1Department of Disaster and Emergency Management, Inje University, 197, Inje-ro, Kimhae-si, Gyeongsangnam-do, 50834 Republic of Korea
2Department of Fire and Disaster Prevention Engineering, Changshin University, 262, Paryong-ro, Masanhoewon-gu, Changwon-si, Gyeongsangnam-do, 51352, Republic of Korea
The object of this paper is to discuss the unique fire risk mitigation challenges facing folk villages in South Korea.
We implemented an on-field investigation of fire disaster management systems in Korean folk villages. Also, we conductedface-to-face interviews which were given to a random sample of a total of 140 people in 7 folk villages. These investigations and surveys were analyzed based on the categories of; equipment, disastereducation, and trust which are all components of risk communication.
We conclude that I) the Korean government is only concentrating on expanding disaster prevention equipment supplies, rather than also focusing on enhancing essential disaster training programs, II) current disaster education is insufficient because it focuses only on basic fire safety and occurs just once annually, III) there exists a high level of mistrust among related stakeholders. As a result, we found that folk villages need; I) construction of fire prevention and fire protection systems, II) improvement of the ability to quickly respond to a fire, and III) trust and confidence-building between all stakeholders to preserve folklore cultural properties.
Findings from this research could help in developing strategies and methodologies for reducing and preventing fire risks in folk villages. Findings could also be helpful in mitigating risks from other types of disasters by effectively applying components of risk communication; equipment, safety education, and trust.
Korean folk village, Risk communication, Cultural heritage disaster prevention, Fire risk, Disaster management
