기후변화를 향한 한국 청년들의 목소리 : 기후변화로 인한 감정과 대화 시도를 중심으로 (Voices of Korean Young Adults on Climate Change : Emotions and Communication Attempts Driven by Climate Change)

서지정보

· 발행기관 : 한국언론학회
· 수록지 정보 : 한국언론학보 / 68권 / 5호 / 5 ~ 45페이지
· 저자명 : 이혜선, 호규현

초록

기후변화 문제 속 한국의 청년들을 논의하는 과정에서 당사자인 한국 청년들이 기후변화에 대해 어떻게 생각하고 느끼는지 살펴본 연구는 찾기 어려웠다. 이에 따라, 이 연구는 기후변화를 향한 한국 청년들의 감정과 인식을 살펴봄으로써 기후변화와 한국 청년 간의 관계를 다뤄왔던 기존 논의를 확장해보고자 했다. 이를 위해, 정량적 자료 수집 방법인 설문조사와 정성적 자료 수집 방법인 초점 집단 토론을 함께 적용하는 혼합방법연구를 진행하였다. 설문조사에서는 전국 17개 시·도 거주 만 19세~만 34세에 해당하는 청년 500명 대상으로 기후변화에 관한 감정과 인식을 질문하였다. 개방형 문항 답변 분석 결과, ‘심각’, ‘걱정’, ‘체감’, ‘불안’, ‘두려움’ 등이 주요 단어로 등장하였고, 폐쇄형 문항 답변에서도 ‘불안’이나 ‘두려움’에 동의하는 비율이 상대적으로 더 높았다. 반면, 기후변화로 인한 감정 가운데 비동의 비율이 가장 높은 감정은 ‘낙관(긍정)’이었다. 또한, 기후변화에 관한 대화 시도 경험을 질문하였을 때 ‘기후변화에 대하여 다른 사람에게 이야기하지 않는다’에 동의하는 비율 역시 상대적으로 높게 나타났다. 초점 집단 토론에서는 세 가지 결과의 맥락을 살펴보았는데, 참여자들은 기후변화 이야기가 ‘심각’과 ‘체감’에 머물러있고 낙관 가능성을 찾기 어렵다고 지적하였다. 또한, 기후변화를 주제로 하는 대화에 관한 오해가 발견되기도 했다. 주요 결과를 토대로, 공포, 위협, 압박 등을 벗어난 환경 커뮤니케이션의 필요성을 논의하였다.

영어초록

Climate change is a serious issue because it has the potential to produce both physical and mental health difficulties for individuals and communities. When young adults believe they are powerless to address or reduce climate change, they may experience negative emotions such as depression, anxiety, pain, frustration, or betrayal. This study contributes to an elaborate understanding of this severe issue by examining how young adults, as critical stakeholders in climate change issues, perceive and feel about climate change. There is a dearth of research that examines the emotions or perceptions of Korean young adults in relation to climate change. This is due to the fact that previous studies have primarily concentrated on the concept of "young adults" as a signifier that has been constructed by external interpreters, rather than examining their firsthand perspectives on climate change issues in Korea. In order to address this research gap, this study examines the perceptions and emotions of Korean young adults on climate change. It places a particular emphasis on the importance of listening to the voices of Korean young adults, who offer their firsthand perspectives on climate change issues. We employed a mixed-methods approach, conducting a survey with a total of 500 Korean young adults, followed by focus group discussions to interpret the results of the survey. The results show negative perceptions or emotions due to climate change, such as seriousness, concern, anxiety, and fear. It was reported that 64 percent of respondents experience anxiety due to climate change, and around fifty-nine percent experience fear. Optimism is the most disagreed-with emotion among the perceptions or emotions related to climate change (87.8%). Moreover, around 40 percent of respondents reported not discussing climate change with others. The contexts of these results were examined through the firsthand perspectives of nine Korean young adults during the focus group discussion. According to the participants, young adults experience severe and apprehensive emotions when they observe tangible changes in their daily lives, including temperature fluctuations, natural disasters, and shorter seasons. Additionally, they can escalate into anxiety or fear when they perceive it as challenging to find a clear solution or hope for addressing climate change. They also pointed out that feeling optimistic about climate change is difficult because young adults have yet to experience positive impacts or results from these issues. In particular, the media predominantly communicates information regarding the detrimental effects of climate change-related behavior or policy, as opposed to the beneficial effects. We further found some misunderstandings related to discussions of climate change. For instance, one group is concerned that they might come across as nagging when discussing climate change. Another group, however, expects they cannot engage actively in discussions because they don't have in-depth knowledge of climate change. This study expands previous research addressing the perceptions and emotions of young adults worldwide regarding climate change by providing empirical evidence from Korea. We discuss the implications of our findings for the field of environmental communication.

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