Participatory risk governance for Seoul, South Korea’s flood risk management

In this study of flood risk management in Seoul, South Korea, the authors examined challenges and opportunities for citizens to participate in flood risk governance, through documents, interviews, and surveys. They conducted key informant interviews and implemented a survey with citizens, to explore perceptions of flood risks and risk management, and to examine prospects for improving PRG in Seoul.

The study found a gap between the perceptions of key informants and citizens. Key informants believed that citizens’ low awareness of flood risks hinders PRG. Yet the research found that citizens’ risk awareness was not low, and risk awareness may not be the main barrier to participation in PRG. Instead, the authors found that citizens lacked knowledge of FRM actions, and they assigned government bodies a high level of responsibility for FRM, compared to the level of responsibility that citizens assigned to themselves.