As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, wearing a mask has become a daily routine in Korea over the last two years. This study aims to investigate the mask-wearing perception of preschoolers (ages 4–6). The questionnaire comprised 17 yes/no closed-ended questions and two open-ended questions, and interviews of the children were conducted from January to February 2022, 15 months after mandatory mask wearing. Results showed that children were aware of the need to wear a mask to protect themselves and others from the coronavirus, and they perceived it as necessary and a good thing. Most children responded that they did not feel uncomfortable wearing a mask at preschool. This perception was thought to be influenced by the caregivers’ perceptions of the mask in Korea. The way in which 4–5-year-olds perceived the mask differed from the way 6-year-olds did. Children aged between four and five seemed to perceive the mask as a physical self, while children aged six did not. As children who have experienced COVID-19 are growing up, attention is being focused on how the experience of wearing a mask affects their early childhood development.

In Korea, wearing masks in public places has become the norm during the prolonged coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. This cross-sectional study investigated the mask-wearing behavior of Koreans (n = 433) via online mode living in Seoul and Gwangju after wearing a mask in public spaces for two years due to COVID-19. The respondents selected their face masks based on season, gender, age, occupation, mask-wearing hours, mask filter performance, mask shape, and mask color. The general discomfort caused by wearing a mask was divided into physical and speech discomfort, and it was not correlated with anxiety when not wearing a face mask. Speech discomfort caused by wearing a mask was correlated with general discomfort, clear speech, vocal pain, anxiety, and only-indoor mask-off plans. Anxiety when not wearing a mask appeared to affect both indoor and outdoor mask-off plans. The more uncomfortable and less anxious respondents were when not wearing a mask, the sooner they wanted to discontinue wearing masks indoors and outdoors. It is expected that the use of masks will continue in the future and that there may be differences in the place and time of use of masks in Korea and around the world due to new infectious diseases and fine dust. Facial masks can be worn more comfortably and conveniently if the discomfort and anxiety of wearing a mask are improved by considering various behaviors when wearing a mask in the future.

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