• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.31 no.6
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• pp.595-605
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• 2017

This study was intended to investigate the effects of after-school forest healing programs on the pro-social behavior and self-efficacy of young children using the attributes of forest and the forest healing factors. The children attending a kindergarten located in ${\bigcirc}{\bigcirc}$ - dong, Cheongju city were divided into a test group which participated in the forest healing program activities and a control group which participated in the regular programs of the kindergarten but not in the forest healing program. Each group consisted of 20 boys and girls aged 3 to 5 years. The forest healing program was conducted once a week from 10 April to 10 July in 2017 for a total of 12 sessions, and each session lasted one hour (60 minutes). The pro-sociality behavior and self-efficacy test of the children was conducted before and after the forest healing program, and the data were analyzed using SPSS 18.0 program. The result showed that the pro-social behaviors that indicated the ability to execute the positive action and the self-efficacy that indicated the self-confidence were statistically significant (p<0.05). The young children who participated in the forest healing program improved their self-esteem through positive thoughts from being with their peer in nature. Moreover, they increased not only ecological knowledge but also consideration for others and cooperative spirit. They also greatly improved the ability to control personal emotion and the ability to form the personal relationship which are the sub-factors of pro-sociality, the ability to adapt to the early childhood education institution, and the physical efficacy which is the sub-factor of self-efficacy. It was concluded that the after-school forest healing program had a positive impact on pro-social behavior and self-efficacy.

• Journal of People, Plants, and Environment
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.377-385
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• 2020

Background and objective: In the Republic of Korea, military service is mandatory. Some of new recruits have the stress from the special environment, which could cause psychological maladjustment. The military forces have operated education programs such as green camp and healing camp. The study was conducted to investigate changes in psychological and physiological stress by conducting forest healing activities along with plant scent treatment for soldiers participating in a green camp. Methods: A total of 52 soldiers were participated including maladjustment soldiers and those recommended by their military units to protect the unfit soldiers who participated in forest healing activities in the green camp. The programs that were certified by the Korea Forest Service between 2014 and 2019, and were applied for stress reduction and relaxation training were classified into stress-coping programs and forest experience programs. Post-hoc surveys and cortisol measurements were carried out. Results: Green camp soldiers experience and differences in the level of stress responses were found to be very statistically significant between the treatment and control groups. The techniques for coping with stress were not significantly different in the control group, and the treatment group showed statistically significant results. In addition, the results of analyzing changes in the concentration of cortisol and measuring physiological stress were very statistically significant in forest healing activities at 4 p.m. Conclusion: Once green camp soldiers face stressful situations, forest healing programs using forest plant scents for green camp soldiers can have positive responses and forest healing activities can reduce psychological and physiological stress responses, improving maladjustment behaviors caused by stress and positively affecting the reduction of cortisol.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.104 no.2
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• pp.294-299
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• 2015

This study was conducted to investigate the influence of a forest healing program on the level of job stress and the profile of mood states (POMS). 38 public servants who were in charge of social welfare in A city as well as 24 metal health care workers in C province participated in the forest healing programs. The data were collected by a pretest-posttest design. The data analysis showed that both job stress and POMS levels were significantly improved by the forest healing program. The therapeutic effects of forests are highly expected to be utilized for healing programs for job stress reduction and burnout prevention.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.540-552
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• 2020

The purpose of this study is to analyze forest healing from a Buddhist perspective and improve its effect, and the forest has a close relationship with Buddhism than any religion. the Buddha's life is connected to forest and tree, which is caused by the spiritual nature and role of forest. Healing deals with the problem of suffering of the mind, and in Buddhism, it is solved through practice. By understanding the phenomenon of delusions such as thoughts, greed, and bad feelings about sensory control, vhfptmxmhelps to escape from the desire to pursue unnecessary stimuli or external objects, Human beings can get comfort and pleasure through the five senses in the beautiful natural scenery, and find the stability of the mind. This is because when entering the forest, good environments that prevent the 6th consciousness from growing delusions way the operation of the five senses are contained in the forest, This study is a preliminary study that analyzed the effects based on the natural environmental healing factor and Buddhist theory of forests based on previous studies, As a result of examining whether Buddhism can maximize the healing effect of forest healing, it was confirmed that it can contribute to activation along with existing forest healing techniques, The verification of the effectiveness will be left as a follow-up research project through future experimental research, and this study is expected to contribute to the activation of forest healing effect.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.468-474
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• 2021

Forest healing is a natural method that utilizes various natural environmental factors of forests to enhance immunity and to heal mental and physical pathologies. The aim of this study is to suggest implications for the future development of forest healing by analyzing the characteristics of facilities and programs in 28 national and public healing forests in Korea. The concept of forest healing and programs is defined, and healing forests operating in Korea are classified by size. The facility operation and program characteristics of healing forests were analyzed according to size, and the results were used to suggest a future direction for the development of domestic forest healing. The research results are as follows. First, domestic healing forests have gradually been reduced in size since they were first opened in 2009, which is the cause of the competitive creation of local governments. Second, healing spaces, forest paths, and programs for the elderly, pregnant women and disabled should be expanded. Third, lodging programs need to be expanded, and subsidies for usage fees from local governments are required. Institutional supplementation should be provided to link program development and facilities and to clarify procedures and standards for forest healing facilities.

• 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.

• 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 Korean Society of Rural Planning
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.29-41
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• 2021

This study was conducted to identify the interest, needs, and preferences for forest healing programs of patients with chronic diseases. A total of 227 individuals with chronic diseases who were admitted to a university hospital were surveyed on the needs and preferences of forest healing programs. The participants of this study were 111 patients (48.9%) with cardiovascular disease, 88 patients (38.8%) with gastrointestinal diseases, 39 patients with musculoskeletal disease (17.2%), and 78 patients (34.3%) with other diseases. About 51% of all participants had heard of the forest healing programs, but 94.3% of the participants said they had no experience in participating. The frequency of forest visits was the most often once a month or not, and the reason for not being able to participate in forest healing programs was "because there was no time to spare." The participants generally preferred a small group programs with family members or their friends for one day or two days. The preferred seasons were spring and autumn, and the preferred time zones were morning and weekend, and the participants preferred outdoor programs rather than indoors. An important factors of the programs were dense forests, trees, landscape, sound, and fresh air. These preferences can be applied when developing forest healing programs for patients with chronic diseases.

• 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 Agricultural Science
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• v.49 no.4
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• pp.983-993
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• 2022

The purpose of this study is to provide information on a forest healing environment using the analysis of nature volatile organic compounds (NVOCs) and thermal comfort in Chungnam National University Experimental Forest, with the aim of using the Experimental Forest as a healing environment for health promotion. We analyzed NVOCs and thermal comfort of Chungnam National University Experimental Forest measured on September 12^th, 2021. As a result of the NVOC analysis, a total of seven substances were detected, mainly including alpha pinene and beta pinene. The detection amount for each time period was highest at the time of sunset. The thermal comfort was analyzed by time-dependent changes and changes according to clothing and exercise amount. The results showed that the predicted mean vote of the experimental forest is within the range of 'slightly cool' and 'slightly warm' sensation, and thus a comfortable thermal environment could be controlled by the amount of clothing and activity. Based on the analysis, this study provides information on the healing environment of the experimental forest at Chungnam National University. It also indicates that the forest can be used as a health promotion and healing environment with thermal comfort by composing a physical activity program of appropriate intensity for each time period.