The Effect of Services and Facilities on Seniors’ Visitation Experiences in Seoraksan National Park, Korea

Seasonality can affect the use of park resources and visitors’ experience in national parks. To understand seasonal issues, park managers have typically relied on survey-based studies that tend to be limited in sample sizes and data collection periods. The purpose of this study is to utilize online news article analytics as a complementary approach to find dynamic issues based on topic-modeling techniques in the context of South Korean national parks. A total of 12,994 online news articles were collected from a Korean search engine—NAVER. Results indicated common issues such as environmental degradation/protection, and visitor experience/ activity across all four seasons, along with distinctive issues for each season (e.g., fall foliage, park services, and protecting endangered species). Such findings can not only benefit managers in assisting the development of effective seasonal park management plans, but they can also promote visitors’ attention by providing dynamic seasonal issues in national parks.

This paper examined visitors to Bukhansan National Park in Korea based on first-time and repeat visitation. Bukhansan National Park is Korea’s most heavily visited national park with annual visitation of six million visitors in 2015. Data used in this article were collected on-site in the park in 2007 and 2013 by the Korea National Park Service (KNPS). The study variables included socio-demographics, travel behavior, motivation, and satisfaction with park attributes, services and facilities. Data were analyzed by each study year for first-time and repeat visitors. Results showed significant differences for both first-time and repeat visitors on several socio-demographic, travel behavior, and motivation variables within each study year. For satisfaction with park attributes, facilities and services, first-time visitors were significantly different from repeat visitors on seven variables for both years. Implications are given regarding programs and services to improve visitor satisfaction and sustain the natural, cultural and historical resources at Bukhansan National Park and other national parks in Korea. Future research suggestions are provided to learn more about visitor characteristics, standards of quality and preferences in the national parks.

The Visitor Experience and Resource Protection (VERP) framework is a planning framework developed by the U.S. National Park Service (NPS) to help guide visitor use planning and decision-making in U.S. national parks. The research reported here highlights the perceptions of park practitioners about major successes and challenges associated with visitor management and recreation planning using the VERP framework. We used a qualitative multiple case study design to explore three (3) national parks that have applied the framework. We conducted 16 semi-structured interviews with park managers, park planners, and recreation scientists, and used thematic coding to categorize the data to capture relevant themes. Our results show that lack of training and leadership in the social dimensions of resource management has limited the successful application of VERP. On the other hand, closely following framework procedures and maintaining quality partnerships with entities both within the agency and outside to facilitate planning efforts, has helped visitor management approaches achieve desired outcomes. This research contributes to the ongoing work of visitor use specialists by using lessons learned and applying them to future planning. It provides tangible outcomes to park managers by providing examples of VERP application to base decisions.

The assessment of spatio-temporal patterns of visitors’ activities in national parks is essential to mitigate impacts to natural resources as well as manage experiences. With the use of a GPS-based mobile exercise application dataset, this study explored the spatio-temporal patterns of visitors’ activities in Seoraksan National Park, South Korea. A total of 1,206 anonymous mobile application users along with their 2,571 activity start points were acquired for January 2015 to December 2015. GIS-based hot spot analyses were employed to analyze the spatial patterns of activity points over time. Results indicated activity hot spots for hours (i.e., dawn, morning, afternoon, and evening) as well as risky points (i.e., falling-rocks, risk of structure collapse, or lightning) during dark hours (night) across seasons. Findings from this study can assist managers to allocate their spatio-temporal park management resources effectively to minimize environmental impacts, and enhance visitor experiences and safety. Furthermore, GPS-based mobile exercise application can be used as an alternative tool to assess spatio-temporal use of visitors in national parks.

Protected areas are places that provide diverse ecosystem services, including cultural ecosystem services. At the same time, the development and unbalanced use of natural resources in protected areas often create environmental threats and social conflicts. This study estimates the economic value of environmental consequences derived from the construction of an airport in a national park in Korea. We employ a discrete choice experiment to assess economic values and consider a key part of the tradeoffs derived from the airport construction at Heuksan Island of Dadohae Marine National Park in Korea. The results show that social benefits related to improved accessibility and tourism opportunities would be generated but at substantial costs resulting from environmental degradation and the reduction in bird populations. A segmentation analysis also reveals that heterogeneous preferences exist based on variables reflecting individuals’ visit experiences and trust in the government. The findings indicate that considering environmental impacts is important when evaluating the feasibility of a development project in a protected area.

Academics have frequently used and endorsed the Public Participation Geographic Information System (PPGIS) approach for national park management. However, it is only minimally used by public agencies such as national park organisations. This study explores the potential that managers of Finnish national parks see in the PPGIS approach in the context of planning for the visitor use of parks. Ten semi-structured interviews with managers of Parks and Wildlife Finland were conducted. The managers perceived that PPGIS could help in optimising site management, and preferred PPGIS studies that are practical and clearly connected to planning site management actions. They envisioned a mobile phone application that would allow mapping visitor experiences on the spot. Overall, the managers were open to adopting place-based planning practices. The study increases the understanding of public agencies’ views towards PPGIS. It also produces practical information for conducting PPGIS case studies as well as for integrating PPGIS tools into planning processes.

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.

The influence of push and pull factors at Korean national parks

This study was conducted to obtain the basic research about Siberian roe deer (Capreolus pygargus), and to establish a conservation area into Seoraksan(Mt.) National Park, South Korea. We recorded Siberian roe deer field signs (bedding sites, feeding areas, feces and tracks etc), and habitat variables such as nearest distance to the watercourse, trails, slope, aspect, forest type and land cover etc. from Jan. 2006 to Dec. 2007 in Seoraksan(Mt.) National Park. According to the research of habitat characteristics of Siberian roe deer inhabited in Seoraksan(Mt.) National Park preferred mixed forest consisted of aged forest and middle-aged forest on the gentle slope which was close to hydrosphere in the middle elevation area of altitude of 400~600m above sea level in Seoraksan(Mt.) National Park. The results indicated that Siberian roe deer appeared to prefer south slope or north slope during the snow season and west or east slope during the non-snow season. The area of most suitable habitat for Siberian roe deer in Seoraksan(Mt.) National Park was 125.8km (32% of the total area) followed by 244.3km buffer area (62.2% of the total area), and 22.9km unsuitable habitat area (5.8% of the total area), which means environmentally unsuitable habitat for Siberian roe deer was rare in Seoraksan(Mt.) National Park. Thus, the area 92 박용수.이우신 󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏 classified as major area in Seoraksan(Mt.) National Park appeared to be most important for the protection of Siberian roe deer.

In the pursuit of sustainable national park management, park managers need to understand the interests and activities of their diverse visitors in order to conserve the natural environment and offer a better visitor experience. This study aimed to examine the effectiveness of using non-geotagged social media data from posts by park visitors for park management in comparison with geotagged data, which has been studied more extensively. We compared (1) visitors’ sociodemographic characteristics between geotagged and non-geotagged social media users through an onsite survey in Nikko National Park, Japan, and (2) the content of geotagged and non-geotagged photos shared within the study area on X (formerly Twitter). Our results showed that visitors in their 30s and 40s and foreign visitors had a greater tendency to use geotags. Non-geotagged photos more frequently and deeply capture nature-based activities and interests, including activities on trails, such as mountain climbing and hiking, and an interest in diverse animals and plants and landscapes that are less accessible. These findings indicate that non-geotagged social media data may have less age and nationality bias and advantages over the more widely-used geotagged data in capturing various nature-based experiences offered by national parks. Leveraging both geotagged and non-geotagged data can enable park managers to implement sustainable practices catering to a broader range of visitor interests and activities, contributing to the overarching goal of sustaining the natural environment while also enriching the visitor experience within national parks.

The evaluation of effectiveness of the interpretive program at national parks

As ten years have passed since national parks were adjusted and released inceptively, it is the time for evaluating the effectiveness of the national park policy and improving it on the basis of the evaluation result. In this study, the method of appraising the environmental and socio-economical ripple effect on the implementation of national park regulation were provided, based on the institutional consideration, the environment analysis, the survey of residents consciousness, the statistical analysis and so on. It is applied to target sites where were released from national parks, and the policy direction was suggested for sustainable use and management of national parks. National parks, that exhibit various characteristics depending on geographical and local conditions, were categorized through the statistical approach. Released sites from Seoraksan National park, where was categorized as the core national park for sustainable use and management, were evaluated environmentally based on the time-series analysis of environmental thematic maps and socio-economically based on the survey on residents perceptions. As a result of this study, the environmental effect of released sites has been declined or threatened, and the residents' economic, social and living condition in these areas are still not improved(p<0.05) since the adjustment of national parks. Based on the policy approach reflecting regional characteristics, natural resources are kept and enhanced for the sustainable use and management of national parks. And a consensus on the national park policy of national park should be developed between local residents and voluntary participation and public awareness should be attracted from them, based on the construction and the supplement of the infrastructure.

How much visitor use can be accommodated in national parks without unacceptable impacts to park resources and the quality of the visitor experience? Visitor capacity is a long-standing and increasingly urgent issue in national parks. Several management frameworks have been developed to help define and manage visitor capacity, and all of these frameworks rely on formulation of indicators and standards of quality for park resources and the visitor experience. Application of these frameworks can be informed by a program of research, including stakeholder surveys, normative theory and methods, visual research methods, analysis of tradeoffs in outdoor recreation, and computer-based simulation modeling. These methods have been applied in a program of research on visitor capacity in the U.S. National Park System.

The COVID-19 pandemic has uniquely impacted US National Park Service (NPS) units. This study seeks to help inform future visitor use management and planning by compiling data from five NPS units (Acadia, Glacier, Grand Teton, Shenandoah, and Yellowstone National Parks), focusing on how the pandemic influenced management and impacted visitor use. Data were collected from both park managers and visitors. Results provide understanding regarding managerial changes, user-capacity limits, and documented changes in visitation in 2020 compared to 2019. These results are coupled with park visitor data from 2020, including visitor demographics, motivations and perceived outcomes, information sources for visiting during the pandemic, potential behavioral shifts in response to COVID-19 while on-site, and intent to visit in the future. The results suggest that the distinct shifts in visitation patterns during 2020 impacted park managers’ ability to predict and efficiently respond to visitor use changes. This issue was exacerbated by staffing shortages attributed to the pandemic. Lessons learned regarding what worked well (e.g., respondents were able to achieve health-related outcomes), and what could be improved (e.g., knowing that visitors adapted behaviors to maintain personal safety, and future staffing allocations can be focused temporally and spatially based on these 2020 use trends) can be incorporated to help prepare park managers, surrounding gateway communities, and state tourism authorities for the future.

This study sought to discover new directions for management and operation national urban parks in Korea by analyzing the reality of the national government parks of Japan where these parks are already well established and managed. In the case of a Japanese national government park, its supporting system was established after the park was built. The means of management also shifted their direction from putting more priority to the administrative body to the residents. The management practices are changing process of its character with focus on residents as the main entity of activity from their existing position of participants. In other words, the national government parks of Japan are going beyond the previous practice of providing maintenance activities to providing experience, interpretation functions to these activities. Especially, they were establishing local networks to plan and execute programs in collaboration with the park management and NPOs. However, they fall short of tangible outcomes despite their continuous efforts to expand the community involvement and reduce the cost in maintenance. To facilitate the effective management of the urban parks in Korea in the near future, much thought needs to go into the management practices ensuring conservation of resources in the land of Korea, as well as people's use of recreation, community revitalization, and development and transfer of advanced technology to provide appropriate preparations to create urban parks in Korea.