Background and objective This study examined the changes in the cultural trend of use for green infrastructure in Seoul due to COVID-19 pandemic. Methods The subjects of this study are 8 sites of green infrastructure selected by type: Forested green infrastructure, Watershed green infrastructure, Park green infrastructure, Walkway green infrastructure. The data used for analysis was blog posts for a total of four years from August 1, 2016 to July 31, 2020. The analysis method was conducted keyword frequency analysis, topic modeling, and related keyword analysis. Results The results of this study are as follows. First, the number of posts on green infrastructure has increased since COVID-19, especially forested green infrastructure and watershed green infrastructure with abundant naturalness and high openness. Second, the cultural trend keywords before and after COVID-19 changed from large-scale to small-scale, community-based to individual-based activities, and nondaily to daily culture. Third, after COVID-19, topics and keywords related to coronavirus showed that the cultural trends were reflected on appreciation, activities, and dailiness based on natural resources. In sum, the interest in green infrastructure in Seoul has increased after COVID-19. Also, the change of green infrastructure represents the increased demand for experience that reflects the need and expectation for nature. Conclusion The new trend of green Infrastructure in the pandemic era should be considered in the the individual relaxations & activities.

Background and objective The purpose of this study is to determine the difference in the perceived social values of community gardens as urban green space between participating and non-participating residents. Methods From December to March 2021, a survey was conducted on community gardens that targeted both participating and non-participating residents. For data analysis, frequency analysis, independent samples T-test and regression analysis were performed using SPSS 21.0. Results First, there were differences between residents participating in GCG activities and non-participating residents in their perception of community gardens, as well as their perception of expected conflicts. To resolve expected conflicts, both groups responded that efforts through communication were necessary, but participating residents highlighted the need for trust with the administration; while non-participating residents suggested improving the physical environment. Second, both groups recognized the social values of the community garden as important, and generally evaluated the value of leisure and recreation to be high. However, there was a difference between the groups when it came to the importance of each category of social values; participating residents ranked the categories in the order of symbolic value, value of the commons, and ecological value, while for non-participating residents, the priority of social values was ranked in the order of ecological value> symbolic value = the value of the commons. From this difference, it can be noted that the focus on the perception of spatial values could change from the physical aspect to the cognitive aspect depending on whether residents participated or not. Third, both groups answered that it was necessary to expand opportunities for participation to promote social values. However, participating residents prioritized institutional support over expanding opportunities for participation, while non-participating residents recognized the diversification of programs as an equally important means of social value enhancement as the expansion of opportunities for participation, placing more importance on the physical conditions for their participation activities. The value of the commons was found to be a factor influencing the satisfaction with relevant projects. Conclusion In conclusion, both participating and non-participating residents recognized the community garden as important as a space for realizing social values. Therefore, to realize social values in community gardens and successfully promote relevant projects, specific practical measures and strategies are needed to expand the physical value of community gardens, reduce differences between groups in their perception of social values through transparent and open communication and active participation, and enhance cognitive value through institutional support.

Background and objective Due to the recent crisis of extinction in local areas, the mountain village promotion policy is recognized as an important task. This study examined the priorities of major policy projects in the forest sector that affect mountain village promotion. Methods For research methods, literature search, expert advisory meetings, and a survey were conducted. The survey was conducted on 42 policy stakeholders from June 1 to August 13, 2021. The literature search was based on policy projects in the forest sector by 8 upper-level local governments including mountain villages. For questionnaire items, 173 forest policy projects were classified into 27 types through expert review, and the importance and performance of each type were rated on a 5-point Likert scale. Paired t-test, IPA, Locus for Focus model, and Borich needs assessment were used as the analysis methods, and the statistical program SPSS 21.0 was used as the analytical tool. Results The results showed that ‘creating forest-related jobs’ and ‘supporting cultivation of professional forestry workers’ both showed high importance and performance, implying that they would show an effect in mountain village promotion. ‘Creating forests for environmental improvement’, ‘discovering forest cultural assets’ ‘establishing and boosting forest tourism’, ‘providing forest therapy services’, ‘creating forest-related jobs’, ‘supporting community revitalization’, and ‘urban-rural exchanges’ were found to be the types that needed improvement and concentration for mountain village promotion. In particular, ‘creating forests for environmental improvement' and ‘discovering forest cultural assets’ were derived as priority considerations for mountain village promotion policies. Conclusion In summary, it was found that in order to promote mountain villages, various content projects must be improved and carried out to enhance the physical environment and revitalize mountain villages.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, urban forests have become important restorative environmental spaces for which demand-customized management based on users’ experiences is needed. We collected 21,557 data points from blogs from January 2020 to December 2021. For data analysis, keyword frequency, term frequency–inverse document frequency, and sentiment analyses were conducted using TEXTOM 4.0, and a semantic linkage network was established and analyzed using Gephi 0.92. In the analyses, the restorative environment components of “being away”, “fascination”, “extent”, and “compatibility” were derived from users’ experiences. Fascination, which stems from natural objects such as rocks, valleys, and trails, was derived the most frequently, and being away and compatibility, representing leisure activities such as climbing and walking, formed the largest cluster in cluster analysis. Sentiment analysis revealed a high positive word rate of 91.6%, with favorable feelings accounting for 87.5%, whereas the proportion of joy and interest (12.5%) was relatively low. In addition, this study showed that hard fascinations such as sports, entertainment, and education are required to improve the experience quality in urban forests as restorative environments. Hence, the necessity of local government policies and projects is emphasized.

Background and objective Due to the recent demographic crisis driving the extinction of certain local communities, it is necessary to promote core projects to revitalize mountain village and rural areas. Methods This study collected a total of 443 policy projects based on major policies and major business plans in the forestry and agricultural sectors of the eight regional governments in 2021. The collected 443 policy projects related to revitalizing the mountain villages were classified by 3 experts into 5 domains in the forestry sector, which further broke down into 27 types, 3 domains in the agricultural sector, and which further broke down into 23 types, for a total of 8 domains and 50 types, and an online survey of 42 policy stakeholders was then conducted. Analysis methods were t-test and Importance-Performance Analysis (IPA), and implications were derived through comparison between forestry and agricultural sectors. Results The analysis produced several findings. first, it was positive that many projects in the sustainability field appeared in both forestry and agricultural sectors, but it was found that the policy projects needed to be reviewed due to the lack of types corresponding to projects in the intensive promotion area. Intensive core efforts included “discovering forest cultural assets” and “creating forests to improve the environment.” Second, it is necessary to pay attention to the forestry policy sector, as the forestry policy sector were generally lower in importance and performance than the agricultural policy sector. Third, the domains with high importance and performance to mountain village revitalization were “forest welfare services”, “improving settlement environment”, and “increasing incomes” while the domains with low importance and performance were mountain villages and forest culture areas. Conclusion In summary, to revitalize mountain villages in response to the issue of the pending extinction of local communities, forest welfare service projects should continuously be promoted and strategic responses are required for “discovering forest cultural assets” and “creating forests for environmental improvement,” which are suggested as key strategic project types.

This study explores the relationship between forest culture (FC) and sustainable consumption by applying the means-end chain (MEC) theory. Compared with general products, FC products are consumed from a value consumption perspective, and their benefits have varying impacts on individuals and society. This study uses MEC theory to link the preferred attributes of FC with the expected benefits and pursued values (PVs) of FC. We (1) identified the indicators of the expected benefits of PVs and preferred activities (PAs) of FC through factor analysis, (2) examined the relationships between these factors using MEC theory, and (3) validated the factors through structural equation modeling (SEM). We surveyed 1700 Koreans to explore how FC benefits, values, and activities relate to consumer behavior. Factor analysis divided PVs into symbolic, social, and consumption values and PAs into tourism–exploration, cultural–artistic, and living–leisure activities of FC. According to SEM analysis, the contributing characteristics of FC affect the PVs and, in turn, the PAs of FC, yielding an acceptable model fit (GFI > 0.9). Thus, the concrete attitudes of consumers toward FC were categorized via abstract concepts, which influenced their practical and behavioral attitudes. In conclusion, FC products should be developed with a focus on value consumption.