An Analysis of the Current Status and Curriculum of Citizen Gardener Training Courses in Korea

Background and objective: This study aimed to identify the operational status of a citizen gardener training course in Korea, analyze the curriculum, and provide basic data necessary for the development of standard education plans in the future.Methods: This study analyzed the curriculum of a citizen gardener training course conducted in 71 regions across the country from 2013 to 2024.Results: The largest number of courses were opened and operated in the capital area, including Gyeonggi-do and Seoul (35.2%), and the number of courses in operation increased rapidly starting in 2019. Regarding the type of operation, consignment training was the most common at 50.7%, and the operation process was confirmed to operate as a single course at 78.9%. The average training time was 28.5 h for theory and 27.5 h for practice, which consisted of theory and practice at an almost 1:1 level (51.9:48.1), and the ratio was similar with no significant differences by region. Differences in the composition of educational content were confirmed by region, and there was a statistically significant difference in the composition of 'garden creation' and field trips depending on the operation process.Conclusion: The research results confirmed that the current training content for citizen gardeners varies across regions. Therefore, we recommend future research to develop a standardized curriculum.