• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.626-635
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• 2015

Recently, the number of trail users in Korea has risen tremendously. Consequently, the cost of safety measures related to hiking is sharply increasing. Despite the safety cost input, the number of heart-related adverse events has been not decreasing. Therefore, this research aims to suggest the use of objective and quantitative trail use information in terms of course difficulty. The study site is Jirisan Dullegil (Jirisan Forest Trail). The currently available trail difficulty information either provides the difficulty rating in terms of 3 to 5 levels according to several empirical difficulty factors reported by staff who maintain the forest or simply states the distance of each trail. Thus, many trail visitors feel a great gap between the given information and actual difficulties they experience. In this study, we tried to assess the degree of difficulty by actual energy consumption. Calculating the volumetric oxygen consumption (VOC) by the distance and gradient not only makes possible an absolute rating but a comparison among the trails as well. Also, it is highly effective to simply describe the exercise intensity of a certain trail. Further, it is easy to check the VOCs' changes by switching the start-end points of the same trail. Providing the trail information of VOCs by sections and directions, we expect to prevent heart-related accidents.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.113 no.2
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• pp.210-221
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• 2024

This study aimed to investigate the effects of forest walking based on an exercise prescription on body composition of older adults. Forty-four older adults (average age: 69.3 ± 3.1 years) participated in this study. The experimental group engaged in forest walking based on a prescribed exercise intensity considering the participants' respective health conditions. The participants walked three times a week for more than an hour each time for 8 weeks. By contrast, the participants in the control group spent their days according to their usual lifestyle. The analysis involved the following: ① a comparison of the measurements taken before and after the 8-week period of forest walking in the experimental group, ② a comparison between pre- and post-study measurements in the control group, and ③ a comparison of the changes (post-study minus pre-study values) between the experimental and control groups. The results were as follows: ① the experimental group showed significant decreases in weight, body fat mass, and body mass index; ② the control group exhibited significant decreases in muscle mass and ratio in right arm and left leg, muscle ratio in trunk, and body water mass in right arm; and ③ weight and body fat index decreased in the experimental group but increased in the control group. In conclusion, forest walking based on an exercise prescription had a positive impact on body composition of older adults.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.36 no.6
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• pp.676-683
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• 2022

Due to the effects of rapid changes in the living environment since 2000 and the recent unforeseen pandemic, people are refraining from domestic and international traveling and movement, and outdoor activities for health and the public value of forest trails, called Dullegil Trail in Korea, have become more important. This study estimated the environmental value of the tentatively named "East-West Trail," which connects the forest trails crossing Chungcheong and Gyeongsang Provinces using CVM (Contingent Valuation Method). It surveyed visitors to the East-West Trail, and 725 questionnaires were used for analysis. The average characteristics of respondents were those who exercised 2-3 times per week, visited a forest trail not far from their residence with friends or family, and showed a tendency to spend 50 thousand Korean won or more per visit. Visitors to the Dullegil Trail felt that there was a shortage of information boards on the forest trail, and they preferred a shelter in appropriate locations. We used a double-bounded dichotomous choice (BDDC) logit model proposed by Hanemann to measure the conservation value of the East-West Trail. It was estimated that the environmental value that a visitor to the East-West Trail could obtain was 30,087 won per trip. The estimated environmental value of the East-West Trail can be converted to about 94 billion won total visitors annually based on the population belonging to the direct-use zone near the East-West Trail. As there has been no study on the environmental value of forest trails using CVM, the results of this study will be able to suggest the feasibility of the government policies on forest trails.

• 공원문화
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• s.84
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• pp.14-15
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• 2009

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Environment and Ecology Conference
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• 2004.04a
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• pp.165-168
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• 2004

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Landscape Architecture Conference
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• 2021.10a
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• pp.51-52
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• 2021

• Magazine of RCR
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.25-32
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• 2014

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Landscape Architecture Conference
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• 2019.11a
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• pp.45-46
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• 2019

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Landscape Architecture Conference
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• 2023.10a
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• pp.16-17
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• 2023

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.30 no.6
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• pp.1057-1066
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• 2016

This study examined how 'forest name' or 'information of forest healing effectiveness' influence their perceived environmental restorativeness (PER) and perceived healing effectiveness (PHE). Study area was the 'Forest Healing Road (FHR)' in Mudeungsan National Park. Data were collected from 247 visitors selected by convenient sampling method using questionnaire survey during May-June, 2015. Respondents who read interpretive signs (forest name and information on forest healing effectiveness of FHR were written) installed along the FHR were regarded as placebo group and respondents who didn't read them as control group. The results showed that there were no overall differences on PER and PHE between control and placebo groups. Placebo group, however, rated more positive on 'being away' factor of PER than control group. All four factors (i.e., being away, coherence, fascination, comparability) of PER statistically influenced PHE (p<0.001), and these factors explained 51.1% of PHE. The 'coherence' was the most influential to PHE, followed by 'being away', 'comparability', and 'fascination' in order. Placebo effects on PER were shown in male, in lower age group(age${\leq}54$), or respondents with lower visiting experience to FHR(${\leq}20$ times/year). Placebo effects on PHE were found in male, in small group (${\leq}2$ persons), in respondents who visited 'alone' or 'with relatives/family', or in respondents with lower visiting experience to FHR(${\leq}20$ times/year). Some research and managerial implications were suggested.