• 한국의류산업학회지
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• 제25권1호
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• pp.82-91
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• 2023

The children who are part of this study are compelled to wear masks at educational facilities for an extended period of time as they continue to be exposed to Asian dust, fine dust, and COVID-19. However, use of masks is currently causing them a lot of inconvenience. This study aimed to gather basic data for the development of a mask that is suitable and comfortable for children to wear. A total of 331 children aged 1 to 9 were investigated through their parents in terms of their lifestyle, mask wearing and purchasing status, mask preferences, mask inconvenience, and mask improvement. According to the survey on mask use, the proportion of children aged 1-3 years old and wearing ultra-small/XS masks, 4-6 year olds wearing small/S, and 7-9 year olds wearing small/S was the highest. More than 80% of children were wearing masks with a standard filter of KF80 or higher. The purchase criteria for children's masks were found to be excellent in terms of wearing comfort and meeting the filter standards. According to the survey on inconvenience of wearing masks, the majority of those surveyed expressed the need to develop children's masks of different sizes. Furthermore, they experienced various kinds of inconveniences from adult masks, such as the material quality and length of earring bands; it was deduced that these aspects need to be taken care of. The vertical folding type was the most popular in the mask design for children. Children have to wear masks for a prolonged period of time, but they are experiencing lot of inconvenience, which need to be addressed.