Kim Long Robinson

See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.
net/publication/249000691
Small Screen, Big Tourism: The Role of Popular Korean Television Dramas in
South Korean Tourism
Article in Tourism Geographies · August 2009

DOI: 10.1080/14616680903053334
CITATIONS READS
109 6,246
3 authors, including:
Sangkyun Kim Philip Edward Long

Edith Cowan University Bournemouth University
83 PUBLICATIONS 2,176 CITATIONS 25 PUBLICATIONS 391 CITATIONS
SEE PROFILE SEE PROFILE
Some of the authors of this publication are also working on these related projects:
Creative Industries and Tourism View project
Intangible heritage, museum, and tourism (experience) View project
All content following this page was uploaded by Philip Edward Long on 08 June 2016.
The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

Tourism Geographies
Vol. 11, No. 3, 308–333, August 2009
Small Screen, Big Tourism: The Role

of Popular Korean Television Dramas
in South Korean Tourism
SANGKYUN KIM∗ , PHILIP LONG & MIKE ROBINSON∗∗
∗ Departmentof Tourism, Flinders University, Adelaide, Australia, ∗∗ Centre for Tourism and Cultural
Change, Leeds Metropolitan University, Leeds, UK
Abstract This paper examines a popular cultural phenomenon originating in Korea which
has assumed significance across Asia and beyond. This ‘Korean wave’ or Hallyu includes the
circulation and consumption of Korean popular television dramas. An exploratory case study
approach is presented to provide insights on the relationships between this phenomenon and
patterns of tourism in Korea related to the wider concept of screen-tourism. The paper addresses
the relative lack of attention to television programming within the film tourism literature,
particularly in non-Western and non-English language settings. Some common assumptions
in the film tourism literature are challenged here, including: the inter-changeability of large-
screen films and programmes produced for the television; and the inter-cultural circulation of
film and television programmes as catalysts for tourism. Our findings illustrate that the inter-
cultural circulation of Hallyu television dramas, particularly in neighbouring countries in
Asia, may be interpreted in relation to theories of cultural proximity. A need to understand the
complex patterns and political economy of distribution, circulation and reception of television
programmes is also identified. The paper argues for more research that links visitor flows with
television audience research and which recognizes the organizational infrastructures that allow
media productions to go beyond circulation in domestic TV markets. Professional expertise
and networks, transnational business relationships, ownership and national media regulatory
regimes are highlighted, as is the extent to which media professionals and organizations
connect with the domestic and international tourism sector.
Key Words: Hallyu phenomenon, screen-tourism, cultural proximity, television dramas,

South Korea
Résumé: Petit écran, grand tourisme: le rôle des drames télévisés coréens pop-
ulaires dans le tourisme sud coréen
Cet article examine un phénomène culturel populaire d’origine coréenne qui a acquis une grande
signification à travers l’Asie et même au-delà. Cette ‘vague coréenne’ ou Hallyu comprend la
Correspondence Address: Sangkyun Kim, Department of Tourism, School of Humanities, Flinders Uni-
versity, GPO Box 2100, Adelaide SA 5001, Australia. Fax: +61 (0)8 8201 3635; Tel.: +61 (0)88201 3039;
Email: sean.kim@flinders.edu.au
ISSN 1461-6688 Print/1470-1340 Online /09/03/00308–26

C 2009 Taylor & Francis
DOI: 10.1080/14616680903053334
Korean Television Dramas and South Korean Tourism 309
circulation et la consommation de drames télévisés coréens populaires. On présente une étude de cas
pour éclaircir la relation entre ce phénomène et la distribution du tourisme en Corée en les reliant au
concept de tourisme cinématographique. L’article comble le manque d’attention accordé au rôle des
programmes de télévision dans la littérature sur le tourisme cinématographique, surtout dans des
contextes non-occidentaux ou en des lieux où on ne parle pas l’anglais. Nous questionnons certaines
suppositions communes dans cette littérature y compris : le fait que l’on puisse facilement échanger
des programmes de télévision pour des films de grand écran et que la circulation interculturelle
de programmes de télévision et de cinéma entrainent le développement touristique. Nos résultats
illustrent que la circulation de drames télévisés Hallyu, surtout dans les pays voisins en Asie,
peut être interprétée en utilisant des théories sur la proximité culturelle. On identifie aussi la
nécessité de comprendre les modes complexes d’économie politique de distribution, de circulation
et de réception de programmes de télévision. Dans cet article on argumente qu’il faut faire plus
de recherche sur les liens entre le flux de visiteurs et l’audience des programmes télévisés ainsi
que sur les réseaux organisationnels qui permettent aux programmes d’être diffusés à des publics
autres que domestiques. On souligne, en examinant l’expertise et ses réseaux, les relations d’affaires
transnationales ainsi que la propriété et les régimes régulateurs des médias, jusqu’à quel point les
professionnels et les organisations des médias sont liés au tourisme domestique et international.
Mots-clés: Phénomène Hallyu, tourisme d’écran, proximité culturelle, drames télévisés, Corée du Sud
Zusammenfassung: Kleiner Bildschirm, Grosser Tourismus: Die Rolle von

populären Koreanischen Fernsehdramas im Südkoreanischen Tourismus
Dieser Artikel untersucht ein populäres Kulturphänomen in Korea, welches Bedeutung in Asien
und darüber hinaus erlangt hat. Die sogenannte ‘Koreanische Welle’ oder ‘Hallyu’ beinhaltet die
Verbreitung und den Konsum von populären Koreanischen Fernsehdramas. Hier wird ein neuer
Fallstudienansatz vorgestellt, um Einsichten in die Beziehungen zwischen diesem Phänomen und
Tourismusmustern in Korea aufzuzeigen, die in Verbindung mit dem weiter gefassten Konzept des
‘Leinwandtourismus’ stehen. Der Artikel behandelt den relativen Mangel an Aufmerksamkeit,
den die Filmtourismusliteratur der Fernsehprogrammplanung widmet, insbesondere an nicht-
westlichen und nicht-englischen Schauplätzen. Einige allgemeine Annahmen werden dabei in Frage
gestellt, unter anderem die Austauschbarkeit von Filmen für die Kinoleinwand mit Programmen,
die fürs Fernsehen produziert wurden, sowie die Wirkung einer interkulturellen Verbreitung von
Film- und Fernsehprogrammen als Katalysatoren für den Tourismus. Bei unseren Ergebnissen
zeichnet sich ab, dass die interkulturelle Zirkulation von ‘Hallyu’ Fernsehdramas, besonders in
den asiatischen Nachbarländern, in Bezug auf Theorien der kulturellen Nähe interpretiert werden
können. Ebenso wird die Notwendigkeit, die komplexen Muster und die politische Wirtschaft der
Verteilung, Verbreitung und des Empfanges von Fernsehprogrammen zu verstehen, identifiziert.
Diese Veröffentlichung argumentiert für intensivere Forschung, die Besucherflüsse mit Fernseh-
publikumsforschung verbindet, und die organisatorische Infrastruktur erkennt, welche es Medi-
enproduktionen ermöglicht, über die Verbreitung auf inländischen Märkten hinauszugehen. Pro-
fessionelle Fachkenntnisse und Netzwerke, transnationale Geschäftsbeziehungen sowie die Frage
der Besitzverhältnisse und nationalen Medienregulierungen werden ebenso hervorgehoben wie das
Ausmaß, mit dem Medienfachleute und Organisation mit dem inländischen und internationalen
Tourismussektor in Verbindung stehen.
Stichwörter: ‘Halluy’ Phänomen, Leinwandtourismus, kulturell Nähe, Fernsehdramas, Südkorea
Introduction
It is testimony to the importance of popular culture, particularly within a Western,
developed-world context, that there exists a growing recognition among researchers
310 S. Kim et al.
and the tourism industry of the increasingly close relationships between tourism
and the consumption of film and fictional television programmes (Eco 1986; Urry
1990; Riley and Van Doren 1992; Schofield 1996; Tooke and Baker 1996; Couldry
1998; Riley et al. 1998; Beeton 2001; 2005; Busby and Klug 2001; Grihault 2003;
Kim and Richardson 2003; Connell 2005a, 2005b; O’Neill et al. 2005; Busby and
O’Neill 2006; Hudson and Ritchie 2006a, 2006b). Such relationships vary between
the commonly observed and measured – yet still largely opaque – process of visits
to actual sites featured in film akin to a particular form of popular pilgrimage, to the
very creation of tourist destinations through production and location processes and
the development of mythic and ritual places/spaces (Couldry 1998). The common
denominator is the circulation, to a greater or lesser extent, of imagery; selectively
framed, cropped, enhanced and, in some cases, wholly generated. Within a visual
culture, prospective tourists are deemed to be drawn to destinations through the
assimilation of images of places used as the backgrounds and foregrounds in film
and television productions (Urry 1990; Crouch et al. 2005; Crouch and Lübbren
2006). The concept of film-induced ‘location’ tourism is recently and increasingly
well explored throughout the tourism studies literature and focuses generally upon the
interlinked issues of motivation (Macionis 2004; Singh and Best 2004), destination
image (Kim and Richardson 2003), experience (Couldry 1998; Carl et al. 2007),
host communities (Beeton 2001; Connell 2005a, 2005b) and destination marketing
(Hudson and Ritchie 2006a, 2006b).
But despite the welcome growth in attention in considering screen-tourism there are
some critical gaps in the way the phenomenon has been approached to date. Among
these, three concern us here. First, there are often naı̈ve assumptions made about
the seeming inter-changeability of large-screen, usually ‘big-budget’ films, and those
programmes produced for the television (small screen). Both can have significant
audience impact but, in the case of the former, this tends to be intense, sporadic and
relatively short lived (Carroll 1996; Creeber 2001; Beeton 2005), while, in the latter,
audiences are developed over a longer period of time, the programmes generating a
certain loyalty and more sophisticated relationship with the viewer (Newcomb 1974;
Valaskivi 2000; Kincaid 2002; Hobson 2003).
A body of theoretical literature in media and communication studies also exists,
which offers insights on production values and audience responses to and engagement
with popular dramatic film and television outputs, in particular stories and characters
(Sood and Roger 2000; Creeber 2001; Kincaid 2002; Sood 2002; Bae and Lee 2004).
However, this literature has been explored rarely in screen-tourism and destination
image studies. Patterns of distribution differ, as do the environs, practices and social
dynamics of audience viewing and there exists degrees of cross-over between these
elements so that we can view a blockbuster movie on the television, a DVD or
video at frequent intervals. The screen-tourism literature has also focused mainly on
cinematic releases, with a relative lack of attention to popular television series, with
the exceptions of existing academic works (e.g. Couldry (1998) on Coronation Street;
Mordue (2001) on Heartbeat; Beeton (2001) on Sea Change). There is also a lack of
attention to non-Western popular television production, consumption and tourism.
Secondly, little work has been carried out regarding the cross-cultural reception of
film and television programmes and the inter-cultural circulation of film and television
programmes as catalysts for tourism. One of the markers of globalization is the
relative ease with which images now circulate around the globe (Appadurai 1996).
However, understanding the reception and processing of these entails some degree of
contextualization. While we can recognize some pressures of globalization, such as
‘Westernization’ and standardization, we should not assume that our understandings
of the rudimentary mechanics of screen-tourism have universal values. Tourism, as
a social practice is culturally framed and there is a need to locate it, and the leisure
activities of film-going and watching television, within the specifics of ‘local’ values
and behaviour. Certainly, a great deal of discussion and debate on cultural imperialism
and more specifically media imperialism has been a long-standing topic regarding the
international flow and circulation of cultural information and images between nations
of the world within international media and television literature. This literature, from
a political economy perspective, typically suggests that the dominant flow of images
from film and television is largely perceived to be from ‘west to east’, developed to
developing world (Nordenstreng and Varis 1974; Schiller 1976; Boyd-Barrett 1977;
Tunstall 1977; Beltran 1978; Lee 1980; Ware and Dupagne 1994; Golding and Harris
1997). The long-standing pervasiveness and power of Hollywood as a source of
global imagery, therefore, is generally unchallenged in much of the work carried
out on screen-tourism. Despite unequal media flows and structural inequalities of
cultural production in particular media products, there are other centres and sources
of screen imagery and narrative – various traditions in European cinema, and Indian
‘Bollywood’ productions.
One of the most frequently cited examples in this deconstruction of the paradigm,
however, has been the case of Latin American versions of daily television soap
operas, especially ‘telenovelas’. These illustrate the potential of Third World cultural
production and consumption for resistance, alternative programme formats and also
flows of media outputs to Western/Northern audiences. This discussion has been
intensified by the wave of research on audience reception of ‘telenovelas’ in their
home countries and among diaspora audiences (Antola and Rogers 1984; Rogers
and Antola 1985; Tracey 1988; Biltereyst and Meers 2000). However, relatively little
attention is paid to the touristic spin-offs, which may – or may not – be associated with
these non-Western outputs and audiences in the tourism literature. Thirdly, and related
to the above, is the hegemony of the English language as the foremost mechanism
of narrating what is on the screen. Most of the cases and examples examined as
focal points for tourism are drawn from English language and literary traditions.
This implicit privileging is understandable to some extent in view of the scale of
the English language screen industries and audiences, and also given the practical
issues of researching screen productions in non-Anglophone linguistic and cultural
312 S. Kim et al.
settings. However, in being locked within the immediacy of the English language and
the recognizable histories of Western screen production, it is too easy to presuppose
audience reactions and tourist behaviours.
Acknowledging these ‘gaps’ forms a useful context and starting point for this
paper which examines, within an exploratory case study mode, the emergence of a
significant popular media phenomenon in South Korea (hereafter ‘Korea’) and how
it is contributing to the shaping of national and international patterns and behaviour
of tourists in that country. Particularly across Asia, Korea has developed a strong
reputation for the production of high quality produced television dramas, which can
be said to constitute a particular, nationally distinct genre. These serial dramas focus,
in the first instance, on a domestic Korean audience but are also distributed beyond
national boundaries and have attracted a significant transnational audience, which is
now significantly impacting upon Korean inbound tourism. These dramas focus on a
range of universal themes – love, loss, discovery, redemption, triumph etc. (Carroll
1996) – and are set in various historical periods. Collectively, they are part of what
has been labelled Hallyu, referring to a ‘new wave’ of Korean-generated popular
cultural products (music, computer games, food and traditional and contemporary
fashion) that extends throughout South and East Asia. While the concept of Hallyu is
broad, encapsulating a variety of popular cultural activities and expressions, here this
paper focuses upon a particular form of screen-tourism based upon the international
success of serialized Korean television dramas. Analysing two particular cases of
Korean television drama series: ‘Winter Sonata’ and ‘Jewel in the Palace’, we discuss
the evolution of the relationships between the circulation and consumption of this
dimension of Korean television dramas in the framework of cultural proximity and
draw attention to a significant case of small screen-tourism outside of the Anglophone
tradition, but with ‘Westernized’ cultural traits.
International Tourism in Korea

The development of tourism in Korea is a relatively recent phenomenon, evolving
during the aftermath of the Korean War (1950–3). The first inbound tourism figures of
any significance were produced in 1962, when 15,184 visitors were recorded (MCT
2005a). Lee et al. (1996) suggest that the Korean government’s export-orientated
policies have primarily encouraged the manufacturing industry, with a lower priority
afforded to tourism and service sectors generally. Waitt (1996) and Kim and Morrison
(2005) have argued that the images of Korea typically portrayed in overseas news
media reports are those of ongoing tensions between South and North Korea and the
latter state’s possession of nuclear weapons. Student riots and perceptions of political
instability have also led to South Korea being viewed as an unfavourable destination
for potential international leisure tourists.
Despite these difficulties, the successful hosting of the 1988 Seoul Olympics was a
crucial turning point in the development of tourism in Korea, through its portrayal of
Table 1. International tourists arrivals in Korea (2000–4)

Foreign tourist arrivals (per)
Origin of country 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004
Asia 3,984,888 3,847,164 3,884,426 3,392,673 4,311,513
Japan 2,472,054 2,377,321 2,320,837 1,802,542 2,443,070
China 442,794 482,227 539,466 512,768 627,264
Taiwan 127,120 129,410 136,921 194,586 304,908
Thailand 87,885 73,163 74,000 78,243 102,588
Malaysia 59,333 55,848 82,720 90,623 93,982
Americas 534,519 506,787 556,440 504,956 610,562
USA 458,617 426,817 459,362 421,602 511,170
Europe 452,478 428,821 503,518 481,069 498,096
Great Britain 57,895 60,080 66,696 60,600 65,981
Germany 51,093 52,916 59,698 58,809 68,850
Russia 155,392 134,727 165,341 168,038 156,890
France 33,991 35,598 41,207 35,561 41,229
Korean residents overseas 277,523 286,585 314,829 287,531 299,895
Total 5,321,792 5,147,204 5,347,468 4,752,762 5,818,138
Sub-total of each region includes other countries in that region.

Source: MCT (2002; 2004; 2005a).
the attractiveness of Korea as a potential tourism destination to a large global audience.

During 1988, Korean tourism surpassed 2.3 million foreign tourist arrivals and foreign
tourism receipts exceeded $US3.2 billion. This represented a growth of 24.9 percent
and 42.0 percent, respectively over the previous year (MCT 2005a). Thereafter,
Korea’s economic growth and the co-hosting with Japan of the 2002 soccer World
Cup resulted in the further development of tourism and government recognition of
its importance. International inbound tourism to Korea in 2000 exceeded five million
for the first time and Korea was ranked as the 31st largest inbound tourism receiving
country and 20th largest in terms of foreign receipts from tourism with, in 2002,
5,347,468 visitors and $US5.9 billion spending (MCT 2002).
Table 1 presents the number of foreign tourist arrivals from principal markets
between 2000 and 2004. Japan dominates the inbound tourism market and has retained
its leading position since the Japanese surpassed the US market in the early 1970s.
The dominance of the Japanese market for the past 30 years (despite declines in
arrivals for three years after 2001, attributed to economic difficulties in Japan) is
primarily attributable to its geographical proximity and cost efficiencies (Lee et al.
1996; Suh and Gartner 2004; Suh and McAvoy 2005). This market represented an
average 43.2 percent of total tourist arrivals during the period, thus nearly one out of
every two international inbound tourists to Korea comes from Japan. The American
share of the Korean inbound market was overtaken by China in 2001 as a consequence
of economic factors in the USA and the downturn in tourism as a consequence of 9/11
(MCT 2002), as well as growth in outbound tourism from China. Since then, China
314 S. Kim et al.
has maintained its second position in the inbound market, with a share of around
ten percent. Hong Kong ranks third in the inbound market with five percent of total
tourist arrivals in 2000. The Taiwanese share of the Korean inbound market has grown
from seventh (2.4%, 127,120 visitors) in 2000 to fourth place in 2004. It is perhaps
noteworthy in the context of the broadcast release of the ‘Winter Sonata’ and ‘Jewel
in the Palace’ TV dramas discussed below, that the Taiwanese market recorded the
highest growth rate (56.7%) in 2004. Moreover, the Taiwan Tourism Bureau (2006)
reported that with nearly 370,000 Taiwanese travelling to Korea in 2005, Korea was
the top destination for Taiwanese nationals.
The European market comprised just 8.6 percent of Korean inbound tourism in
2004. Tourist arrivals from non-Asian countries combined represent only about 20
percent of the total Korean inbound tourism market, but they are still important in
terms of market diversification and development. More importantly in the context
of the circulation of Korean TV dramas, international tourist arrivals from Asia
significantly increased in 2004, with almost one million more tourists arriving in
Korea that year compared to 2003, while other market segments such as Europe and
Korean residents overseas did not show any significant difference.
Regarding the purposes of international tourist visits, the Korean government’s
emphasis on an export-driven economic policy has resulted in business travellers
being seen as a major international inbound tourist market. However, travel for
leisure purposes has become increasingly significant from the early 1970s. During
the period 2000–4 for example, leisure travellers comprised more than 70 percent of
the Korean inbound market, while business visitors accounted for only five percent
compared to 60 percent and 16 percent, respectively in 1986–9 (MCT 2002; 2004;
2005a).
Panmunjum, the border village in the middle of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ)
between North and South Korea, is one of the country’s most popular tourist attrac-
tions where tourists can see one of the world’s last Cold War frontiers (Waitt 1996).
Shopping has been a main attraction for Taiwanese tourists (The Taipei Times 2004),
while Korea has hitherto, and controversially, been a destination for sex tourism
for Japanese men (Huat 2006). Furthermore, recent research on international leisure
tourist motivations and preferred tourist activities in Korea conducted by Kim and
Prideaux (2005) shows that Western (essentially American and Australian) tourists
exhibit the greatest preference for Korean historical and cultural resources, while
Chinese mainland tourists prefer leisure facilities and gaming, such as casinos and
amusement theme parks. Japanese and Chinese (Hong Kong) tourists demonstrate a
greater preference for food and shopping compared to other national groups.
The Hallyu Phenomenon

Beginning with the first export of Korean TV dramas (‘Jealousy’) to China in 1993,
the external popularity of Korean TV dramas has grown with ‘What is Love All
About?’ a family-themed series, broadcast by the national China Central Television

Station (CCTV), China’s state-owned television monopoly in 1997. This series, with
an audience share of 1.63 percent on CCTV-8, was widely considered to have been
a success, considering its after-midnight broadcasting period, which usually receives
extremely low ratings. Furthermore, it topped ‘the most watched TV series’ list on
its second re-run on CCTV-1, reaching the second highest audience rating (4.3%)
amongst foreign TV programmes in China (KNTO 2005b). However, the popularity of
Korean popular culture has not been limited to TV programmes. The first Korean pop
(K-pop) band to receive Chinese government approval, H.O.T., performed to a large
and enthusiastic audience at the Beijing Stadium in February 2002. This appeared to
have marked the start of the Hallyu phenomenon, since the word ‘Hánliú’ in Mandarin
Chinese, which is equivalent to Hallyu from Korean pronunciation of the term, first
appeared in the Chinese press with reference to the emergence of a Korean popular
cultural phenomenon that was being quickly absorbed by the Chinese community
(Heo 2002).
Having first penetrated the Chinese mainland, the Korean cultural phenomenon of
Hallyu, in particular Korean television, has spread throughout the East and South-east
of Asia, including Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Viet-
nam, Philippines and later even to the Middle East and East Europe. The infatuation
with Korean popular culture and celebrities has not stopped at popular media con-
sumption but has also led to more general interest in popular music, computer games,
Korean language, food, fashion, make-up and appearance, and even plastic surgery.
Hong Kong street markets sell traditional Korean robes, the so-called ‘Hanbok’
in Korean, to children, while some brides in China are wearing them for wedding
photos (Digital Chosunilbo 2006) and young Taiwanese women wear these to parties
or formal occasions. The ‘Hanbok’ market is therefore booming internationally (The
Taipei Times 2004). In Singapore, middle-aged women take Korean language courses
at community colleges, with recruitment to such courses doubling in the past two
years (Veneto 2005). In addition, eating Korean food has become a fashion in many
Asian nations (Dator and Seo 2004). In particular, the popular TV drama ‘Jewel
in the Palace’, which was set against a backdrop of traditional Korean royal court
cuisine and medicine, stimulated further interest in Korean food in Hong Kong,
which is arguably one of the most popular city destinations that offer unique and
diverse gastronomy, with Korean recipes being featured in Hong Kong restaurant
menus (Kim et al. 2006). Furthermore, increasing numbers of young Taiwanese and
Chinese women are either visiting local hospitals or travelling to Seoul to have plastic
surgery to make themselves look more Korean, based on photos of their favourite
Korean stars (The Taipei Times 2004; Digital Chosunilbo 2006). In other words,
notions of Korean beauty associated with appearance, portrayed and represented
by Korean media programming, have become a trend. Many Japanese fans of Bae
Yong-Joon, a superstar of the drama ‘Winter Sonata’, even subscribe to services to
find them Korean husbands.
316 S. Kim et al.
Following the group H.O.T.’s successful performance in China, many K-pop

singers, such as Ahn Jae-Wook, boy bands NRG and Shinhwa, and girl band Baby
V.O.X., have created a huge K-pop fan base in Asia and tour widely, performing at
well-attended concerts. One of the most popular Korean pop singers is Rain (real
name: Jeong Ji-Hoon), called ‘Asian Usher’ or ‘Asian Justin Timberlake’, a 24-year-
old male Korean R&B and pop singer, with great international recognition who has
won a number of international awards, including ‘Most popular singer award of the
MTV Asia Aid 2005 in Bangkok’, ‘MTV video music awards in Japan 2005’, ‘Most
popular Korean singer of the Mandarin Music honours in Beijing 2005’, etc. (KBS
2005c).
The nexus of the Hallyu phenomenon lies in the circulation and popularity of
Korean television dramas, however. Their popularity has spread in and beyond Asia
to Eastern Europe and North and South America, generating a significant global audi-
ence that is extended through VCD and DVD replays. Importantly, unlike Hollywood
blockbuster films or Anglophone television series which target global audiences, these
serial TV dramas focus on the domestic Korean audience, but are also distributed
beyond national boundaries. Utilizing standard ‘Western’ production formats and
technologies, they are written and produced by Korean production companies and
cast Korean stars acting out Korean characters. They are generally set in Korean loca-
tions; though recently there has been a trend of shooting episodes or programmes in
‘exotic’ and ‘foreign’ locations, such as Paris (e.g. Lovers in Paris) and Prague (e.g.
Lovers in Prague). In other words, narratives, storylines, characters, actors, locations
and music represented by the Korean TV dramas, whether set in the past or present,
are explicitly Korean, condensing notions of Koreanness into an easily consumed
popular format. Having said this, they tend to portray universal themes, including
sudden sickness, accidents, love affairs, illegitimate children, envy, intrigue, betrayal
and all manner of interpersonal entanglements (Carroll 1996).
With a growth of 72.8 percent over 2004, the export of Korean TV dramas held a
92 percent ($US101.6 million) share of the total export of Korean media programmes
($US123.4 million) in 2005, followed by animation (2.7%), entertainment shows
and music programmes (2.1%) and documentaries (0.3%) (MCT 2005b, 2006). This
figure is estimated to be worth more than three times the cost of importing foreign
TV programmes into Korea ($US31 million). In 2005, the major importing countries
were mainly in Asia, such as Japan (60.1%), China (9.9%), the Philippines (3.7%) and
Taiwan (1.4%), representing 95.3 percent of the total export of Korean TV dramas.
As new importing countries, Mexico, Brazil, Turkey, Jordan, Tanzania, Cambodia,
Mongolia, Uzbekistan and Russia began to gradually increase their importing of
Korean TV programmes in 2005 (MCT 2006).
In this respect, television channels in Asia began to be filled with imported Korean
TV dramas. In Japan, 63 of 127 terrestrial TV stations broadcast 70 Korean TV dramas
(some of these dramas broadcast by more than one TV station) in February 2005
alone (Kim 2005). In China, 67 Korean dramas were imported in 2002, accounting
for 20.5 percent of the total of 327 dramas it imported from foreign countries (Cho
2005). In Singapore, there was at least one Korean TV drama series on a Singapore
television channel every night in late 2003 (Huat 2006). In Taiwan, more than 100
Korean TV dramas were broadcast on several TV channels and nearly 20 dramas
were broadcast at the same time in August 2006 (Lin and Huang 2006). According to
the Korea Foundation for Asian Culture Exchange, ‘Jewel in the Palace’ and ‘Winter
Sonata’ were the most popular TV dramas in Singapore and Malaysia, suggesting
that some 60 percent of Singaporeans have seen these dramas, followed by 44 percent
of Malaysians (KBS 2005b).
According to the Korea International Trade Association (KITA 2005), Hallyu gen-
erated an additional $US1.86 billion in export and tourism revenues in 2004. The
economic effect of Hallyu on merchandise exports stood at $US918 million, whilst
that on the domestic tourism industry amounted to $US825 million in 2004. The
phenomenon of Korean popular culture in the global market not only impacts eco-
nomically, but it also cultivates improved international perceptions of Korea and
builds a new positive image of Korean life at the national level. For example, Hallyu
has been identified by Japanese researchers as the most important means of under-
standing patterns and trends in the Japanese consumer market (KBS 2005a).
Cultural Proximity and Circulation of Popular Media Programme

The above figures on the export and scheduling of Hallyu television dramas in im-
porting countries demonstrate that its dominant circulation, as the nexus of the Hallyu
phenomenon, mainly in Asia, may be viewed as an international cultural flow in the
context of cultural globalization, in particular based on what Straubhaar (1991) calls
‘cultural proximity’ (Shim 2006). The theory of ‘cultural proximity’ describes the
way audiences tend to actively privilege and prefer national or regional programming
over imported competing programmes and rarely turn to imported programmes when
local alternatives are available (Tracey 1988; Straubhaar 1991). A number of studies
have suggested the importance of cultural cohesion and affinity, or cultural proximity
in explaining the patterns of inter-cultural circulation of media programmes (Antola
and Rogers 1984; Rogers and Antola 1985; Straubhaar 1991). Other researchers
have identified ‘cultural-linguistic markets’ linked by geography, language and cul-
ture (Rogers and Antola 1985; Straubhaar 1991; Lee and Wang 1995; Wilkinson
1995). Although these cultural-linguistic markets are generally unified by language,
the definition of cultural-linguistic market goes well beyond language to include
history, religion, ethnicity (in some cases), and culture in several senses: shared iden-
tity, gestures and non-verbal communication; what is considered funny or serious or
even frightening; clothing styles; living patterns; climate influences and other rela-
tionships with the environment. One of the most frequently cited examples in this
context contributes to the international popularity of Latin American ‘telenovelas’.
These have not only obtained important audience ratings and prime time slots in the
318 S. Kim et al.
schedules in several Southern European countries, such as Italy, Spain and Portu-
gal; they have also significantly penetrated the US market, at least among rapidly
expanding Spanish-language audiences, especially in Latino diaspora communities.
None the less, it has been acknowledged that in the northern, north-western and
Anglo-Saxon countries, ‘telenovelas’ have received limited attention, with their not
being broadcast in prime time and thus with very low audience ratings (Biltereyst
and Meers 2000). These latter authors argue that this bipolarization was mainly as a
consequence of cultural distance, in particular language barriers, the lack of cultural
proximity and limited knowledge of the world of ‘telenovelas’.
Methodology
Given some recognized methodological difficulties in the measurement and attribu-
tion of causation in the relationships between the circulation of transnational media
programmes and tourism (Beeton 2001; Busby and Klug 2001), an exploratory case
study approach is considered as being appropriate to contribute to developing research
in this area (Patton 1990; Mason 1996). Within the case study approach, data are typ-
ically collected using secondary sources produced from previous academic research,
newspapers, reports and policy documentation. However, criticisms about case stud-
ies as a sole research method, including that findings may be too specific, speculative
or contextual to be able to underpin sound generalizations or theorizations, are rec-
ognized (Yin 1994; Mason 2006). Therefore, qualitatively based research methods,
including observation of foreign visitors at a Hallyu-related screen tourism destina-
tion and informal interviews with two destination managers and twelve tour guides,
were conjointly utilized here in order to reinforce findings from the secondary data
sources. The observations and informal interviews were conducted during Septem-
ber 2007 at Daejanggeum Theme Park, Yangjoo province, in Korea, which is the
outdoor set of ‘Jewel in the Palace’, a historical television drama. This location was
chosen because of the continuous circulation of ‘Jewel in the Palace’ in Asia and
its popularity as one of the most popular Hallyu television dramas as well as the
top screen-tourism destination for international tourists in Korea associated with the
Hallyu phenomenon.
The interviewees were purposively selected as they were all directly involved in
Hallyu-related screen-tourism as tour guides or destination managers. The selected
tour guides had been bringing and guiding international visitors (mainly Japanese,
Chinese and Taiwanese) to the theme park at least twice a week during the main
tourist season since 2006. Thus, it was presumed that they were key informants,
drawing on their lived experiences, who could provide detailed information about the
transformation of a filming set into a screen-tourism destination. Each interview lasted
up to thirty minutes and included a number of questions inviting their observations
on the number and origins of international visitors to the Theme Park, the popularity
of ‘Jewel in the Palace’ and the consequences arising from this growing popularity
for their work and tourism to Korea generally.
Case Study: ‘Winter Sonata’ and ‘Jewel in the Palace’

Circulation and Reception of ‘Winter Sonata’
One of the most significant Korean TV dramas in Asia was ‘Winter Sonata’, a 20-
episode melodrama, delivering the perennial themes of love and loss. The series
addressed a tragic love story, opening with two high school students who fall in love
for the first time. This first, but ill-fated love, was destined to suffer a cruel blow as
the hero, Joon-Sang (portrayed by Bae Yong-Joon), died in a car accident leaving the
heroine, Yoo-Jin (played by Choi Ji-Woo), heartbroken and dispirited. Following its
success in the Korean domestic market in 2002, ‘Winter Sonata’, which represented
contemporary Korean winter scenery within the context of a complex romantic plot,
has been broadcast to television audiences world-wide, including in China, Taiwan,
Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Japan, Vietnam, Thailand, Philippines,
Egypt, Iraq, United States, Uzbekistan, Paraguay, Mexico and Brazil (KNTO 2005a).
Table 2 shows some of these countries where ‘Winter Sonata’ was exported in
chronological order, with the channels, translation issues and scheduling. ‘Winter
Table 2. The circulation of ‘Winter Sonata’

Year Country Channel Translation Scheduling
2002 Taiwan GTVa Dubbing N/A
(Mandarin)
Hong Kong ATV Home Dubbing N/A
(Cantonese)
China 11 Chinese TV Dubbing N/A
(Mandarin)
2003 Japan NHK BSa Dubbing Late night
(Japanese)
NHKb Dubbing ) Repeat, every Saturday, at 23:10
(Japanese
2004 Singapore Channel Ua Dubbing Every Saturday, at 24:30
(Mandarin)
Thailand N/A Dubbing N/A
(Thai)
Ghana TV3 N/A Running for 7 weeks
2005 Iraq Kurdistan TVa N/A Every Thursday
US Imagine Asiana Subtitling (English)
2006 Paraguay Red Guarani Dubbing (Spanish) Every Saturday and Sunday, at 17:00
a Satellite or cable TV channel.
b Terrestrial TV channel.
N/A, not available.
Source: Adapted from KNTO (2005a).
320 S. Kim et al.
Sonata’ was first exported to Taiwan, dubbed into Mandarin. Then, it was screened
in Hong Kong in September to October 2002. Subsequently, it was also broadcast in
China and Singapore in late 2003 and early 2004, completing the circuit of all the
predominantly ethnic Chinese nations in Asia.
Following the popularity of the series in Asia, ‘Winter Sonata’ made its debut
on US television in 2005, broadcast by an Asian-American cable channel, ‘Imagine
Asian’, with English subtitles. Also, Egypt, the largest television broadcaster in the
Middle East, which had not previously broadcast television programmes from Korea,
aired ‘Winter Sonata’ in response to increasing demand in Arab nations following the
success of ‘Autumn in My Heart’, an earlier Korean TV series produced by the same
director, Yoon Seok-Ho. In addition, Kurdish-run Kurdistan TV broadcast the series
in Iraq and nearby regions via satellite in May 2005. Despite the geographical and
cultural distance, the series later arrived in South America, the land of ‘telenovelas’,
including Mexico, Brazil, and so on. In particular, in Mexico the airing of ‘Winter
Sonata’ drew a large audience and, in turn, a Seoul cable broadcaster became the
first Asian station represented in Mexico and was able to offer round-the-clock
programming (Ha 2005). The series has also been exported to Paraguay (KNTO
2005a).
The popularity of ‘Winter Sonata’ is particularly demonstrable in Japan, where it
was shown on the major cable network NHK BS from April to December 2003. The
series reached 9.2 percent of the audience rate in Ganto and 9.4 percent in Kansai for
the first episode, which was twice higher than any other transnational TV drama, such
as Beverly Hills or ER, at the same broadcasting time (late night). This popularity
resulted in the series being shown again on NHK, the national terrestrial station,
in April 2004 (Chae and Choi 2005; KNTO 2005a). On 3 April 2004 the star of
the series, Bae Yong-Joon, arrived at Tokyo airport and 5,000, largely middle-aged
female fans and 300 press reporters turned up to welcome him. This figure may
be compared with the 1,300 fans who greeted David Beckham at Tokyo airport in
2003 (Chae and Choi 2005). Following this occasion, the series achieved an average
audience rating of 14–15 percent and the last episode achieved over 20 percent of the
audience. This is an extraordinary figure, given the fact that the series was aired at
midnight.
Circulation and Reception of ‘Jewel in the Palace’

‘Jewel in the Palace’ (hereafter JITP), known in Korean as ‘Dae Jang Geum’, was
one of the most popular Hallyu television dramas. JITP is set around the late fif-
teenth to the early sixteenth century and is based on references within the Annals
of the Joseon Dynasty to a female doctor of that time, named Seo Jang-Geum,
who possessed unparalleled skills in the medical field and who was a cook in the
royal kitchen before becoming the first royal physician. Historically accurate de-
pictions of the Korean Royal Palace, and the cuisine and medical treatments of
that time are presented throughout the series. JITP was screened in Korea from
September 2003 to March 2004 and was identified as a national drama in Korea
in 2004, when it attained the highest audience ratings in Korean television history
(57.8%) (KNTO 2005a). The series has now been broadcast in over 50 countries,
including Taiwan, Hong Kong, China, Japan, Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia.
JITP has also been shown in English-speaking countries, including Canada, US,
Australia and New Zealand. Produced for $US15 million, the tale of an orphaned
cook who went on to become the king’s first female physician 500 years ago has
generated $US56.8 million in world-wide sales since it first aired in 2003. Table
3 shows some of countries where it was aired, channels, broadcasting date and
scheduling.
Reflecting the geographical and cultural proximity, the distribution and circulation
of the series started from Asia along similar lines to ‘Winter Sonata’. Taiwan was
the first country to import it and the series was dubbed into Mandarin for this
audience. One day in August 2004 more than 1.1 million people on the island of 23
million tuned into an episode of the programme (The Taipei Times 2004). This is
an extraordinary figure, given the current broadcasting situation in Taiwan where 12
TV stations and 86 cable companies compete for audience ratings, and where it is
unusual to achieve more than one percent audience share. Thus, it was noteworthy
that the 6.35 percent audience rating achieved by JITP was a record in Taiwanese
cable broadcasting (Chae and Choi 2005; KOTRA 2005). Subsequently, JITP was
screened on TVB Jade in Hong Kong in 2005, this time dubbed into Cantonese. It
was also extremely popular in Hong Kong where it was the most popular television
drama in history, boasting an averaged audience rating of 37 percent and a top
viewer rating of 49 percent, meaning that over three million people out of Hong
Kong’s entire 6.9 million population tuned in at its peak. The strong audience appeal
resulted in the broadcasting time being moved forward from 23:00 to 22:00 (KNTO
2005a). Following its popularity in Taiwan and Hong Kong, JITP was aired by Hunan
Satellite Television station throughout China in 2005, completing the circuit of all
the predominant ethnic Chinese nations in Asia. Beginning with audience ratings
of 2.44 percent for the first episode, the average audience rate grew to over 10.86
percent, exceeding any peak time drama’s audience figures. Thus, millions of Chinese
people waited until the middle of the night to watch the show (Cai 2005).
It is also noteworthy that the series was circulated and aired in Western countries,
including the US, Australia and New Zealand, earlier than in some Asian countries,
such as Japan and Thailand where Hallyu had already become popular. From the
Bay Area and Los Angeles to Honolulu, Chicago, New York and Washington DC,
JITP has been seen across the US on the AZN cable network, which is available
in 12.5 million homes, mainly multi-generational Asian American communities, as
well as a broader American audience interested in the Asian experience (Hua 2005;
Veneto 2005). In Japan, having experienced financial success and audience popularity
from ‘Winter Sonata’, NHK started to air JITP in October 2005 on its terrestrial TV
channel. NHK also featured a special programme known as ‘Guidebook for Jewel
322 S. Kim et al.
Table 3. Circulation of ‘Jewel in the Palace’

Year Country Channel Translation Scheduling
2004 Taiwan GTVa Dubbing Monday to Friday at
(Mandarin) 21:00 (prime time)
Vietnam VTV1b N/A Tuesday to Friday at

22:00 (prime time)
Malaysia TV8b N/A Monday to Friday at
20:30 (prime time)
Japan NHK BS2a Dubbing Every Thursday at
(Japanese) 22:00 (prime time)
2005 Hong Kong TVB Jadeb Dubbing Monday to Friday at

(Cantonese) 22:00 (prime time)
Europe Phoenixa N/A Monday to Friday at

21:00 (prime time)
Singapore Channel 55 (StarHub)a Dubbing Monday to Friday at
(Mandarin) 19:00
Uzbekistan UZ-NTTa N/A Monday to Friday at

19:00
China Hunan Cable TVa Dubbing Monday to Friday at
US AZN Cablea Subtitling (English) N/A

Australia/ TVBJa (Chinese cable TV) Dubbing Monday to Friday at
New Zealand (Mandarin) 20:30
Japan NHKb Dubbing Fridays and Saturdays

(Japanese) at 23:10
Thailand Thai Channel 3b Dubbing Saturdays and

(Thai) Sundays at 18:30
Philippines GMAb Dubbing Monday to Friday at

22:00 (prime time)
Indonesia Indosiar TVb Dubbing Monday to Friday at
(Indonesian) 17:00
2006 Singapore MediaCorpb Dubbing Monday to Friday at

Egypt ERTUb N/A Wednesdays/Fridays/

Sundays at 20:45
a Satellite
or cable TV channel.
b Terrestrial
TV channel.
N/A, not available.
Source: Adapted from KNTO (2005a), Yeon and Yang (2006).
in the Palace’ to enhance audience understanding about the historical details of the
series.
International Visitors to Filming Locations of Hallyu Television Dramas

Korea is now experiencing tourism patterns apparently linked clearly to the Hallyu
phenomenon and new spaces of Hallyu tourism are being developed. According to
KNTO (2005a), an estimated 3.86 million tourists from China, Japan, Hong Kong,
Taiwan, Singapore and Thailand, where Hallyu has been particularly popular, visited
Korea in 2004, representing 63 percent of the total number of inbound tourists
(5.81 million). Although it is difficult to identify the numbers who came directly
because of the Hallyu phenomenon, this figure represents a 31.81 percent growth
over the previous year and is much higher than the 8.7 percent growth rate of tourists
from other countries. In particular, Japanese tourism to Korea increased 35.5 percent
in 2004 just after the showing of ‘Winter Sonata’.
It is also noteworthy that Taiwanese tourists have steadily increased since 2001
and accounted for over 300,000 in 2004, recording the highest growth rate from
any single country. While the resumption of air links between the two countries
after a 12-year break undoubtedly facilitated this, it may also be suggested that the
popularity of Korean popular culture in Taiwan is a contributory factor. In particular,
Lin and Huang (2006) have stressed that Hallyu television dramas play an important
role in inducing potential Taiwanese tourists to visit Korea. This popularity may also
account for a dramatic increase in Japanese tourists in 2004 with a growth rate of 35.5
percent over the previous year as a consequence of the success of ‘Winter Sonata’
(broadcast in 2003) in Japan. Importantly, the proportion of Japanese female tourists
dramatically increased by 57.3 percent, with women now making up 43.2 percent of
total Japanese tourist numbers. This is significant, given the traditional dominance
of Japanese male tourists (for example, the ratio of male and female in 2003 was 63:
37). Given that the main audience for ‘Winter Sonata’ was female and aged 40–50,
this figure may relate to the relationship between consumption of Hallyu television
dramas and patterns of inbound tourism in Korea. For similar reasons, the Singapore
and Thai market also showed an increase in these two nations’ tourist traffic to Korea
during 2003–4.
Screen-tourism sites around the world provide evidence of the power of popular
films in stimulating tourism demand to filming destinations (as noted by Riley et al.
1998; Busby and Klug 2001; Hudson and Ritchie 2006a; amongst others). In the
Korean context, screen-tourism is not so much through cinema releases but is related
to home television viewing. Hallyu-related tourism thus is based on visitation to
the locations and sets of tourists’ favourite TV dramas as a form of ‘pilgrimage
tourism’. In other words, Hallyu-related tourism is an umbrella term covering a screen
tourism or film-induced tourism phenomenon. In this regard, the two outstanding
destinations are ‘Nami Island’, a location for romantic scenes in ‘Winter Sonata’, and
324 S. Kim et al.
‘Daejanggeum Theme Park’, a film set for JITP. KNTO (2005a; 2005b; 2006) suggests
that more than 500,000 foreign tourists have chosen to visit these locations as a result
of seeing them in TV series, such as ‘Winter Sonata’ and JITP. In short, it is suggested
that around one in seven inbound tourists is considered to be a Korean ‘TV drama
pilgrimage’ tourist. The following discussion reinforces the power of circulating and
consuming TV dramas in stimulating Asian inbound tourism to Hallyu television
drama locations in Korea.
‘Winter Sonata’ and Nami Island

Nami Island, located in ChunCheon, Gangwon province, is the main location used for
the production of ‘Winter Sonatas’. With no figures for numbers of overseas visitors
prior to 2003, more than half a million foreign visitors (674,101) were recorded from
2003 to 2005 (KNTO 2006), whilst the entrance revenue was estimated at around
$US0.4 million in 2004 (KNTO 2004). With the successful broadcast of ‘Winter
Sonata’ in Japan in 2004, the Japanese were the biggest screen-tourist market to
Nami Island that year. It is noteworthy that the figures during winter are much higher
than during other seasons. For example, in 2005 the island attracted 33,000 and 37,000
international visitors in January and February, respectively, while only 17,000 and
16,000 visitors arrived in the location in August and September. ‘Winter Sonata’
depicted winter scenery and its romantic story with pure white show; the island is
thus most popular as a destination during this season.
There is an assumption that numbers of travellers to TV drama locations may
decline as the popularity of the programme subsides. Accordingly, visitor arrivals at
Nami Island have gradually decreased since March 2005. However, this may be a
short-term fall and it is too soon to discern any possible trend. However, Nami Island
drew its largest number of foreign visitors in 2005, with more than 295,000 people
visiting, compared to 111,415 in 2003 and 267,686 in 2004. Although the programme
completed its airing in 2002 and 2004 in Taiwan and Japan, respectively, Taiwan and
Japan were still two major nations visiting Nami Island representing 131,900 and
102,800 visitors, respectively. In 2006, with the continuing dominance of the above
two national markets, the later countries in the reception of ‘Winter Sonata’, including
Malaysia (9,810), Thailand (9,489), Singapore (6,689) and Indonesia (666) started
visiting Nami Island (KNTO 2006).
‘Jewel in the Palace’ and Daejanggeum Theme Park

Daejanggeum Theme Park located in Yangjoo, Gyeonggi province, has recently
become the most popular destination for screen-tourism associated with the Hallyu
phenomenon. This outdoor drama set has been restored to exactly the way it was when
JITP was produced there. A theme park concept has also been developed with a variety
of events and programmes for visitors to experience. Since opening in November
Table 4. Daejanggeum Theme Park foreign visitor figures 2005–6

Number of visitors
Nations 2005 2006 (Jan–Jun)
Taiwan 63,507 21,212
Hong Kong 53,016 6,478
China 15,368 18,233
Malaysia 22,413 13,391
Japan 19,378 48,124
Total 189,307 129,663
Total of theme park foreign visitor includes other countries.

Source: KNTO (2005a; 2006)
2004, the theme park has already attracted over 189,000 visitors. Table 4 shows
the figures of foreign tourists who visited Daejanggeum Theme Park by nationality
in 2005–6. Hong Kong inbound tourists to Korea decreased sharply from 2002.
However, a 15.4 percent (122,870) growth from this market was experienced in
2005, when it re-gained its ranking as the fourth largest inbound tourism-generating
nation behind Japan, China and Taiwan.
It may be suggested that the popularity of JITP, which completed its airing in Hong
Kong in May 2005, contributed to this increase. 53,016 out of 122,870 Hong Kong
tourists were registered as the overseas visitors to the Daejanggeum Theme Park in
2005. Similarly to Hong Kong, although the series completed its airing in 2004 in
Taiwan, JITP is still responsible for bringing many visitors from that country to the
Daejanggeum Theme Park. An estimated 63,507 visitors entered the theme park in
2005, representing around 26 percent of the total Taiwanese visitors to Korea that year,
while 21,212 Taiwanese visitors (representing 16 percent of the total foreign visitors
in Daejanggeum Theme Park) arrived in 2006 (KNTO 2006). Japanese tourists also
started visiting the theme park even before the series had aired on television there in
October 2005, perhaps reflecting some anticipatory Hallyu-related tourism. However,
the visitor figures from this country sharply increased from October 2005 as the series
had just begun airing on NHK in Japan. In this regard, Japanese tourist numbers
increased sharply in 2006 (January to June) representing 37 percent (48,124) of the
total foreign visitors (129,663) to the theme park Also, a substantial increase in visitor
figures from Malaysia (9%), Thailand (8%) and Singapore (6%) is apparent (KNTO
2006).
Observational Findings
This section opens with observations concerning how the outdoor filming set of JITP
was transformed into a screen-tourism destination and visited by international audi-
ence. Also, some of the informal interviews, with illustrative quotations, are analysed
326 S. Kim et al.
and reported here. The Daejanggeum Theme Park is located at MBC (Munhwa Broad-
casting Corporation) YangJoo Culture Valley, which has long been established as the
most popular outdoor drama set for the production of MBC television programmes.
It is a remote rural area where there are few existing tourist attractions and facilities
such as restaurants and shopping centres, or other recognized tourism destinations.
Road access is also not particularly good. However, it was observed that the carriage-
way near to the theme park was newly and reasonably well signposted. Given that the
theme park is the only tourist destination in this area, the consequences of the growth
in foreign tourist arrivals following the circulation of JITP can be observed, together
with physical changes to the area and, in particular, MBC’s YangJoo Culture Valley
and the film set of JITP.
As mentioned earlier, it was found that the majority of foreign visitors were from
Asia, including Japan, China, Taiwan, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore and so on.
Tourists were observed primarily to visit the site either with family members or
friends. The majority of visitors observed were female, regardless of nationality. This
observation may be related to the argument that female audiences are often the main
consumers of TV dramas or soap operas (Rubin, 1985). With regard to their touristic
patterns, some visitors made their trips to the theme park individually by using public
transportation, with a travelling time of more than two hours from central Seoul.
However, the great majority of visitors arrived in groups on a tour bus. These groups
mostly arrived at the theme park between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. accompanied by local
guides. The tight itinerary of their day tour generally allowed the visitors to spend
only about two to three hours at the theme park.
The theme park typically welcomes around 300 to 400 foreign visitors per day
during the season, although more than 1,000 international visitors arrived at the
theme park during peak days in 2006 and 2007 (interview with theme park man-
ager, 2007). According to the ticket office of Daejanggeum Theme Park, the top
four visiting nations during the research period – September 2007 – were Japan,
accounting for 43 percent (4,306), Taiwan (19.8%, 1,985), China (16.4%, 1,641) and
Thailand (8.3%, 829). Furthermore, tour guides collectively pointed out that their
colleagues and themselves had undoubtedly benefited financially from the Hallyu
phenomenon and associated screen-tourism. They added that they could not remem-
ber the exact number of foreign visitors they brought to the Daejanggeum Theme
Park, but it was ‘many many’. In this regard, one tour guide for Japanese tourists
commented:
I was almost a part-time tour guide before with only some occasional tour
guiding jobs, but now everything has been changed after a big hit of JITP in
Japan and its subsequent rush of Japanese tourists to the theme park. I think
. . . it was around March, 2006, I became much busier. Now, I come to the theme
park almost every single day and I am too busy to have my own holidays even
for a week.
Some guides suggested that travel agencies that focused on the Hallyu-related
screen-tourism including Daejanggeum Theme Park tour were experiencing difficulty
in recruiting guides. This was seen to be a problem, as a tour guide for Taiwanese
tourists put it, “unprofessional” tour guides who cannot speak fluent Chinese have
been recruited to cover the unexpected growth of inbound tourists from Taiwan.
Others also remarked on the significance of screen-tourism on the revitalization of
inbound tourism in Korea generally. As one tour guide explained:
I am a Chinese of Korean descent and lived in China until 2004. With the sudden
increase in demand for Korean speaking Chinese as tour guides, I became a
tour guide. With my bilinguality, I could cover all Chinese speaking groups
including Chinese, Hong Kong, Taiwanese, and Singaporean. There are many
like me who are working as tour guides in Korea. It is good for us and Korean
tourism.
This remark indicates how the growing popularity of Korean television dramas
in neighbouring countries has influenced the development of the tourism industry
in Korea. This is particularly evident in screen-tourism related destinations, such as
Daejanggeum Theme Park, which offers a direct insight into the transnational circu-
lation of popular cultural products apparently affecting inbound tourism. However, it
is acknowledged that these findings from informal interviews need to be substantiated
with further quantitative and qualitative data on the extent to which popular Korean
television dramas may have generated inbound tourism in Korea and the implications
of this popular cultural phenomenon for Korea, Asia and beyond.
Conclusions and Discussion

Korea has not traditionally been viewed as a leading exporter of popular culture or
a major tourist destination in Asia. However, the recent emergence and international
popularity of Hallyu and its apparent impact on inbound tourism is notable. In par-
ticular, the findings in this brief, exploratory case study illustrate that to a greater or
lesser extent the inter-cultural circulation of Hallyu television dramas and their sub-
sequent reception, particularly in neighbouring countries in Asia may be interpreted
in relation to theories of cultural proximity, comparable to the popularity of ‘telen-
ovelas’ in countries bonded by shared cultural-linguistic considerations including
language, history, religion, ethnicity and culture in several senses. Based upon the of-
ficial tourist data, actual observation of foreign visitors and informal interviews with
tour guides, the two case studies suggest that there has been clear growth in the num-
bers of visitors and in particular female tourists following the export and screening of
Hallyu television dramas, together with a diminution of visitors as the initial impact of
screening starts to wear out. However, cultural proximity has difficulty in explaining
the successful reception of Hallyu television dramas in Arabic and African countries
with very different social, cultural, linguistic and religious values and norms. It may
328 S. Kim et al.
perhaps be argued that the world from both Western and non-Western sources pro-
vides some sense of a common humanity living in the same or similar temporalities
in which people consume and share recognizable experiences. There is, therefore, no
single and simple explanation of the rapid and wide-reaching spread of the Hallyu
phenomenon and its impact on screen-tourism in Asia and beyond.
Furthermore, the foregoing overview of the Hallyu phenomenon in Korea, Asia
and more widely highlights several key issues that are worthy of further discussion
and which may be helpful in addressing some of the gaps in our understanding
of ‘screen-tourism’ in diverse national and cultural contexts. It is often too read-
ily assumed that tourists automatically follow the transmission of popular film and
television programmes in, more or less, a causal manner. However, to really under-
stand the emergent geographies relating to screen-tourism we also need to understand
the increasingly complex patterns and political economy of distribution, circulation
and reception of television programmes and film. Accessing distribution data for
television programmes is not straightforward, particularly within the vast and open
markets of East Asia. Accurate audience figures are also problematic to obtain and
complicated by the widespread reproduction and circulation of productions via DVD
and VCD. Some such data are presented in this paper but there is clearly more work
that needs to be conducted which can link visitor flows with television audience
research. An important element in the case of Hallyu-related tourism is the degree
to which Korea has been able to tap into neighbouring markets, particularly those
of its powerful neighbours of China and Japan. Korea’s historical and contempo-
rary political relations with both of these countries are complex and not without
problems; however, it would seem to some extent that such relations are being re-
fashioned through the medium of serialized dramas which emphasize the notion of
cultural proximity in addition to a distinct and appealing Korean cultural identity.
Understanding the technological and organizational infrastructures and institutions
that allow media productions to go beyond circulation and distribution in domestic
TV markets, potentially, at least resulting in international tourist arrivals to the sites
of production, will allow a more nuanced appreciation of screen-tourism. Profes-
sional and commercial expertise and networks, transnational business relationships,
ownership and national media regulatory regimes are all pertinent here. There is,
of course, a disjuncture between the production of these dramas (as there is with
the majority of screen productions) as creative/artistic/entertainment entities in their
own right, and their consumption by tourists and appropriation by tourism marketing
authorities. The extent to which media professionals and organizations connect with
the domestic and international tourism sector is an area requiring further analysis.
What also emerges from a deeper understanding of Hallyu-related tourism and,
what has wider relevance to the study of screen-tourism, is that the audience and
touristic appeal of screen representations are themselves complex and cannot be
reduced to some single motif. The televisualized textual elements and aesthetic
values of production read by audiences (and read differently across cultures) are
multi-layered. Dramas, such as ‘Winter Sonata’ and ‘Jewel in the Palace’, display a
diverse array of elements that can combine to stimulate audience activity, including the
desire to visit locations. The elements of production include locations (themselves
exhibiting a variety), visual techniques and direction, contemporary and nostalgic
story lines, characters/celebrity actors and soundtrack. In combination, these may be
critically and popularly acclaimed and can catalyse audiences to become ‘involved’
with the dramas in domestic and social settings, and identify with characters and story
lines. It would seem that Korean drama contains production elements that have some
universality (at least in an East Asian context) and some specificity to Korean locations
– real and created – and the notion of ‘Koreanness’. A more detailed examination of
the relationships between the tourist (domestic and international) and the variables
of the screen dramas produced will be of value in gaining a deeper understanding of
a phenomenon that has too long dwelt upon the impacts of big screen productions in
the Anglophone world.
Acknowledgement
Special thanks to Mr Ahn Soon-Jong and Mr Jun Jung-Soo, Daejanggeum Theme
Park’s manager and director, who provided valuable information to the authors during
field work at the site.
References
Antola, A. & Rogers, E.M. (1984) Television flows in Latin America, Communication Research, 11(2),
pp. 183–202.
Appadurai, A. (1996) Modernity at Large: Cultural Dimensions of Globalisation (Minneapolis: University
of Minnesota Press).
Bae, H. & Lee, B. (2004) Audience involvement and its antecedents: An analysis of the electronic bulletin
board messages about an entertainment-education drama on divorces in Korea, Asian Journal of
Communication, 14(1), pp. 6–21.
Beeton, S. (2001) Smiling for the camera: The influence of film audience on a budget tourism destination,
Tourism, Culture & Communication, 3, pp. 15–25.
Beeton, S. (2005) Film-induced Tourism (Clevedon: Channel View Publications).
Beltran, L.R. (1978) Communication and cultural domination: USA–Latin American case, Media Asia,
5(4), pp. 183–192.
Biltereyst, D. & Meers, P. (2000) The International telenovela debate and the contra-flow argument: A
reappraisal, Media, Culture & Society, 22(4), pp. 393–413.
Boyd-Barrett, J.O. (1977) Media imperialism: Towards an international framework for the analysis of
media systems, in: J. Curran, M. Gurevitch & J. Woollacott (Eds) Mass Communication and Society,
pp. 116–135 (London: Edward Arnold).
Busby, G. & Klug, J. (2001) Movie-induced tourism: The challenge of measurement and other issues,
Journal of Vacation Marketing, 7(4), pp. 316–332.
Busby, G. & O’Neill, K. (2006) Cephallonia and Captain Corelli’s Mandolin: The influence of literature
and film on British visitors, Acta Turistica, 18(1), pp. 30–51.
Cai, P. (2005) What does ‘Hallyu’ mean for China?, The Korea Times, 21 November.
330 S. Kim et al.
Carl, D., Kindon, S. & Smith, K. (2007) Tourists’ experiences of film locations: New Zealand as ‘Middle-
Earth’,Tourism Geographies, 9(1), pp. 49–63.
Carroll, N. (1996) Theorizing the Moving Image (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press).
Chae, J. & Choi, J. (2005) Fundamental Study on Developing Hallyu-related Projects (Seoul: Korea
Culture & Tourism Policy Institute).
Cho, Y. (2005) Time for Korea to prepare for post-Hallyu era, Korea IT Times, December.
Connell, J. (2005a) Toddlers, tourism, and Tobermory: Destination marketing issues and television-induced
tourism, Tourism Management, 26(5), pp. 763–776.
Connell, J. (2005b) What’s the story in Balamory?: The impacts of a children’s TV programme on small
tourism enterprises on the Isle of Mull, Scotland, Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 13(3), pp. 228–
255.
Couldry, N. (1998) The view from inside the ‘simulacrum’: Visitors’ tales from the set of Coronation
Street, Leisure Studies, 17, pp. 94–107.
Creeber, G. (2001) Taking our personal lives seriously: Intimacy, continuity and memory in the television
drama serial, Media, Culture & Society, 23(4), pp. 439–455.
Crouch, D., Jackson, R. & Thompson, F. (2005) The Media and the Tourist Imagination: Converging
Cultures (Oxon: Routledge).
Crouch, D. & Lübbren, N. (2006) Visual Culture and Tourism (Oxford: Berg).
Dator, J. & Seo, Y. (2004) Korea as the wave of a future: The emerging dream society of icons and aesthetic
experience, Journal of Futures Studies, 9(1), pp. 31–44.
Digital Chosunilbo (2006) Asia goes crazy over Korean pop culture, Digital Chosunilbo. Available
at http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200601/200601070003.html (accessed 13 March
2006).
Eco, U. (1986). Travel in Hyper-reality (London: Harcourt Brace & Company).
Golding, P. & Harris, P. (1997) Beyond Cultural Imperialism: Globalisation, Communication and the New
International Order (London: Sage).
Grihault, N. (2003) Film Tourism – International (October) (London: Mintel International Group).
Ha, K. (2005) Korean pop culture is now the new cool, Charlotte Observer, 6 November.
Heo, J. (2002). The Hallyu phenomenon and the acceptability of Korean TV dramas in China, Korean
Journal of Broadcasting, 16(1), pp. 496–529.
Hobson, D. (2003) Soap Opera (Cambridge: Polity Press).
Hua, V. (2005) South Korea soap operas win large audience throughout Asia – and be-
yond, The San Francisco Chronicle. Available at http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/
c/a/2005/08/28/MNGR4EDJH11.DTL (accessed 11 December 2005).
Huat, C.B. (2006) East Asian pop culture: Consumer communities and politics of the national, in: Proceed-
ings of Conference on Cultural Space and Public Sphere in Asia 2006, pp. 27–43 (Seoul: Institute
for Communication Art and Technology, Hallym University).
Hudson, S. & Ritchie, J.R. (2006a) Promoting destinations via film tourism: An empirical identification
of supporting marketing initiatives, Journal of Travel Research, 44(4), pp. 387–396.
Hudson, S. & Ritchie, J.R. (2006b) Film tourism and destination marketing: The case of Captain Corelli’s
Mandolin, Journal of Vacation Marketing, 12(3), pp. 256–268.
KBS (2005a) Korean wave top key word for understanding Japan’s market, KBS Global. Available at
http://english.kbs.co.kr/news/newsview sub.php?menu=5&key=2005020220 (accessed 2 Novem-
ber 2005).
KBS (2005b) Much of Southeast Asia sees Korean TV dramas, KBS Global. Available at
http://english.kbs.co.kr/news/newsview sub.php?menu=5&key=2005121527 (accessed 2 Novem-
ber 2005).
KBS (2005c) Pop star Rain (Bi), reaching out beyond Asia, KBS Global. Available
at http://www.hancinema.net/pop-star-rain-bi–reaching-out-beyond-asia-4304.html (accessed 26
October 2005).
Kim, H. & Richardson, S.L. (2003) Motion picture impacts on destination images, Annals of Tourism
Research, 30(1), pp. 216–237.
Kim, S.S., Cho, Y. & Baik, Y. (2006) The effects of Korean pop culture on Hong Kong residents’ perceptions
of Korea as a potential tourist destination, in: Proceedings of The International Conference on Impact
of Movies and Television on Tourism, pp. 197–217 (Hong Kong: School of Hotel and Tourism
Management, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University).
Kim, S.S. & Morrison, A.M. (2005) Change of images of South Korea among foreign tourists after the
2002 FIFA World Cup, Tourism Management, 26(2), pp. 233–247.
Kim, S.S. & Prideaux, B. (2005) Marketing implications arising from a comparative study of international
pleasure tourist motivations and other travel-related characteristics of visitors to Korea, Tourism
Management, 26(3), pp. 347–357.
Kim, Y. (2005) Actual Condition and Prospects of Korean Dramas Scheduling in Japan (Seoul: Korean
Broadcasting Institute (KBI)).
Kincaid, D.L. (2002) Drama, emotion, and cultural convergence, Communication Theory, 12(2), pp.
136–152.
Korea International Trade Association (2005) The Financial Impact of Hallyu on Korean Economy (Seoul:
KITA).
KNTO [Korea National Tourism Organisation] (2004) An Investigation on Hallyu Tourism Destinations:
A Case Study of Foreign Visitors in Nami Island (Seoul: KNTO).
KNTO [Korean National Tourism Organisation] (2005a) International Hallyu and Hallyu Tourism Trend
(Seoul: KNTO).
KNTO [Korean National Tourism Organisation] (2005b) Hallyu and Hallyu Tourism Trend for the First
Half Year of 2005 (Seoul: KNTO).
KNTO [Korean National Tourism Organisation] (2006). Hallyu and Hallyu Tourism Trend for the First
Half Year of 2006 (Seoul: KNTO).
Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (2005) Trend of East Asia’s Hallyu and Cultural Products
Market (Seoul: KOTRA).
Lee, C.C. (1980) Media Imperialism Reconsidered: The Homogenizing of Television Culture (Beverly
Hills: Sage Publications).
Lee, C., Var, T. & Blaine, T.W. (1996) Determinants of inbound tourist expenditures, Annals of Tourism
Research, 23(3), pp. 527–542.
Lee, P.S.N. & Wang, G. (1995) Satellite TV in Asia: Forming a new ecology, Telecommunications Policy,
19(2), pp. 135–149.
Lin, J. & Huang, J. (2006) Analysing the use of TV miniseries for Korea tourism marketing, in: Proceedings
of The International Conference on Impact of Movies and Television on Tourism, pp. 31–39 (Hong
Kong: The Hong Kong Polytechnic University).
Macionis, N. (2004) Understanding the film-induced tourist, in: Proceedings of International Tourism and
Media Conference 2004, pp. 86–97 (Melbourne: Tourism Research Unit, Monash University).
Mason, J. (1996) Qualitative Researching (London: Sage Publications).
Mason, J. (2006) Mixing methods in a qualitatively driven way, Qualitative Research, 6(1), pp. 9–25.
MCT [Ministry of Culture and Tourism Republic of Korea] (2002) Korean Tourism 2002 Annual Report
(Seoul: MCT).
MCT [Ministry of Culture and Tourism Republic of Korea] (2004) Korean Tourism 2004 Annual Report
(Seoul: MCT).
MCT [Ministry of Culture and Tourism Republic of Korea] (2005a) Korean Tourism 2005 Annual Report
(Seoul: MCT).
MCT [Ministry of Culture and Tourism Republic of Korea] (2005b) Analysis of Import and Export of
Broadcast Programme 2004 (Seoul: MCT).
MCT [Ministry of Culture and Tourism Republic of Korea] (2006) Analysis of Import and Export of
Broadcast Programmes 2005 (Seoul: MCT).
332 S. Kim et al.
Mordue, T. (2001) Performing and directing resident/tourist cultures in Heartbeat Country, Tourist Studies,
1(3), pp. 233–252.
Newcomb, H. (1974) TV: The Most Popular Art (New York: Anchor).
Nordenstreng, K. & Varis, T. (1974) Television Traffic: A One-way Street? (Paris: UNESCO).
O’Neill, K., Butts, S. & Busby, G. (2005) The corellification of Cephallonian tourism, Anatolia, 16(2),
pp. 207–226.
Patton, M.Q. (1990) Qualitative Evaluation and Research Methods, 2nd edn (Newbury Park, CA: Sage
Publications).
Riley, R., Baker, D. & Van Doren, C. (1998) Movie-induced tourism, Annals of Tourism Research, 25(4),
pp. 919–935.
Riley, R. & Van Doren, C. (1992) Movies as tourism promotion: A ‘pull’ factor’ in a ‘push’ location,
Tourism Management, 13(3), pp. 267–274.
Rogers, E.M. & Antola, A. (1985) Telenovelas: A Latin American success story, Journal of Communica-
tion, 35(Autumn), pp. 24–35.
Rubin, A.M. (1985) Uses of daytime television soap operas by college students, Journal of Broadcasting
& Electronic Media, 29(3), pp. 241–258.
Schiller, H.I. (1976) Communication and Cultural Domination (New York: International Arts and Sciences
Press).
Schofield, P. (1996) Cinematographic images of a city: Alternative heritage tourism in Manchester, Tourism
Management, 17(5), pp. 333–340.
Shim, D. (2006) Hybridity and the rise of Korean popular culture in Asia, Media, Culture & Society, 28(1),
pp. 25–44.
Singh, K. & Best, G. (2004) Film-induced tourism: Motivations of visitors to the Hobbiton movie set as
features in the Lord of the Rings, in: Proceedings of International Tourism and Media Conference
2004, pp. 98–111 (Melbourne: Tourism Research Unit, Monash University).
Sood, S. (2002) Audience involvement and entertainment-education, Communication Theory, 12(2), pp.
153–172.
Sood, S. & Rogers, E. (2000) Dimensions of parasocial interaction by letter-writers to a popular
entertainment-education soap opera in India, Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 44(3),
pp. 386–414.
Straubhaar, J.D. (1991) Beyond media imperialism: Asymmetrical interdependence and cultural proximity,
Critical Studies in Mass Communication, 8(1), pp. 39–59.
Suh, Y.K. & Gartner, W.C. (2004) Perceptions in international urban tourism: An analysis of travellers to
Seoul, Korea, Journal of Travel Research, 43(August), pp. 39–45.
Suh, Y.K. & McAvoy, L. (2005) Preferences and trip expenditures – A conjoint analysis of visitors to
Seoul, Korea, Tourism Management, 26, pp. 325–333.
Taiwan Tourism Bureau, Ministry of Transportation and Communication, Republic of China (2006) 2006
Outbound Departures of Nationals of the Republic of China (Taipei).
The Taipei Times (2004) Taiwanese going craze over all things Korean, The Taipei Times. Available
at http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2004/10/15/2003206923 (accessed 24 May
2005).
Tooke, N. & Baker, M. (1996) Seeing is believing: The effect of film on visitor numbers to screened
locations, Tourism Management, 17(2), pp. 87–94.
Tracey, M. (1988) Popular culture and the economics of global television, Intermedia, 16(2), pp. 9–25.
Tunstall, J. (1977) The Media are American (Beverly Hills: Sage Publications).
Urry, J. (1990) The Tourist Gaze (London: Sage Publications).
Valaskivi, K. (2000) Being a part of the family? Genre, gender and production in a Japanese TV drama,
Media, Culture & Society, 22(3), pp. 309–325.
Veneto, A. (2005). World peace via Korean soap opera, SMRT-TV. Available at http://www.smrt-tv.com/v1-
07/feature korea.html (accessed 27 November 2005).
Waitt, G. (1996) Marketing Korea as an international tourist destination, Tourism Management, 17(2), pp.
113–121.
Ware, W. & Dupagne, M. (1994) Effects of U. S. television programmes on foreign audiences: A meta-
analysis, Journalism Quarterly, 71, pp. 947–959.
Wilkinson, K. (1995) Where Culture, Language and Communication Converge: The Latin American
Cultural-linguistic Market (Austin: University of Texas Austin).
Yeon, I. & Yang, Y. (2006) A study on one-source multi-use of contents through the drama ‘DaeJangGeum’:
Focusing on theme parks developed from open sets, Journal of Korean Society of Exhibition Design
Studies, 3, pp. 79–88.
Yin, R. (1994) Case Study Research, Design and Methods, 2nd edn (California: Sage Publications).
Notes on Contributors
Sangkyun Kim is a Lecturer in international and cultural tourism, Department of
Tourism, School of Humanities, at Flinders University. He is a former PhD researcher
at the Centre for Tourism and Cultural Change, Leeds Metropolitan University,
UK. His research interests include the relationship between tourism and the popular
media, tourist experience, screen-tourism, cultural tourism, visual research methods,
and audience/tourist emotions.
Philip Long is Principal Research Fellow at the Centre for Tourism and Cultural
Change, Leeds Metropolitan University, UK. His research interests include festivals
and their tourism dimensions; diaspora communities, social exclusion and tourism;
and the relationships between royalty and tourism.
Mike Robinson is Director of the Centre for Tourism and Cultural Change at Leeds
Metropolitan University, UK. His research interests include the translations and
mobilizations of popular culture for tourism and, heritage and cultural change.
View publication stats

Kim Long Robinson

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

You might also like

Kim Long Robinson

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Kim Long Robinson

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.

Article in Tourism Geographies · August 2009

Sangkyun Kim Philip Edward Long

SEE PROFILE SEE PROFILE

Creative Industries and Tourism View project

Intangible heritage, museum, and tourism (experience) View project

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

Small Screen, Big Tourism: The Role

Key Words: Hallyu phenomenon, screen-tourism, cultural proximity, television dramas,

ISSN 1461-6688 Print/1470-1340 Online /09/03/00308–26

Zusammenfassung: Kleiner Bildschirm, Grosser Tourismus: Die Rolle von

Stichwörter: ‘Halluy’ Phänomen, Leinwandtourismus, kulturell Nähe, Fernsehdramas, Südkorea

International Tourism in Korea

Table 1. International tourists arrivals in Korea (2000–4)

Sub-total of each region includes other countries in that region.

the attractiveness of Korea as a potential tourism destination to a large global audience.

The Hallyu Phenomenon

About?’ a family-themed series, broadcast by the national China Central Television

Following the group H.O.T.’s successful performance in China, many K-pop

Cultural Proximity and Circulation of Popular Media Programme

Case Study: ‘Winter Sonata’ and ‘Jewel in the Palace’

Table 2. The circulation of ‘Winter Sonata’

Circulation and Reception of ‘Jewel in the Palace’

Table 3. Circulation of ‘Jewel in the Palace’

Vietnam VTV1b N/A Tuesday to Friday at

2005 Hong Kong TVB Jadeb Dubbing Monday to Friday at

Europe Phoenixa N/A Monday to Friday at

Uzbekistan UZ-NTTa N/A Monday to Friday at

US AZN Cablea Subtitling (English) N/A

Japan NHKb Dubbing Fridays and Saturdays

Thailand Thai Channel 3b Dubbing Saturdays and

Philippines GMAb Dubbing Monday to Friday at

2006 Singapore MediaCorpb Dubbing Monday to Friday at

Egypt ERTUb N/A Wednesdays/Fridays/

International Visitors to Filming Locations of Hallyu Television Dramas

‘Winter Sonata’ and Nami Island

‘Jewel in the Palace’ and Daejanggeum Theme Park

Table 4. Daejanggeum Theme Park foreign visitor figures 2005–6

Total of theme park foreign visitor includes other countries.

Conclusions and Discussion

You might also like