Strengthening nursing students’ disaster safety competencies requires targeted educational strategies. This study explored how nursing students perceive disaster safety and examined the defining features of each perception type in South Korea. Using an exploratory Q methodology approach, which investigates subjective viewpoints, 30 nursing students in their 20s from C city participated. They sorted 30 statements into a predefined grid to express their perspectives. Data were analyzed through correlation and factor analysis. The research was conducted from June to December 2020. Four distinct patterns of disaster safety awareness emerged. These were classified as: Type 1 – emphasizing national responsibility, Type 2 – emphasizing individual responsibility, Type 3 – preparedness-focused, and Type 4 – education-focused. Disaster safety perceptions among Korean nursing students fall into four main categories: national responsibility, individual responsibility, preparedness-oriented, and education-oriented. These insights can serve as a foundation for designing more effective nursing education programs on disaster preparedness.
