In recent years, we have been experiencing record-breaking heatwaves every summer and historically extreme cold winters, all attributed to climate change. This year, in 2023, the world once again witnessed the highest temperatures ever recorded.
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In recent years, we have been experiencing record-breaking heatwaves every summer and historically extreme cold winters, all attributed to climate change. This year, in 2023, the world once again witnessed the highest temperatures ever recorded.
Earth's temperature is rising each year, and according to the BBC, there are forecasts that our overheating world is likely to break a key temperature limit for the first time within the next five years. There are warnings that the annual average global temperature increase could surpass 1.5°C around 2027, a level higher than pre-industrial levels.
Environmental protection has been a topic of discussion for some time, but the concept of protecting the environment used to be somewhat vague. However, it is no exaggeration to say that we are now in a situation where protecting the environment is inevitable for our future, which is right in front of us.
In society, there is a widespread application of eco-friendly concepts and technologies in various aspects, including school building construction. This research aims to assess the current status of eco-friendly elements in school buildings in South Korea, as well as to investigate the state of eco-schools in the country through a comparative analysis.
Through a literature review, this study examines the concept of eco-schools, their status both domestically and internationally, and their architectural characteristics. Subsequently, 30 schools in South Korea were selected for an investigation of the application of eco-friendly concepts and technologies in eco-school buildings.
I conducted research and investigation by selecting 30 schools including those that have received eco-friendly building certification, schools designated as eco-schools by metropolitan and provincial offices of education, and schools that have started to introduce eco-friendly concepts and schools in the Jeolla-do Province, which still lacks sufficient preceding research in this field.
The investigation was carried out based on six aspects: site utilization, creation of green spaces, use of water resources, building materials and resource recycling, energy utilization, and creation of a comfortable indoor environment. Additionally, it considered eco-school planning elements such as site planning, building planning, building greening, outdoor greenery, water resource conservation, water resource utilization, building materials, resource recycling, design, design and plants, building facilities, solar heating systems, and indoor environments.
A total of 30 schools were selected for investigation and comparative analysis, with five schools examined for each of the six aspects. The schools were chosen from different regions: 5 in the Gyeonggi Province, 1 in Gyeongsangbuk-do, 1 in Gwangju, 2 in Seoul, 1 in Ulsan, 8 in Jeollanam-do, 5 in Jeollabuk-do, 5 in Chungcheongnam-do, and 2 in Chungcheongbuk-do.
After researching eco-school cases, the schools were classified into three categories based on the level of eco-friendly element application: Introduction type, Leap type, and Settlement type. This classification was applied using relative evaluation to five schools studied for each of the major aspects and detailed methods in Table 2.
Introduction type refers to schools with approximately 1-2 detailed element items installed, based on the number of items.
Leap type includes schools with more detailed element items installed compared to the Introduction type schools but fewer than those in the Settlement type.
Settlement type encompasses schools with an above-average number of detailed element items installed.
If I analyze the data collected in this study, I can potentially conduct both aspect-based and region-based analyses.
In terms of aspects, it was observed that the indoor environment and water resource utilization categories had the highest level of application. This could be attributed to the fact that students spend most of their time indoors, making indoor spaces a primary focus for the application of eco-friendly concepts. Additionally, water resource utilization mainly featured cost-effective eco-technologies focusing on efficient storage facilities.
The most lacking aspect appeared to be creation of green spaces, as it was challenging to find schools with greenery incorporated into building structures, such as rooftop or wall gardens. Most schools primarily focused on green spaces through small kitchen gardens.
In terms of regional analysis, the Gyeongbuk and Ulsan regions had too few schools for meaningful analysis. On the other hand, the Seoul/Gyeonggi region and the Chungnam/Chungbuk region primarily featured schools falling into the introduction and settlement type. In contrast, the Gwangju/Jeonnam/Jeonbuk region had a mix of introduction, leap, and settlement types, indicating that many schools in this region are still in the early stages of adopting eco-friendly concepts.
Through this study, I conducted a comprehensive analysis of the current state of eco-friendly schools both domestically and internationally. In South Korea, it was observed that eco-friendly technologies have been limited to installing solar power generation, when it comes to a high-cost option.
Through this study, we conducted a multifaceted analysis of the state of eco-friendly schools domestically and internationally. In South Korea, it was observed that the adoption of high-cost eco-friendly technologies, such as solar power generation, was limited. Instead, schools focused on implementing low-cost eco-technologies, including ponds, tree planting, permeable paving, low-flow toilets/showers, rainwater usage, usage of recycling or low-pollution building materials, waste separation, window/door placement, usage of natural lighting, maintaining optimal temperature and humidity, ventilation systems, noise control, and lighting control.
Although this study was limited to a small sample of 30 schools, the comparative analysis revealed that eco-friendly school buildings in South Korea primarily prioritize low-cost eco-technologies and concepts. I hope that in the future, with active investments at the government or local government level, there will be an expansion of eco-friendly schools not only in quantity but also in quality.