Korean television drama and tourism.

• Main Author: Chan, Brenda.
• Other Authors: Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information
• Format: Research Report
• Language: English
• Published: 2008
• Subjects: DRNTU::Social sciences::Mass media::Broadcasting::TV
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/14240
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Immense popularity in various areas in Asia, such as China, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan and Hong Kong, especially in countries/regions with large Chinese communities. This has generated a fervent desire for all things Korean in what is commonly termed the “Korean Wave” (Shim, 2004; Shim, 2006). Scholars have identified cultural proximity (Straubhaar, 1991) as the main reason for the success of Korean TV dramas in Asian markets, particularly economies that are heavily influenced by Confucian values (Kim, 2004; Leung, 2004; Park, 2004). However, it has also been acknowledged that cultural proximity operates in a more complex dynamic in that there are multiple layers of proximity – geographical / spatial proximity, cultural / linguistic proximity (La Pastina & Straubhaar, 2005), perception of corporeal likeness and coevalness in economic conditions between the importing country and exporting country of the cultural products in question (Leung, 2004). Currently most research on the reception of Korean TV drama is focused on East Asian audiences in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Japan. Leung (2004) cautions that more research needs to be done in more Asian cultures, to understand if the appeal of Korean TV dramas across Asian countries lies in their portrayal of “Asian modernity” with conservative “Asian” family values. The purpose of this research project is twofold. Firstly it seeks to investigate the importance of different forms of cultural proximity in audiences’ preference for, and enjoyment of, Korean TV dramas. Secondly the research study also examines how the consumption of Korean TV dramas motivate viewers to visit South Korea for holiday.