• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.30 no.5
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• pp.908-914
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• 2016

Both interests in nature-friendly education and demands for nature experience program are steadily increasing in children education field in korea. This study aims to find out that five-sense experience-activity with healing factors of forest can have an effect on both self-efficacy and respectful recognition of life of children. 5-year-old young children were chosen as the subjects for this study. Test group participated two times a week in the special forest class in a children education institute in Chungju oo-dong while control group did not. Both test group and control group were composed of 20 young children respectively and each group were 11 boys and 9 girls respectively. The five senses experience activity program was conducted two sessions a week from 8 August to 20 September in 2016 and each session was one hour (60 minutes) long. Five senses experience activity is an activity that young children awaken their five senses in the forest, recognize seasonal change with their five senses, build up their selves and become intimate with nature. Before and after the program self- efficacy test and respectful recognition of life test were conducted and the data was analyzed using SPSS 18.0 program. The results indicated that after participating five senses experience activity program both children's self-efficacy which means having positive-thinking and self-confidence and respectful recognition of life which means valuing nature coexisting with nature were improved significantly(p<0.05). Through five senses experience activity young children felt nature freely and to their heart's content with their bodies and five senses experience activity had better positive impacts on children's self- efficacy and respectful recognition of life than classroom activities.

• Korean Journal of Plant Resources
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.263-270
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• 2020

In this study, we evaluated the effect of the extracts from Lonicera caerulea leaves (LCLE), branches (LCBE) and fruits (LCFE) on the cell growth and migration in human colorectal cancer cells, HCT116 and SW480 cells. LCLE and LCBE dose- and time-dependently inhibited the proliferation of HCT116 and SW480 cells. However, LCFE did not affect the proliferation of HCT116 and SW480 cells. In addition, LCLE and LCBE dramatically cell migration and wound healing in HCT116 cells. LCLE and LCBE decreased β-catenin protein level but not mRNA level in HCT116 and SW480 cells. Furthermore, LCLE decreased TCF4 level in both protein and mRNA level in HCT116 and SW480 cells. However, LCBE decreased TCF4 protein level but not mRNA level in HCT116 and SW480 cells. Based on these findings, LCLE and LCBE may inhibit the cell proliferation and migration through blocking Wnt signaling activation in human colorectal cancer cells. Therefore, LCLE and LCBE may be a potential candidate for the development of chemopreventive or therapeutic agents for human colorectal cancer.

• Journal of People, Plants, and Environment
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.107-117
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• 2021

Background and objective: The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of a forest healing program in terms of depression, neuropsychological and physiological benefits for the elderly. Methods: For this purpose, we developed a forest therapy program for the elderly who are vulnerable to dementia and conducted a total of 11 sessions of forest therapy activities in a forest once a week. We measured the changes in depression, resting-state Electroencephalography(EEG) and heart rate variability (HRV) before and after the program. There were 60 subjects aged over 65 yesrs old. 30 subjects participated in the forest therapy program, and the other were in the control group. The Geriatric Depression Scale was used to measure the level of depression, neuroNicle FX2 (Laxtha, Korea) was used to measure the resting-state EEG, and photoplethymogram (ubpulse T1, Laxtha, Korea) was used to measure the HRV. Results: The results showed that the depression index of the experimental group improved with statistical significance after the program (experiment group = 3.267 decrease of the mean). In the EEG measurement, the alpha-peak frequency at rest (experimental group = 0.227 Hz increase of the mean) was improved (mean increase = 0.23 in the experimental group, p < .05). The high frequency of HRV, which represents the parasympathetic nerve activity of the body's autonomous response, was also significantly improved (mean increase = 0.396 in the experimental group, p < .05). Conclusion: The results suggest that the forest therapy program can reduce the cognitive, psychological and physical risk factors of dementia for the elderly at risk of cognitive decline. Therefore, forest therapy activities may be suitable for the prevention of dementia in the elderly.

• Journal of the Korea Convergence Society
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• v.9 no.6
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• pp.147-154
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• 2018

The purpose of this study is to clarify the structure of healing coded through transcriptional activity in the poem of Cho Ji-Hoon in the aspect of literary therapy. In particular, the search for how the codes of emotion are activated through neurophysiologic synapse. The variation of emotional codes developed in Cho Ji-Hoon's poem is in line with the encoding of literary therapy. Emotions emanating from poetic statements stimulate the transition of new emotions and activate emotions of healing. Cho Ji-Hoon's poem fuses emotions through the floods of various poetic transitions. It is then forming an overall healing forest. The healing content is discussed by the structure of transition, and all the structures are linked to the contents of healing. It is a greater part of sad lyricism by the action of descent and ascension, and green aesthetics of the leaves. In the future, if Cho Ji-Hoon's research on poetry is activated, we will be able to meet genuine stories about his natural and literary healing life.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.333-340
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• 2019

As the number of students in the multicultural background grows, the interest in their education is also increasing. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of forest healing factors on the improvement of language ability and ego-resilience of students from multicultural families. We conducted an after-school forest healing program of ten male and ten female middle school students of a multicultural preparatory school located in ${\bigcirc}{\bigcirc}$-dong in Cheongju, Chungnam Province. The experiment consisted of a total of 12 weekly one-hour (60 minutes) programs from April 12, 2018 to June 26, 2018. The forest healing program is an activity that uses the various environmental factors that exist in the forest to increase the immunity of the human body and restore physical and mental health. To determine the difference in ego-resilience before and after the program, we conducted a paired t-test and analyzed with the SPSS 18.0 program. The results showed that the ego-resilience significantly improved in all sub-factors including the positive thinking ability, problem-solving ability, intimacy ability, emotional adjustment ability, and autonomic behavior ability (p<.001). The descriptive statistics of the language ability showed the improvement in writing errors, pronunciation errors, sentence errors, tense errors, and errors in research and connection. We expect the results of this study can be used as the basic data to improve ego-resilience and language acquisition ability of middle-entry children and students from multicultural families.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.29 no.9
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• pp.915-924
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• 2020

The purpose of this study was to conduct a forest healing program for victims affected by the large forest fires of 2017 in Gangneung and to investigate its effects on the stress and physical health promotion of the victims. From January to March 2019, three forest therapy programs were conducted on 49 residents of four villages that suffered forest fires in the National Center for Forest Therapy, Daegwallyeong. The results showed that the degree of stress of forest fire victims decreased significantly by means of these programs. Furthermore, autonomic nerve activity, stress resistance, stress index, and fatigue decreased significantly and average heart rate and heart stability also improved.

• Journal of Naturopathy
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.33-41
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• 2021

Purposes: We studied whether forest bathing is effective in improving the stress of the human body. Therefore, we investigated changes in pulse rate, stress index, and autonomic nervous system after 2 hours of forest bathing on Jeju Samdasu Forest Methods : The study was conducted before and after forest bathing through heart rate variability and questionnaire. Results: After forest bathing, the average pulse rate of the experimental group was significantly increased. The stress index significantly decreased in the post-test in the experimental group. The cumulative stress, sympathetic activity (LF), parasympathetic activity (HF) change, and LF/HF ratio were slightly different from those of post-test in the experimental group, but were not statistically significant. In the survey of job stress average index and state characteristic anxiety index through questionnaire, it decreased significantly after forest bathing (p<.001). Conclusions: The Samdasu forest bathing has been proven effective in enhancing pulse and reducing stress, so it is evaluated that forest bathing is effective in promoting health.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.108 no.3
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• pp.440-453
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• 2019

This study was carried out to investigate the effect of watching a two-dimensional (2D) forest video and a virtual reality (VR) forest video on stress reduction in adults. Experiments were conducted in an artificial climate room, and 40 subjects participated. After inducing stress in the subjects, subjects watched a 2D gray video, 2D forest video, or VR forest video for 5 mins. The autonomic nervous system activity was evaluated continuously in terms of measured heart rate variability during the experiment. After each experiment, the subject's psychological state was evaluated using a questionnaire. The 2D forest video decreased the viewer's stress index, increased HF, and reduced heart rate compared with the 2D gray video. The VR forest video had a greater stress index reduction effect, LF/HF increase effect, and heart rate reduction effect than the 2D gray video. Psychological measurements showed that subjects felt more comfortable, natural, and calm when watching the 2D gray video, 2D forest video or VR forest video. We also found that the 2D forest video and VR forest video increased positive emotions and reduced negative emotions compared to the 2D gray video. Based on these results, it can be concluded that watching the 2D forest and VR forest videos reduces the stress index and heart rate compared with watching the 2D gray video. Thus, it is considered that the 2D forest video increases the activity of the parasympathetic nervous system, and the VR forest video increases the activity of the sympathetic nervous system. The increased activity of the sympathetic nervous system upon watching the VR forest video is judged to be positive sympathetic nerve activity, such as novelty and curiosity, and not negative sympathetic activity, such as stress and tension. The results of this study are expected to be the basis for examining the visual effects of forest healing, with hope that the utilization of VR, the technology of the fourth industrial revolution in the forestry field, will broaden.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.110 no.1
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• pp.82-90
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• 2021

In this study, the validity of the forest therapy process, in which forest activities using forest therapy factors lead to immunity promotion and health promotion, was analyzed theoretically and qualitatively to refine and systemize the forest therapy concept. Research and analysis data were collected from the websites of institutions related to forest therapy; 33 theses and 33 original research articles from 2000 to March 2020 were searched for forest therapy key words, as well as the prize winning work of the 2016 forest therapy experience essay. A word cloud was generated by frequency of nouns and adjectives and from the key words in the web pages, theses, articles, and the forest therapy experience essay. Through interpretation of word frequency, the systemic flow of forest therapy was defined. The results suggest that the source of forest therapy's power was a positive experience of the forest and an improved attitude toward nature as well as forest therapeutic factors. The therapeutic effect is maximized through the forest healing program, leading to physical and mental resilience and resistance; consequently, health and immunity are promoted. From this study, forest therapy is proposed as "a health promotion activity for the psychological, physical, and spiritual resilience of the subjects through various environmental factors of the forest, positive experiences, and attitudes toward the forest."

• Journal of Naturopathy
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.39-46
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• 2018

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of the subjects after visiting the Gyorae forest on the activity of the autonomic nervous system. Methods: Before and after the forest bath, it was measured using a ubiquitous machine. Results: After the bath there was no significant difference in the sympathetic nerve activity (LF) of the control group, but the difference was significant in the experimental group by increasing (p<.038), and in the variance analysis, there was a significant difference between the groups (p<.014), between pre-and post-bath (p<.026), and also between the groups and pre-and post-bath (p<.018). The changes in parasympathetic activity (HF) were not significant in both the control and experimental. In the LF/HF ratio, the experimental group was significantly increased, and in the analysis of variance, there was also significant difference between group and before and after bath (p<.04). Mean pulse rate in the experimental group was a significant increase after bath (p<.026). In the change of pulse standard deviation, the value of the control and the experimental groups by variance analysis was a significant difference between the groups (p<.014). There was no difference between the mean values of the control and the experimental groups in the change of mean heart rate deviation. Conclusions: The autonomic nervous systems were activated after Gyorae forest bathing, where may be useful place for healing.