From Television to the Film Set: Korean Drama Daejanggeum Drives Chinese, Taiwanese, Japanese and Thai Audiences to Screen-Tourism

Daejanggeum (DJG) is a popular Korean television serial drama that boosted the Korean Wave cultural phenomenon in the mid-2000s and led to screen-tourism in South Korea, attracting international visitors to many DJG filmed locations. This study examines the relationship between level of media exposure, audience involvement and on-site screen-tourism experiences. Data were collected at the Daejanggeum Theme Park, an outdoor DJG film set in Yangjoo, South Korea. A total of 701 international tourist visitors completed a survey in Chinese, Japanese and Thai. The study validated a three-dimensional scale of audience involvement and a three-dimensional scale of on-site screen-tourism experiences. This study found that the level of media exposure significantly influenced both audience involvement and on-site screen-tourism experiences; audience emotional and behavioural involvement with DJG significantly affected their on-site screen-tourism experiences.