Structural Relationships among Social Capital, Resident-led Festival Participation, and Place Attachment: The Case of the Yeonggwang Barley Festival

Purpose This study examines the structural relationships among social capital, resident-led festival participation, and place attachment, focusing on the Yeonggwang Barley Festival in South Korea. It investigates how core elements of social capital—trust, networks, and social norms—affect residents’ emotional attachment to place and explores the role of resident participation in this process. Methods A structured survey was conducted among festival participants in Gunnae-myeon, Yeonggwang-gun. Data were analyzed using SPSS, including Cronbach’s α for reliability, exploratory factor analysis for validity, and multiple regression for examining direct effects. Results Social capital partially influenced place attachment (H1), with ‘trust’ and ‘networks’ showing significant effects, but ‘norms’ not. Only ‘networks’ significantly impacted festival participation (H2), while ‘trust’ and ‘norms’ were non-significant. Resident-led festival participation significantly enhanced place attachment (H3), with both ‘community cohesion’ and ‘practical participation’ being influential. Conclusion First, both social capital and festival participation influence place attachment, but norms were insignificant (H1 partially supported; H3 fully supported). Second, networks play a key role in promoting participation (H2 partially supported), suggesting the need to prioritize structural connections, while trust may act as a long-term internal factor. Third, embedding resident autonomy into festival governance is vital to foster community identity. The findings underscore the nuanced role of social capital and the strategic value of network-based engagement.