The Korea Local Administration Review

This study analyzed the effect of social capital on citizen participation. We collected and analyzedquestionnaires and interviews with residents of Doksan2-dong and Doksan3-dong in Geumcheon-gu, Seoul. Doksan3-dong implemented the ‘Cultural Village Community Project’ in 2006, centering on Public sectors, and has been actively operating as a large-scale village event since then. On the other hand, although Doksan2-dong is an administrative district adjacent to Doksan3-dong, there is not enough village community project to represent the village. The regression results showed that trust, network, and reciprocal norms had a positive effect on the citizen participation in the integrated model that included the Doksan2-dong and Doksan3-dong. However, in Doksan2-dong, the network had a positive influence on the citizen participation, and in Doksan3-dong, the trust and the network had a positive influence on the citizen participation. In particular, it is confirmed that the network has the strongest positive effect on the citizen participation in all three models. In addition, through interviews with public officials, village representatives and village residents of each area, it is confirmed that the network is a starting point for creating other social capital components such as trust and reciprocity norms. This shows that the network among social capital is the most important factor for securing the citizen participation in the village community project, and it is necessary to consider the network to secure the sustainable citizen participation of the village community project. In summary, this study demonstrates the importance of establishing a solid network for the start, operation and maintenance of village community projects.

□ Keywords: Citizen Participation, Social Capital, Village Community Project, Network