• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.104 no.2
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• pp.267-276
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• 2015

This study suggests a macroscopic method of evaluating forest recreation function based on physical characteristics of forests. The method was verified by a correlation between forest recreation function in popular top 45 mountains and popularity among them, with using data-mountain area, height, distance between mountain and cities, population around mountain, and size of public service. According to analysis of the forest recreation function, it is shown that top 8 mountains, including Jirisan and Seoraksan, provide over 64% of total recreation function, while they serve the function relatively lower than mountains near mega cities-Bukhansan in Seoul-do, in terms of the function per unit area ($km^2$). It is because, in a case of national and provincial mountains, the size of mountain is likely a critical factor for determining recreation function and the distance influences on it relatively lower. These findings implicate that a large size of forests bring the recreation function to visitors on nationwide level, whileas forests in suburban provide intensively it to near population to near population.