Environmental Attitudes and Behaviors Among Jeju Islanders, South Korea - Island Futures: Conservation and Development Across the Asia-Pacific Region - page 108

however, is hierarchical and necessitates that ecosystem sustainability be considered
as the most important component.
Currently, sustainable development may be achieved in a country largely through
environmental policy pursued by government, green management pursued by busi-
ness corporations, environmental activities pursued by non-governmental organiza-
tions, and environmentally friendly behavior pursued by citizens in the course of
their everyday lives.
Individual people's level of environmentally friendly behavior depends on
whether consumerism or environmentalism is the dominant ideology. Consumerism
is a cultural imperative that demands we appropriate as many goods and services as
possible essentially for material happiness. The quality of life is thus measured by
the quantities of life: purchasing power, status goods, conspicuous consumption.
Environmentalism is a cultural imperative that demands we act in an environmen-
tally sustainable manner for the quality of life in a broad sense including the ame-
nity of environment. From this perspective, consumerism is a cultural factor that
causes environmental problems, whereas environmentalism contributes to sustain-
able development. In this sense, consumerism and environmentalism represent
people's attitude toward consumption and the environment, respectively.
Environmental behavior, however, represents actual behavior, not just attitudes.
The objective of this study was to analyze the environmental attitudes and
behavior of people on Jeju Island, South Korea, using survey data. Three research
themes (consumerism, environmentalism, and environmental behavior) are ana-
lyzed in terms of their level, structure, pattern, and mutual relationships. The infor-
mation drawn from the sample survey is then examined in terms of the possibilities
of achieving ecologically sustainable development on Jeju Island.
Jeju Island
South Korea is composed of nine provinces and six large cities. Jeju Island (here-
after called Jeju) is a special self-governing province located south of the mainland.
It has a mild oceanic climate throughout the year and the lowest annual temperature
range in South Korea. Relatively isolated from the rest of the world, Jeju has been
well preserved, and its natural attractions make the island a domestic and interna-
tional tourist destination. UNESCO designated Jeju Island a Biosphere Reserve in
2002 and Mt. Halla, Geomunoreum Lava Tube, and Seongsan Ilchulbong as World
Natural Heritage sites in 2007.
People on Jeju were primarily engaged in agriculture before the 1970s when the
South Korean government launched the first 5-year economic development plan,
which targeted Jeju for tourism development. Since the 1970s, Jeju has been trans-
formed into a modern, industrial society, and primarily as a choice, domestic tour-
ism destination.
As is shown in Table 9.1 , Jeju has experienced a remarkable socio-economic
structural transformation from 1985 to 2007. During that period, the population