• Proceedings of the National Institute of Ecology of the Republic of Korea
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.97-102
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• 2022

In this study, 4,136 pictures posted on a social media platform were analyzed to discover wetlands that are worth visiting to experience our cultural values. Pictures from 300 of the 2,499 listed wetlands have been posted in South Korea. Proximity of a wetland was the most important criterion, regardless of the type of wetlands that were visited. People visited wetlands at the time and season when they were good for recreational activities. Most of the subjects in the pictures were the visitors and natural scenery of a wetland. There was no correlation observed between the wetland conditions and the number of pictures taken by the visitors. Sightseeing and leisure activities are a significant part of various ecosystem services offered by wetlands, but most of the visitors seem to be unaware that the place they have visited is a wetland. Therefore, wetland awareness programs are needed, even for wetlands close to the residential areas that many people have already visited in this study.

• Journal of Wetlands Research
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.262-266
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• 2016

We investigated the characteristic demographics for visitors to Mujechi bog on Mt. Jungjok, with the purpose of developing a management strategy for the conservation and wise use of the montane wetland. Using daily visitor data from 2007, 2011, and 2015 we extracted and analyzed; visitation date, age, residential areas, purpose of visitation and the time allotted for the visit. The largest age cohort was the decade of the fifties(36.8%/total number of visitors) and followed by the decade of the forties(30.4%). The majority of visitors were from Ulsan(67%), Busan(16.6%), and Yangsan(10.8%). The visitors' primary objectives were to hike Mt. Jungjok(39-64.4%) or view Mujechi bog(18.7-51.8%) during the weekend. People visited more during the weekend than weekdays(F=6.19, p<0.002). In addition, there was a clear seasonality obvious in the monthly visits. The proportion of visitors were present in spring and fall, the month with the highest visitation rate was May at $15.6{\pm}2.8%$($mean{\pm}S.D.$). This increase in May was partly due to the desire to see the Korean azalea in bloom in the spring. Montane bog, like Mujechi, could be highly affected by disturbance(e.g. stamping, sediment inflow) caused by visitors. Therefore, it is suggested, based on the level of visitation that to reduce possible human disturbance effects, that either a seasonal restriction or a yearly alternation of trails be established. Visitors to the wetland should be restricted access to certain areas of the wetland, or be required to go in the accompaniment of a ranger or warden.