Making Sense of Sound and Governance: the Case of Neighbor Noise

Making Sense of Sound and Governance: the Case of Neighbor Noise

This analysis aims to propose a prospective governance model to solve noise pollution problems in South Korea, with the neighbor noise issue central to the process. In Korea, where more than half of the population lives in apartment buildings, neighbor noise is one of the main reasons that lead to social problems. Neighbor noise causes feuds and conflicts among residents, which could result in physical violence and, in the worst cases, murder. Noise pollution problems, therefore, should not be seen solely as noise issues. The causes of noise pollution, the forms of conflicts caused by noise pollution, and the solutions to noise problems all lie somewhere between sound and politics, demonstrating the inextricable link between the two. Therefore, it is important to consider the political perspective when addressing noise problems. Until now, noise pollution problems have mainly been addressed within the context of noise and vibration, but this analysis proposes utilizing the civil society strategy model to mitigate, if not eradicate, the social problems caused by neighbor noise. This analysis proceeds in the following ways. First, it looks at the current situation of the governance system regarding noise pollution issues. It then introduces a theoretical framework that can connect the noise problems and a political perspective, in which five sectors are included: people, places, society, private, and public. Next, before applying the framework, the study further investigates the background and characteristics of problems regarding neighbor noise in apartment buildings. The fourth section discusses the applicability of the aforementioned model in terms of solving the noise problems. Finally, the last section summarizes the main points of this analysis.