• Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
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• v.50 no.4
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• pp.663-673
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• 2023

The purpose of this study was to scientifically activate the forest healing program activities for the elderly. The predicted mean vote (PMV) and predicted percentage of dissatisfied (PPD), which are indices of thermal comfort in the thermal environment, and degree of canopy closure were compared and analyzed. Based on this information, the study objective was to present the appropriate conditions for maintaining the best comfort for the elderly. Six deck road shelters, which are the most active locations in forest healing programs among the National Center for Forest Therapy, were selected as the study sites. The results indicated that in the case of the conditions of 1 clo (clothing insulation value) and 1 met (metabolic rate) at an air temperature of 19 to 21 degrees in September on the measurement date, the PMV values ranged between -1.85 and -0.98 at all sites, and PPD values ranged between 25.60% and 68.68%. On the other hand, in the case of 1.3 clo and 1.6 met conditions, the PMV values ranged between -0.08 and 0.23 for all sites and PPD values ranged between 5.40 and 6.18. As shown above, the difference in thermal environment comfort and satisfaction according to the condition of the amount of metabolism and the amount of clothing could be confirmed. In addition, an analysis of the relation between PPD and canopy closure suggested a significantly positive correlation between them, and it was found that canopy closure was a factor affecting thermal comfort. Studies on effects of forest thermal environmental comfort and canopy closure on forest healing program areas should be conducted extensively according to seasonal conditions to provide information that can be used for more effective forest healing programs.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.424-434
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• 2021

People who face retirement in aging society experience changes in resilience and psychological depression. As the baby boomer generation, which has played a central role in Korea's economic and social sectors, begins retiring, interest in their post-retirement lives has also increased. Thus, this study investigates the effects of a forest healing program using forest healing factors of ecological forests on the resilience and depression of baby-boomer retirees. This experiment divided 58 subjects in the baby boomer generation into three groups and examined differences among the groups. The result showed that the subjects in the forest healing program group (FHPG) had a very significant increase in resilience and a statistically significant decrease in depression compared to those in the forest healing program non-participation group (FHNG) and the daily life group (DLG). Therefore, it can be said participating in the forest healing program is more effective for retirees than voluntary forest activities. The results of this study can be used as basic data for research on the resilience and depression of retirees.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.28 no.5
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• pp.597-606
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• 2014

The preference of general adult on the forest and forest road was surveyed and analyzed for the development of forest therapy program. This study was conducted for the purpose of providing a basis for the development of more targeted-and differentiated-forest therapy program by analyzing the preference of general adult on the forest and forest road from 19 April 2014 to 30 June 2014 through on-line survey. The sample group of 613 adults has been used in practical analysis. Using SPSS 21.0, We looked at the preference differences of the forest and forest road according to the demographic characteristics(sex, age, education level, occupation and monthly income) through descriptive statistics analysis, frequency analysis, cross tabulation analysis, multiple response analysis. The seasonal preference was spring, autumn, any season, summer, winter in order and there was a significant difference according to one's sex, age, occupation and monthly income. There was a significant difference in the configuration of forest according to one's monthly income. The favorite type of forest as a place of forest healing program was natural recreational forest, healing forest, urban forest, park, school forest in order. There was no significant difference in the favorite forest type regarding to the distance to the healing place from one's residence in all cases. There was a significant difference in the type of forest according to one's monthly income. The most favorite configuration of forest road was gentle sloped road. Once walking into the forest for the purpose of healing, the favorite forest road length was 1.5~3 km, less then 1.5 km, more than 3 km in order and there was a significant difference in preference according to one's sex, age, education level and monthly income. We believe that the healing program should be differentiated from the general form of it according to one's sex, age, education level, occupation and monthly income as a result of this investigation of preference of general adult on the forest and forest road for the development of forest therapy program. In particular, we believe that the differentiated program should be offered according to one's age. We expect this analysis to be used as a basis for the development of forest therapy program.

• Journal of People, Plants, and Environment
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.245-254
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• 2020

Patients diagnosed with cancer face mental problems such as alienation, isolation, anxiety about death and fear, recovering from psychological difficulties. In this study, a forest healing program was provided for cancer patients to recover from psychological stress, depression, social isolation and self-esteem caused by cancer and changes in salivary cortisol through psychological and emotional recovery were measured. From September 19 to November 28, 2017, a forest healing program composed of a total of 10 sessions, two hours per session was provided for 12 cancer patients in the Forest of Taegyo located in Yongin. Psychological tests were performed with Social Adaptation Self-evaluation Scale (SASS), Korean-version Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) and Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and the collected data were analyzed with the SPSS 18.0. The salivary cortisol level was measured along with the psychological tests and were analyzed by a specialized testing agency. The results of the analysis showed that the pre- and post-assessment score of SASS was 29.17 and 25.92, respectively, and that the pre- and post-assessment score of PSS was 30.50 and 23.92, respectively. The pre- and post-assessment score of BDI was 41.00 and 34.83, respectively, which showed significant differences. In addition, the pre- and post-assessment level of saliva cortisol was 3.13 and 1.68, respectively, showing a significant decrease. In short, the forest healing program was found to be effective in reducing physiological changes caused by social isolation and stress due to the emotional and psychological difficulties that the subjects who were diagnosed with cancer and were recovering from it have. In the future, it will be necessary to develop and implement a forest healing program by conducting a forest healing requirement survey on cancer patients.

• Proceedings of The Korean Society of Agricultural and Forest Meteorology Conference
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• 2019.08a
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• pp.290-291
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• 2019

• Journal of Forest and Environmental Science
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• v.39 no.4
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• pp.225-234
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• 2023

This study verified the effect of a combined forest/thermal therapy (FT/TT) program on participants with depressive symptoms and smoking or alcohol dependence. The participants included 20 people in the experimental group and 18 people in the control group. The experimental group participated in the FT/TT program for 2 nights and 3 days at the National Center for Forest Healing, in Hoengseong (National Hoengseong Supchewon), and a charcoal kiln operated by the Gangwon Charcoal Farming Association. The control group carried out their daily life for the same period. Psychological, physiological, and biochemical tests were conducted to determine the effect of the program. The results showed that there were significant improvements in stress, anxiety, depression, sleep quality, sleep satisfaction, and IL-6 levels. However, no significant difference was found in the cortisol, serotonin and melatonin levels between the experimental and control groups. Thus, the FT/TT therapy had psychological and biochemical effects on individuals with depression and nicotine or alcohol dependency. Further studies should be conducted to verify the effect of forest healing in various conditions.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Industry Convergence
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• v.26 no.6_3
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• pp.1183-1195
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• 2023

In this study, we collected and analyzed domestic and international studies related to watersheds in the forest sector. Keyword co-occurrence analysis was conducted using the VOSviewer program to identify the research areas of domestic and international studies and the network structure to compare research trends. As a result, the number of research articles in international watershed-related studies showed an overall increasing trend, and the research areas were diverse and located close to each other, indicating that many convergence studies were conducted. On the other hand, the number of papers in domestic watershed-related studies seems to have stagnated overall from the past to the present, and the research areas are mainly focused on forest disasters and hydrology, with limited interdisciplinary convergence studies. In addition, in both domestic and international studies, watersheds are currently mentioned as research sites rather than management or analysis units in the forest sector. It is important to actively promote interdisciplinary research in Korea to provide a scientific and balanced basis for watershed-level forest management planning.

• Hwankyungkyoyuk
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.34-47
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• 2003

The purpose of this study is to analyze the program development process of a nonformal environmental education(EE) program in detail. For the purpose, following research questions were answered in "the Nature School in the Forest" program in Eco-Club 1) What is the program development process? 2) What is the role of staffs, program developers, in the program development process? What are the meanings of their pedagogical approach? 3) With the findings of this study, how is the researcher able to develop ground theory for community-based nonformal EE, and to promote theoretical discussion for field improvement? The data were mainly gathered through participation observation and unstructured interview. And the data were analyzed by qualitative techniques such as clustering, factoring, noting pattern and themes, seeing plausibility, making metaphors, and building logical chain of evidence. The following conclusion comes out of the findings of this study. "The Nature School in the Forest" program is a educational device which the community-based NGO chose as a strategy to change individuals and community with its ideological purpose. And the program development process was the contiuous group decision-making process among staffs and volunteers. Consequently "the Nature School in the Forest" program is a circulated process of the voluntary activists training and their participation in program operation.

• The Journal of the Korean Institute of Forest Recreation
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.49-58
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• 2018

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of weekend forest healing programs using urban forest on family cohesion and family relationship improvement and parental satisfaction with programs. 21 families (65 people)participated in the weekend forest healing program in Incheon Grand Park from April to August 2018. The program using family forest experience activity and forest healing therapy was newly constructed and implemented with 4 times 8 hours for 2 hours each week. The results of this study is that weekend forest healing programs for family gave a positive effect on family cohesion and family relationship, and parents' satisfaction showed high satisfaction in most items. Therefore, we concluded that forest healing activities are suitable for effective healing activities in modern society where functions such as family cohesion and emotional bond are recognized as important by improving family cohesion and family relationship. Further research should be extended to different types of families, and the development of diverse and interesting family-experience forest healing programs that reflect family needs should continue.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Environmental Restoration Technology
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• v.18 no.6
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• pp.111-133
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• 2015

This study was carried out to survey the vascular plants of Baekdudaegan Arboretum area. The results are as follows. The numbers of flora in this study area were summarized as 655 taxa including 95 families, 332 genera, 567 species, 5 subspecies, 72 varieties and 11 formas. The rare plants were 17 taxa including Parasenecio firmus, Rhododendron micranthum, Iris odaesanensis, Lysimachia coreana and so forth. The Korean endemic plants were 16 taxa including Weigela subsessilis, Heloniopsis koreana, Salix koriyanagi, Vicia chosenensis and so forth. Plants Adaptable to Climate Change were Northern plants 18 species, Southern plants 2 species, endemic plants 10 species. The naturalized plants were 44 taxa and ratios of naturalized index and urbanization index were estimated Core area 10.2% and 4.9%, Mt. Munsu 4.9% and 2.3% and Mt. Okseok 5.5% and 2.6%. The floristic regional indicator plants found in this area were 3taxa(2.5%) of grade V, 12taxa(11.0%) of grade IV, 22taxa(20.2%) of grade III, 35taxa(32.1%) of grade II. In life forms, hemicryptophytes were The most dominant. Next was a Therophytes. In addition, 492 taxa were categorized by usage into 8 groups, as follows: Edible 239taxa(36.5%), Fiber 10taxa(1.5%), Industrial 1taxon(0.2%), Miscellaneous 183taxa(27.9%), Ornamental 65taxa(9.9%), Pasturing 259taxa(39.5%), Siscellaneousg 14taxa(2.1%) and Timer 21taxa(3.2%).