• The Journal of the Convergence on Culture Technology
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.37-64
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• 2015

This technical research paper attempts to examine literature therapeutic significance of Sijo. This research analyzes how the therapeutic mechanisms of literature or sentence can be physiologically applied to human nerve system. To study such interactions between therapeutic mechanisms of literature and human physiological mechanisms, diverse on- and offline Sijo activities, such as a Facebook group "Sijoya Nolja", were studied, as well as various publications in literature and medicine. For the three years this research was being conducted, 27 out of 488 Sijo poets debuted through Sinchunmunye, and many have gone professional through various contests. 19 of them became members of Sijo Poet Associations of Korea, with globalization of Sijo in mind. Their aggressive activity proves that the quality of live was elevated through literature therapy. The therapeutic effects are especially dramatic for older authors, and authors with traumatic experience. Through this research, Sijo turned out to be a form of literature with the quickest effect on elevating quality of life. To solve problems such as depression, emotional isolation, and other mental conditions, literature therapy through Sijo should be implemented, and therapeutic approach of literature should be more professionalized.