This dissertation examines the Boseong Traditional Tea Agricultural System, designated in 2018 as Korea’s 11th National Important Agricultural Heritage, to assess its economic value and to explore policy directions for its sustainable conservation. ...
This dissertation examines the Boseong Traditional Tea Agricultural System, designated in 2018 as Korea’s 11th National Important Agricultural Heritage, to assess its economic value and to explore policy directions for its sustainable conservation. The study demonstrates that Boseong’s tea agriculture constitutes a form of living heritagethat integrates ecosystem services, traditional knowledge, community identity, and cultural landscape values.
Using the Contingent Valuation Method (CVM) with a double-bounded dichotomous choice format, this study estimates the non-market value of the heritage system based on respondents’ willingness to pay (WTP), employing both Logit and Weibull models for empirical analysis. As a result, the total economic value (TEV) of the Boseong Traditional Tea Agricultural Heritage is estimated at approximately 760 billion KRW, which corresponds to about 2.9 million KRW per hectarewhen conservatively adjusted. This value serves as a theoretical reference point representing the public benefits generated by agricultural heritage as a public good.
The survey results indicate that 97.5%of respondents support the need for agricultural heritage conservation, and 87.1%recognize the Boseong tea brand, confirming that the heritage is widely perceived as a cultural and ecological asset at the national level.
Furthermore, this study proposes the Boseong Heritage Management Model, consisting of asset-based conservation, a benefit-sharing financial structure, and community-led governance. Based on the estimated value, the study also discusses the design and applicability of a Heritage-Based Direct Payment Schemeas an institutional mechanism to compensate for the public functions of agricultural heritage.
Overall, this research provides empirical evidence for the non-market value of agricultural heritage and offers a practical analytical framework to support heritage-oriented conservation policies and the development of heritage-based direct payment systems.