facilities (11), tool boxes (9), pest control facilities (3), deck facilities (3), forest hut (3), electrical outlets (2), shade shelters (2), and shoe hairy (1) were proposed as required facilities for cancer survivors. This study demonstrated that the forest healing program is effective in reducing distress in female cancer survivors in their 40s and 60s and appropriate facility standards for the forest healing space are needed to increase the satisfaction of cancer survivors.

• Journal of the Korean Professional Engineers Association
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• v.38 no.1
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• pp.88-90
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• 2005

National medical bill is amounting 31 trillion, equivalent to about 8% of GDP. And Japanese poeple are beginning to doubt the western medical system that depends upon drugs and operations. They are seeking another method of treatment. It is well known the forest has many healthy and recreation benefit. Now I would like to talk about the benefits of forest therapy.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.20 no.11
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• pp.77-87
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• 2020

This study aims to suggest basic data for developing forest product in Jeongeup City by surveying and analyzing consumer awareness and purchasing behavior. A survey was conducted focusing on local tourist attractions in Jeongeup City, and the analysis was conducted on 234 people. Among the local specialty processed products that the survey participants had experience in purchasing, food was mainly tea, concentrate solution, liquor, snacks and fruit syrup/enzyme. The therapy was shown in order of soap, aroma oil, and lotion. It was found that the purchase cost was more than 10,000 won and less than 30,000 won. Major purchase uses were for direct use and gifts, and 56.8% of the customers were satisfied with the satisfaction of the products, which were found to be purchased because of their good quality, good gift, and good health functions. In the question of 11 kinds of forest products, the subjects were aware of bokbunja, balloon flower, wild flower, deodeok, bracken, durum, and mal, among which bokbunja and wild flower were recognized as the representative forest products of Jeongeup. A cluster of food and therapy product selection attributes was analyzed to find target consumers. As the group that is interested in forest products and values the safety and quality of products is highly recognized, the value of forest products should be increased in consideration of the quality and safety of forest products when developing products in the future.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.112 no.1
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• pp.93-104
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• 2023

Life expectancy is increasing due to the aging of the population, which is in turn exacerbating problems such as the prevalence of various geriatric diseases. This study was established to provide basic data for the expansion of forest healing activities for the elderly by systematically analyzing the literature on how such activities affect this age group. For the collection of studies, the Korean databases RISS, KISS, Korea Med, and Science On were used, while PubMed, Cochrane Central, MDPI, and Google Scholar were used to identify reports published elsewhere. To assess the quality of the methodology used in the collected studies, the risk of bias was analyzed using Cochrane's RoB2 and RoBANS. Among 1,856 reports initially identified, 21 were finally selected for analysis in this study, which were limited to research papers on forest healing activities for the elderly published between 2000 and January 2022. In this review, the subjects were those aged 60 or older, with a total of 750 participants, ranging from at least 7 to a maximum of 88 per study. The analysis showed that the most frequently performed tests in each category were on depression as a psychological indicator in 7 studies, MMSE(Mini Mental State Examination) as a cognitive indicator in 2 studies, on blood pressure as a physiological indicator in 4 studies, on melatonin as a biochemical indicator in 2 studies, and on body fat and muscle strength as physical indicators in 3 studies. Of the 21 studies, 19 used two or more test items, with psychological indicators being most commonly measured. For the future application of forest healing activities for the elderly, various forest healing programs to prevent cognitive function decline should be developed and distributed, and follow-up studies should be continuously presented to provide the basis for forest healing activities.

• Perspectives in Nursing Science
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.30-38
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• 2014

Purpose: In recent years, many attempts have been made to examine the effects of forest therapy on health and to develop related policies. This study aimed to explore the current status of health promotion programs using forests provided by public health centers and to identify program diffusion strategies employed within different communities. Methods: For this descriptive study, we analyzed the 5th regional public health care program plans and explored the perceptions of health care workers attached with the programs using open-ended questionnaires and a focus group interview. Results: This study confirmed the necessity for health promotion programs using forests, as well as administrative and educational demands for such programs. The target population of the programs ranged from individuals with specific diseases to healthy local residents. In addition, the programs covered a wide range of topics, including disease management and health promotion strategies. However, the number of well-structured regional specialized programs remained limited. Collaboration among local governments, schools, and public health centers was found to be ineffective. Conclusion: To further disseminate health promotion programs using forests, the central government will need to develop well-structured programs, provide funding and resources to support local governments, and focus on raising public awareness of the health benefits of forest therapy.

• Journal of Agricultural Extension & Community Development
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.471-481
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• 2016

The purposes of this study were to analyze the long-term trends for the outlook for job development in the forestry sector and to identify supply and demand on job markets. Due to the results of the studies of the forest area would be focused on area of forest therapy and guide, forest biomass research, researcher on prevention & control of forest pests, technician for forest protection, expert in forest disaster prevention, investigating of overseas tree species, and similarly the qualification items should be given more in trees and or bio-energy producer, forest saver and preventer, forest therapist and guide, tree pesticide doctor, forestry job regulator, etc. The main implication of the study result is that the reason of climate changes, environment pollutions and green-energy productivity would push the conditions of job market trend in forest workforce area.

• Journal of People, Plants, and Environment
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.99-107
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• 2019

The purpose of this study was to find out the effects of five senses activities in forests on the reduction or mitigation of daily stress using various forest healing factors such as water, sunlight, topography, phytoncide, landscape, sound, fragrance, etc. The subjects of this study were 40 young children aged 5 in an early childhood education institution located in Cheongju. The children were divided into two groups: 20 in the experimental group and 20 in the control group. The experimental group participated in the program of five senses activities in the forest in total of 12 sessions (1-2 sessions a week), with each session lasting 60 minutes from May 8 to June 16, 2017. The control group, who did not participate in the five senses activities in the forest, participated in the Nuri Curriculum operated by the educational institution. Before and after the program, tests to measure daily stress in three different situations (encountering blame-aggression situation, experiencing anxiety-frustration, and losing self-respect) were conducted on young children and the data were analyzed using SPSS 21.0. As a result, daily stress of the young children decreased in all three situations with statistical significance. Through the five senses activities in the forest, young children could feel the nature by observing and exploring it in the forest, so which reduced their daily stress compared to the activities carried out in the classroom.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.463-471
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• 2012

Objective of this study is to provide basic information for developing more differentiated and targeted forest healing policy and Korean medical healing programs grounded on consumer preference for forest based Korean medical healing tourism products. The internet survey(CAWI) by percentage quota sampling with 400 Seoulite ages over 30 by the age, area, and gender was conducted, and 317 samples were used for a final analysis. 61.5% of the Seoulite associated 'forest bath/walking in the woods/tree' with an image of a forest based Korean medical healing tourism product, and preference for the product and the intention to use were positive at the percentages of 72.9% and 67.5%, respectively. Preferred areas were Seoul/Gyeonggi-do(53.5%) and Gangwon-do(38.8%). 'Stress solving and refreshment', 'taking a forest bath and a walk', and 'maintaining and promoting health' were the main purposes of the use. As for a therapy, 'walking therapy' was most preferred, and 'ergotherapy' was the next. First priority as for a use facility was 'healing trail', and 'professional medical facility' ranked second. Although important decision attributes were ' cost of use', 'food', and 'friendliness of medical staff', all the other sets of attributes related to use convenience, quality of medical service and tourism activities also recorded high, which forecasts higher consumer expectation for the product. As the result showing differences in consumer preference by the demographic segmentation, differentiated and segmented consumer needs should be considered when planing and managing a product. The scope of the study is limited to a demographic segmentation which is a basic stage of understanding consumer preference, therefore more detailed future researches on complicated and multi-dimensional consumer needs are required.

• Journal of People, Plants, and Environment
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.309-319
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• 2019

This study was conducted to investigate the effects of watching a virtual reality (VR) forest video on stress reduction in adults. Experiments were performed in an artificial climate chamber where temperature, humidity and illumination were controlled. To cause stress in subjects, the subjects were asked to multiply two digit numbers by one digit numbers for two minutes. The subjects then watched a VR forest video for five minutes. During the experiment, the heart rate variability (HRV) and heart rate (HR) of subjects were continuously measured for evaluating their physiological state. After measuring the baseline and watching a VR forest video, their psychological state was evaluated using the profile of mood state (POMS), semantic differential (SD) method, and positive affect and negative affect schedule (PANAS). The results of physiological evaluation after watching a VR forest video showed a decrease in the stress index and HR, an increase in the activity of the parasympathetic nervous system, and the standard deviation of normal to normal RR intervals (SDNN). The results of psychological assessment confirmed that watching a VR forest video induced "comfort", "natural", and "soothed" feelings in subjects. In addition, watching a VR forest video decreased "tension-anxiety (T-A)", "depression-dejection (D)", "anger-hostility (A-H)", "fatigue (F)", "total mood disturbance (TMD)", and increased "vigor (V)" compared to the base line, and decreased "negative affect" and increased "positive affect." These results indicate that watching a VR forest video decreases adults' stress index, stabilizes physiological state, and has a positive impact on psychological state. The findings of this study can serve as a basis for providing forest welfare services to people in the blind spots of forest welfare, and can lay a foundation for the adoption of VR, one of the technologies of the fourth industrial revolution in forestry.