Background and objective: Woodland gardens, or gardens designed to emulate the aesthetic and environmental characteristics of forest vegetation, can assist in resolving various environmental and societal problems. However, research regarding woodland gardens in a Korean context has been insufficient, as the concept has only recently been introduced to Korea. This study was conducted to investigate the Korean public's perceptions of two types of woodland gardens and to suggest future directions for the popularization of woodland gardens in Korea.Methods: This study was carried out based on a survey. The respondents were provided with a questionnaire on three sets of images representing two types of woodland garden (naturalistic and urban) and a typical formal garden. The questionnaire was designed based on the semantic differential method to gather information on the general public's recognition of the concept of woodland gardens, and their preference and perception of each type of garden. The collected data were analyzed using SPSS Statistics 29.Results: The results suggest that the majority of the respondents were familiar with the term "woodland garden." Of the types of gardens, preference for naturalistic woodland gardens (NWGs) was the highest. Landscape adjectives associated with each type of garden were natural, harmonious, comfortable and simple for NWGs, and organized, artificial, simple, poor, and comfortable for urban woodland gardens (UWGs). A factor analysis on the adjectives identified four factors for each type. Of the identified factors, comfort and stability were found to have particularly greater effects on preference.Conclusion: Preference for NWGs was greater than UWGs, due to the perception that they provided greater comfort and stability. It is expected that designing woodland gardens based on the finding of this study would aid in the popularization of woodland gardens, and the advancement of garden culture in Korea.

Forest recreation is a key public-benefit function of forests, but as a non-market good, evidence of the public’s willingness to pay (WTP) for its sustained provision remains scarce. This study applied the double-bounded dichotomous choice contingent valuation method to estimate WTP for the forest recreation function and identify its determinants. In September 2025, a nationwide online survey presented a hypothetical continued-provision scenario to 1050 adults aged 20–74 across South Korea’s 17 metropolitan and provincial regions and elicited WTP as a per-visit fee. Sociodemographic characteristics, awareness, use experience, satisfaction, perceived effects, and forest ecological sensitivity were examined, with a parallel analysis excluding 192 protest respondents. Mean stated WTP was KRW 17,418 (approximately USD 12.3). Household income, awareness, satisfaction with rest and leisure in forests, and forest ecological sensitivity were statistically significant determinants. After protest responses were excluded, mean stated WTP was KRW 21,483 (approximately USD 15.1), and use experience emerged as an additional significant determinant. These findings provide empirical evidence on stated WTP under a hypothetical per-visit payment scenario and may inform forest recreation service design and assessment of forests’ public-benefit functions.