Professor Namkung Kie Chan's research team at Kookmin University's (President Jeong Seung Ryul) Institute of Techno Design published two cognitive wellness research papers combining 40Hz gamma-band auditory stimulation with local Korean soundscapes in the SCIE-indexed international journals Healthcare and Applied Sciences.
Both journals are ranked among the top publications (JCR Q2) in their respective fields: healthcare systems and engineering/applied sciences.

▲Professor Namkung Kie Chan, Kookmin University

This research is significant as it presents a method to implement 40Hz auditory stimulation—known to be effective for cognitive health—in a ‘form suitable for continuous listening,’ considering both user experience (UX) and electroencephalogram (EEG) measurements.

The research team noted that while 40Hz stimulation is gaining attention in cognitive health fields like Alzheimer's prevention, simple tone (pure sound) stimulation can cause auditory fatigue during prolonged listening. Consequently, they constructed a soundscape based on natural environmental sounds collected directly from domestic locations like Chuncheon and Uljin, establishing a stimulation production protocol that naturally integrates the 40Hz component onto this soundscape.

Through this, the research team systematically designed the sound mixing levels and playback structure from a user experience design perspective to maintain the ‘natural listening experience’ while preserving the 40Hz frequency characteristics.

The two papers comprehensively addressed how this approach is accepted by actual users and whether the 40Hz component integrated into the soundscape can manifest as a detectable signal in EEG measurements. The user research summarized implementation and diffusion perspectives regarding usage scenarios and delivery methods, including acceptability, listening burden, and everyday application contexts. The EEG measurements validated changes in EEG-based indicators centered around the 40Hz band, demonstrating the significant feasibility of the proposed soundscape-based design.

This achievement also represents a case where a project, originally conducted as part of the ‘Soundscape Design’ course in the Smart Experience Design Department at Kookmin University's Graduate School of Techno-Design for the 2025 Fall semester, expanded into academic research. Master's and Ph.D. students from the Interaction Design Lab in the Smart Experience Design Department, who took the course, participated as co-authors, contributing throughout the entire process: from field sound collection and soundscape production to experiment operation and paper writing.

Professor Namkung Kie Chan stated, “The key point is that we didn't simply play the 40Hz stimulus, which is effective for cognitive health but highly irritating to listen to. Instead, we designed it as an audible experience that can be used continuously in daily life, using locally collected soundscapes from domestic sites as the medium, and verified its potential.” He added, “This is a particularly meaningful example of education-research linkage, where a class-based project led to international academic achievements.”