The Role of the Korean Media in Shaping Sustainable Tourism Among American Audiences
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Literature Review
2.1. Theoretical Background
2.2. Hallyu and Media-Driven Destination Perception
2.3. Constructs and Hypotheses Development
2.3.1. Cultural Perception of Korea
2.3.2. Engagement with Korean Culture
2.3.3. Sustainable Tourism Attitudes
2.3.4. Intention to Visit Korea
2.3.5. Sustainability Messaging in K-Dramas
3. Methods
3.1. Data Collection
3.2. Measures
3.3. Data Analysis
4. Results
4.1. Common Method Bias
4.2. Measurement Model
4.3. Evaluation of Structural Model
5. Discussion and Conclusions
5.1. Theoretical Implications
5.2. Practical Implications
5.3. Limitations and Directions for Future Studies
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Variables (N = 554) | Characteristics | Frequency (%) |
---|---|---|
Gender | Female | 270 (48.7%) |
Male | 284 (51.3%) | |
Age | 19–29 | 207 (37.4%) |
30–39 | 237 (42.8%) | |
40–49 | 78 (14.1%) | |
50 and over | 22 (5.7%) | |
Education | High school | 196 (35.4%) |
2- or 4-year college | 289 (52.2%) | |
Graduate school | 69 (12.4%) | |
Ethnicity | Caucasian/White | 269 (48.5%) |
African American/Black | 83 (14.9%) | |
Hispanic or Latino | 114 (20.5%) | |
Asian | 56 (10.1%) | |
American Indian or Alaska Native | 32 (6.0%) | |
Annual house income (USD) | USD 10,000–USD 30,000 | 77 (13.9%) |
USD 30,001–USD 60,000 | 137 (24.7%) | |
USD 60,001–USD 90,000 | 229 (41.3%) | |
USD 90,001 or more | 111 (20.1%) | |
Occupation | Student | 50 (9.0%) |
Employed | 335 (60.4%) | |
Self-employed | 126 (22.7%) | |
Others | 33 (7.9%) |
Constructs | Factor Loadings |
---|---|
Cultural perception (α = 0.830; AVE = 0.504; CCR = 0.800) | |
Korean culture is rich and fascinating. | 0.641 *** |
Korean traditions are unique and appealing. | 0.609 *** |
Korea has a vibrant blend of tradition and modernity. | 0.845 *** |
I perceive Korea as a culturally engaging destination. | 0.723 *** |
Engagement with Korean culture (α = 0.827; AVE = 0.615; CCR = 0.827) | |
I actively seek out Korean cultural experiences. | 0.818 *** |
Watching Korean dramas motivates me to learn more about Korean culture. | 0.774 *** |
I feel emotionally connected to Korean culture through the media. | 0.760 *** |
Sustainable tourism attitudes (α = 0.829; AVE = 0.586; CCR = 0.847) | |
I prefer travel experiences that preserve the local environment. | 0.795 *** |
It is important for me to respect local traditions and cultures when traveling. | 0.854 *** |
I am willing to support community-based tourism initiatives. | 0.805 *** |
I value eco-friendly accommodations and activities while traveling. | 0.579 *** |
Intention to visit Korea (α = 0.882; AVE = 0.644; CCR = 0.876) | |
I intend to visit Korea in the next 1–3 years. | 0.630 *** |
I am interested in traveling to Korea for cultural experiences. | 0.709 *** |
I am motivated to visit Korea after consuming its media content. | 0.914 *** |
I am planning a trip to Korea to explore its cultural and natural landmarks. | 0.918 *** |
Sustainability messaging in K-dramas (α = 0.947; AVE = 0.819; CCR = 0.876) | |
The K-dramas I watch highlight the importance of preserving natural environments. | 0.910 *** |
K-dramas encourage cultural appreciation and respect. | 0.940 *** |
I have noticed messages about eco-friendly practices in the K-dramas I watch. | 0.882 *** |
K-dramas promote sustainable and responsible behaviors. | 0.888 *** |
Construct | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1. Cultural perception | 0.710 | ||||
2. Engagement with Korean culture | 0.434 | 0.784 | |||
3. Sustainable tourism attitudes | 0.344 | 0.520 | 0.766 | ||
4. Intention to visit Korea | 0.341 | 0.512 | 0.575 | 0.802 | |
5. Sustainability messaging in K-dramas | 0.287 | 0.395 | 0.358 | 0.307 | 0.905 |
Mean | 4.568 | 5.655 | 5.837 | 5.515 | 6.557 |
SD | 1.079 | 1.090 | 1.156 | 1.191 | 0.982 |
Path | Standardized Estimates | Standardized Error | Critical Ratio | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
H1 | Cultural perception → Engagement with Korean culture | 0.594 | 0.058 | 9.957 ** | |
H2 | Engagement with Korean culture → Intention to visit Korea | 0.246 | 0.047 | 4.266 ** | |
H3 | Engagement with Korean culture → Sustainable tourism attitudes | 0.477 | 0.065 | 7.798 ** | |
H4 | Cultural perception → Sustainable tourism attitudes | 0.222 | 0.062 | 3.732 ** | |
H5 | Sustainable tourism attitudes → Intention to visit Korea | 0.417 | 0.046 | 6.887 ** | |
Squared multiple correlations | Estimates | ||||
Engagement with Korean culture | 0.353 | ||||
Sustainable tourism attitudes | 0.403 | ||||
Intention to visit Korea | 0.360 | ||||
Indirect path | Standardized estimates | 95% bootstrapping confidence intervals | p-value | ||
Cultural perception → Intention to visit Korea | 0.357 | 0.286–0.420 | 0.002 |
Path (H6) | Low Group (N = 279) | High Group (N = 275) | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Standardized Estimates | Standardized Error | Critical Ratio | Standardized Estimates | Standardized Error | Critical Ratio | |
Engagement with Korean culture → Sustainable tourism attitudes | 0.154 | 0.058 | 1.839 | 0.308 | 0.078 | 3.850 ** |
Unconstrained model | χ2 = 468.668, df = 170 | |||||
Engagement with Korean culture → Sustainable tourism attitudes | χ2 = 472.516, df = 171 | Δχ2(1) = 3.878, p < 0.05 |
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Choi, H.-M.; Kessler, D. The Role of the Korean Media in Shaping Sustainable Tourism Among American Audiences. Sustainability 2025, 17, 3253. https://doi.org/10.3390/su17073253
Choi H-M, Kessler D. The Role of the Korean Media in Shaping Sustainable Tourism Among American Audiences. Sustainability. 2025; 17(7):3253. https://doi.org/10.3390/su17073253
Chicago/Turabian StyleChoi, Hyung-Min, and Daniel Kessler. 2025. "The Role of the Korean Media in Shaping Sustainable Tourism Among American Audiences" Sustainability 17, no. 7: 3253. https://doi.org/10.3390/su17073253
APA StyleChoi, H.-M., & Kessler, D. (2025). The Role of the Korean Media in Shaping Sustainable Tourism Among American Audiences. Sustainability, 17(7), 3253. https://doi.org/10.3390/su17073253