The creation of marine protected areas is an important aspect of marine ecosystem sustainability. However, South Korea has not achieved its Aichi Biodiversity Target to designate 10% of its sea as marine protected by 2020. Local residents have strong opposition to the designation of protected areas in South Korea; there has been little trust in the government since the 1970s, when residents felt that their property rights were being ignored in favor of creating national parks. Here, we present a case where creation of a marine protected area was led by residents of TongYeong City. The success of a participation income project to remove marine debris in the city seems to be an important factor that led to the designation of the marine protected area. The case of TongYeong City is compared with that of nearby Geoje City, where an ecologically important stream has not been designated as a wetland protection area, although a similar participation income project enrolled the city's residents. The comparison provides a tentative assessment of the conditions needed to increase trust among residents. The results suggest that, if the projects are well-designed and well-managed, participation income projects to remove marine debris can be effective in building trust among stakeholders in potential marine protected areas.

This study investigated whether an educational program could alter students’ perceptions of the causes of and solutions to climate change. On October 23, 2020, a 3-hour climate change educational program was provided to 400 high school students in Suncheon City, (Jeonnam Province, South Korea). According to the program, climate change represents a social dilemma, or tragedy of the commons; it also asserts that collective action aimed at strengthening government policy is the optimal solution to climate change, and concludes that motivated citizens should convey their opinions directly to the government through political action. After the program, the students made and shared placards calling for policy-based responses to climate change. Questionnaires completed by the students before and after the program revealed that their perceptions of the causes of and solutions to climate change changed significantly. This case study indicates that education programs have the potential to alter students’ perspectives and promote actions aimed at mitigating and adapting to climate change.