Importance-Performance Analysis of Mountain Village Promotion Projects in the Forest Sector by Upper-Level Local Governments

Background and objective: Due to the recent crisis of extinction in local areas, the mountain village promotion policy is recognized as an important task. This study examined the priorities of major policy projects in the forest sector that affect mountain village promotion. Methods: For research methods, literature search, expert advisory meetings, and a survey were conducted. The survey was conducted on 42 policy stakeholders from June 1 to August 13, 2021. The literature search was based on policy projects in the forest sector by 8 upper-level local governments including mountain villages. For questionnaire items, 173 forest policy projects were classified into 27 types through expert review, and the importance and performance of each type were rated on a 5-point Likert scale. Paired t-test, IPA, Locus for Focus model, and Borich needs assessment were used as the analysis methods, and the statistical program SPSS 21.0 was used as the analytical tool. Results: The results showed that ‘creating forest-related jobs’ and ‘supporting cultivation of professional forestry workers’ both showed high importance and performance, implying that they would show an effect in mountain village promotion. ‘Creating forests for environmental improvement’, ‘discovering forest cultural assets’ ‘establishing and boosting forest tourism’, ‘providing forest therapy services’, ‘creating forest-related jobs’, ‘supporting community revitalization’, and ‘urban-rural exchanges’ were found to be the types that needed improvement and concentration for mountain village promotion. In particular, ‘creating forests for environmental improvement and ‘discovering forest cultural assets’ were derived as priority considerations for mountain village promotion policies. Conclusion: In summary, it was found that in order to promote mountain villages, various content projects must be improved and carried out to enhance the physical environment and revitalize mountain villages.