• Journal of Forest and Environmental Science
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.164-172
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• 2016

This study examined the recognition differences between local residents and national park managers on the adjustment of national parks which are conducted every ten years for the purpose of providing basic information for the park management, according to the Natural Parks Act. Both local residents and national park managers positively perceived the adjustment of national parks, but park managers showed concern towards the damage of natural resources resulting from the cancellation and adjustment of restricted development districts in Korean national parks. Local residents are more likely than park managers to recommend boundary adjustment in other national parks regarding the influence of parks adjustment on local change. While local residents recognized that the boundary adjustment of national parks improves the level of community management, park managers focused on damages on the local environment and the park landscape adjacent to the areas. The result shows the recognition differences of local residents and park managers. Further research into adjustment of national parks is necessary to diminish perception gaps among stakeholders and develop prediction indicators of cancellation effect in response to the future cancellation areas of national parks through the characteristics of cancellation communities, revitalization of local economy, and environmental change of local community.

• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.49-61
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• 1998

Zoning areas within national parks in Korea are classified into Natural Preservation Zone(NPZ). Natural Environment Zone(NEZ), Settlement Zone(SZ) and Mass Facility Zone(MFZ) based on the Natural Park Act Large-scale development which might cause permanent destruction of natural resources are being done in NEZ which covers 90% of the total natural park area. Thus it is necessary to examine National Park Act which refers the authorized criteria and development activities of NEZ. However, the current environmental impact statement(EIS) does not cover the full impact of the development inside the national park area. Based on these concepts, the study examines the appropriate resources to distinguish the NPZ and NEZ in Mt. Teogyu National Park, then compare the distribution of resource characteristics between two area by using GIS. Through this study, the conclusions are as follows; (1) In terms of scenic resource analysis, the current NPZ does not meet the criteria on the National Park Act Rather, most of the resources which should be located within the NPZ are located within the NEZ. (2) In terms of elevation analysis, Mt. Teogyu National Park, most of NPZ are located on high altitude which is more than l,200m above the mean sea level. Therefore, it shows the elevation is the only criteria for distinguishing NPZ and NEZ. (3) In terms of Degree of Green Naturality(DGN), the second forest areas, the eighth grade of DGN in Mt. Teogyu National Park are distributed much more in the NEZ than NPZ. (4) After examining five factors - scenic resources, elevation, slope and DGN, vegetation- it was found out that zoning of Mt. Teogyu National Park is not adequatly designated. Zoning of national parks should be accomplished based on the precise inventory of the current resources.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Landscape Architecture
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• v.28 no.5
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• pp.1-14
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• 2000

The purpose of this study is to propose remedial devices through the analysis on the operation status of nature trails in the nine National Parks in Korea. To accomplish these goals, the field survey for the nature trail facilities and their nature environmental conditions and a questionnaire survey also had been done, and 1,102 samples have been collected. Nature trails are usually located where the visitors re concentrated for a certain season or year-round, and ease of the visits guaranteed. However, since most of trails are located along the valley, the courses have disadvantage of passing in a single trail. Also, many trails are using former tracking courses, and the environmental conditions are not satisfactory due to the damages incurred by the visitors. Since nature trails are still on the introductory stage, basic tactics such as the design of courses, construction methods, management skills needs further improvements. As the Natural Parks Act does not have any clear definition of nature trails, it invokes the definition of tracking course instead, which in turn hinders the development of the nature trails. The nature trail system was just introduced to Korean National Parks and a pioneer in the Korea. Therefore, when provincial and urban recreational parks wish to introduce the environmental education programs within each park system, nature trails in national parks can be performed as a role model. Further improvements should be made within the such fields as preliminary natural ecological survey, lacks of professional designers for the facilities, lacks of interpreter and interpretation within nature trails.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Landscape Architecture
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• v.52 no.1
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• pp.71-86
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• 2024

Despite the increasing importance of urban parks' ecological functions in dealing with the climate crisis, ecological parks are not clearly defined in Korea's legal system. Numerous ecological parks created nationwide cannot be systematically designated and managed due to various legal bases and varying management authorities. It is important to clarify the legal status of ecological parks in order to lead the ecological paradigm shift of urban parks and to improve the natural park system for a comprehensive and integrated approach to protect the national ecosystem. To this end, related laws were analyzed to identify problems and to draw directions for legislative improvement. Through the literature review of relevant laws, acts, and ordinances, six major directions for improvement were suggested based on the analysis of problems. First, the legal status of ecological parks in the administrative dichotomy of the current park system is ambiguous, and ecological parks should be clarified through the revision of park-related laws. Second, an ecological park can be defined as a sustainable park created and managed in an ecological manner, promoting the protection and restoration of the ecosystem, conservation, and promotion of biodiversity, and balancing nature observation, ecological learning, and leisure activities. Third, the role of the state and local governments should be systematically revised to lead to a new park planning and management model through new governance. Fourth, since the characteristics of ecological parks are affected by individual laws, the possibility of overlapping ecological parks for other uses should be allowed. Fifth, detailed guidelines and standard ordinances need to be enacted to meet the goals, principles, and facilities of ecological parks. Lastly, along with the revision of the laws, ordinances by local governments also need to be more concrete. This study, which tracks various legal realities related to ecological parks, can contribute to policymaking that can systematize the foundation for the creation of ecological parks to preserve nationwide ecosystems and provide citizens with opportunities to experience and learn about nature.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.151-155
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• 2003

The resources conservation system is comprehended, making Taean-haean National Park a research material by applying the fact of landowning, designating an LOP and Korea and Japan's Natural Park Act. Following conclusions were obtained in this study; Most of land areas of the National Park are privately owned; Only a few have been designated as Natural Reservation, a core reserved area on LOP, and a sandy beach, a sand dune, a sand spit, a tidal flat, a wetland, etc are distributed in the natural environment area so they were exposed to development; As seen in most of coastal type of National Parks, 13 commercial beaches are established. The annual rush to the beaches appears in July and August; Sand dune areas that have to be managed in terms of conservation, are turned into beaches. Moreover, the collective facilities areas are randomly developed. So they fail to function originally; The current Natural Park Act has no systematic devices for conservation of the natural resources on the seashore or offshore.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.321-332
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• 2019

The purpose of this study is to identify the problems and present the improvement measures by assessing the suitability of planning of provincial natural parks on a legal basis. We assessed the suitability of 29 provincial parks to examine the suitability of park planning (special-purpose district planning and facilities planning) according to the Natural Park Act, implementation of the park projects, and registration of Korea Real estate Administration intelligence System (KRAS) for park management and obtained the following results. In the case of the park nature conservation districts among the special-purpose districts, 24.1 % (7 parks) were not feasible or decided the park facility that was larger than the planned area. The amended law requires the park cultural heritage district as a new special-purpose district, but 41.2% did not designate the district or failed to comply with the standard. Moreover, there was a problem of establishing or announcing the plan that was unsuitable for the management of park village district (former collective facilities district). Although provincial parks are categorized as the restricted area, the park facility plans still focus on regional development and tourism development, and the titles (names) of the park facilities are wrong. The law requires digitalization and disclosure of park plans, but many parks fail to abide by the law. We judge that it is necessary to develop effective provincial park planning and establish the measures to protect and manage the provincial parks.

• Ecology and Resilient Infrastructure
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• v.2 no.4
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• pp.311-316
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• 2015

This study defined and classified no-net-loss-of-greenness (NNLG) based on the law, and then assessed the NNLG index by metropolitan cities and provinces in Korea after estimating NNLG evaluation indicators for the introduction of NNLG for health improvement of urban ecosystems. The results are as follows. First, NNLG was the comprehensive meaning that was included in the greenbelt and park greenbelt and the green area which was defined by the Act on Urban Parks, Greenbelts, etc. and the National Land Planning and Utilization Act respectively. Second, NNLG was classified as a park greenbelt which was included urban parks and greenbelts such as buffer greenbelts, scenic greenbelts, and connecting greenbelts, green areas which was included in green conservation areas, green production areas, green natural areas, and green coverage which is included forests, grasslands, and wetlands that were occupied by vegetation such as trees, shrubs, and plants. Third, NNLG index by cities and provinces was assessed based on the estimation of NNLG evaluation indicators, which included parks and greenbelt areas per capita, green areas per capita, green coverage per capita, ratio of parks and greenbelts, ratio of green areas, and ratio of green coverage. As a result, Sejong city got the highest point of NNLG index and Seoul and Daegu got lowest points of NNLG index among metropolitan cities in Korea. Chungbuk got the highest point of NNLG index and Kyonggi and Jeju got lowest points of NNLG index among provinces in Korea.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.130-141
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• 2020

National parks in Korea are subject to a survey of natural resources every five years, according to the Natural Parks Act. This study analyzed the insect diversity in each of the 21 national parks conducted as part of the Third Nature Resource Survey of National Parks (2010~2018). It compared insect diversity in each national park national biodiversity with insect diversity in all national parks and analyzed the uncollected sub-taxonomic groups of each taxonomic group and the legally protected species. The Third Nature Resource Survey identified 5,584 species in 456 families in 21 orders in all national parks, and they accounted for 31.3% of 17,848 species in the national insect diversity. By taxonomic group, Lepidoptera was the most frequently found with 2,195 species, followed by beetles (1,495 species), fellings (712 species), and stink bugs (515 species). By national park, Odaesan national park showed the highest insect diversity with 1,963 species, followed by Sobeaksan national park (1,511), Hanryeohaesang national park (1,321), Gayasan national park (1,282), Juwangsan national park (1,265), Dadohaehaesang national park (1,264), Woraksan national park (1,251), and Jirisan national park (1,240). The legally protected species included 3 species of endangered species rank I, 11 species of endangered species rank II, 12 climate change indicator species, 139 endemic species, and 532 species requiring approval for cross-border transfer.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.36 no.3
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• pp.318-326
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• 2022

The Convention on Biodiversity (CBD) recommends that 17% of the land be designated as a protected area to counter global environmental problems. Korea also realized a need to designate protected areas according to the international level and explain the significance of designating protected areas. Accordingly, studies on ecosystem services are required. In Korea, the protected areas are designated as national parks, provincial parks, and county parks by hierarchy under the Natural Parks Act. However, as priority was on political and administrative aspects, research on ecosystem service value evaluation and habitat management were concentrated in national parks, and provincial and county parks were relatively neglected. Therefore, more studies on provincial and county parks are necessary. In this study, habitat quality for Gajisan Provincial Park, where there were few studies on habitat management and ecosystem service valuation, was evaluated using the InVEST Habitat Quality model among the InVEST models. The analysis results were compared with 16 mountainous national parks. The results showed that the habitat quality value of Gajisan Provincial Park was 0.83, higher than that of the surrounding areas. The analysis of habitat quality in three districts showed 0,84 for the Tongdosa and Naewonsa districts and 0.83 for the Seoknamsa district. By use district, the nature conservation district, the natural environment district, the cultural heritage district, and the park village district had the highest habitat quality value in that order. Compared with the existing habitat quality analysis results of national parks, Gajisan Provincial Park showed naturalness at the level of Mudeungsan National Park. These results can be used as objective data for establishing policies and management plans to preserve biodiversity and promote ecosystem services in provincial parks.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Traditional Landscape Architecture
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.25-34
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• 2020

This study examined the definition and major values, the designated procedures and types, and the designation trend in Korean scenic sites and national parks in the United States. Based on this, the analysis of the characteristics of the designation of the two natural heritages. The results are as follows; First, Scenic Sites has characteristics of complex heritage that includes academic, historical, and humanities values on the basis of landscape. As a natural heritage based on public nature, the U.S. National Park aims to contribute to the people's natural heritage and satisfy both ecological and historical values through the protection of the landscape. Second, the designation of a scenic sites are decided through deliberation by the Cultural Heritage Committee after the request of the owner, manager, or local government or by the authority of the head of the Cultural Heritage Administration. The designated survey is divided into basic resource surveys and resource surveys by type. Since the initial designation of the Sogeumgang Mountain in Cheonghakdong, Myeongju in 1970, the number of designated scenic sites was low until the 2000s, but the number of designated scenic sites has increased rapidly since 2006 due to the policy to promote the scenic site, and the proportion of natural and historical and cultural scenic sites has been balanced. The designation of the U.S. national park is decided by the Congress or the president, and the National Park Service makes a series of decisions on whether to conduct a special resource study of provisional resources through a preliminary inspection survey, whether to satisfy the criteria for designation of national parks based on the results of special resource research, and to prioritize them. The U.S. National Parks have been expanded not only by Congress but also by the president's empowerment to designate them as national monuments. With the integrated operation of the National Park Service, the number of designated cases increased as the national park included the heritage sites under the control of various ministries. In addition, a number of historical areas were designated by the enactment of the Historical Site Act, and recreational areas were designated to provide leisure space and classified and managed in a total of 18 units. Third, the comparison of the designation characteristics of the two heritage properties confirmed that the designation of natural heritage with complex value, the classification of types according to complementary designation system and resource characteristics, the establishment of the competent ministry and the balancing of the heritage according to the designation policy. The two heritages had the characteristics of complex natural heritages that met ecological, historical and academic values at the same time based on landscape and public nature. In addition, both countries have identified a system for deliberating the designation of heritage through a basic resource survey and an in-depth designation survey, and classified each type according to the characteristics of the resource. In addition, the policies for promoting scenic sites in Korea and the integrated operation of the National Park Service in the U.S. influenced the designated aspects of the two heritage sites, balancing natural heritage with historical and cultural heritage. Fourth, the resource types and conservation management methods of Scenic site and National Park were largely related. The natural areas of the U.S. National Park include types of natural monuments in Korea as major resources, and have characteristics similar to natural scenic sites. In addition, historical resources were similar to the criteria for designation of historical and cultural scenic sites in terms of landscape, and the aspects of war and celebrity-related relics were related to the types of historic sites. In terms of conservation management, the natural area of the U.S. national park has a way of keeping the original ecosystem intact, but the Korean natural heritage protection system is likely to be useful for focusing on the resource of viscosity. Meanwhile, historical resources include historical sites and historical and cultural scenic sites in the traditional era, but historical relics in the U.S. National Parks have set a time limit to modern times for war history and celebrity-related relics, and the active provision of entertainment programs based on existing resources was derived as a difference.