Philip Long

Small Screen, Big Tourism: The Role of Popular Korean Television Dramas in South Korean Tourism

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.

Touring TV Soap Operas: Genre in Film Tourism Research:

There is a growing body of literature that addresses the relationships between film and television programmes and tourism. However, we argue in this paper that much of this research has not considered the critical issue of genre and how this may be a key factor in shaping tourist demand, expectation, experience and behaviour. In particular, we suggest that the distinctive characteristics of TV soap operas have been neglected, with much of the literature focused on English language, ‘blockbuster’ Hollywood produced film releases. In this paper, we address TV soap operas as genre in relation to audience consumption and their possible links with tourism. We discuss the defining features of soap operas including their serialisation, the level of audience exposure and emotional engagement along with their connections with personal and domestic everyday life. We note their being a platform for interpersonal, intercultural and inter-textual discourse. We argue in the context of film tourism, that viewing soap operas may promote identification, empathy, emotional connection and parasocial interactions, and that these may motivate some audience members to visit soap opera locations, and also contextualise their anticipation concerning what they might expect to experience.

Popular music, psychogeography, place identity and tourism: The case of Sheffield

Tourism and cultural agencies in some English provincial cities are promoting their popular music ‘heritage’ and, in some cases, contemporary musicians through the packaging of trails, sites, ‘iconic’ venues and festivals. This article focuses on Sheffield, a ‘post-industrial’ northern English city which is drawing on its associations with musicians past and present in seeking to attract tourists. This article is based on interviews with, among others, recording artists, promoters, producers and venue managers, along with reflective observational and documentary data. Theoretical remarks are made on the representations of popular musicians through cultural tourism strategies, programmes and products and also on the ways in which musicians convey a ‘psychogeographical’ sense of place in the ‘soundscape’ of the city.

Guanxi and the organization of Chinese New Year festivals in England.

This article explores how Chinese diaspora communities use guanxi, a unique Chinese interpretation of personal relationships, in the organization of Chinese New Year (CNY) festivals in England. A case-study approach that incorporated mixed qualitative methods was used to investigate the interactions and interrelationships between the ethnic Chinese communities involved in the organization of CNY festivals in five English cities. The article argues that Chinese diaspora communities use their guanxi to establish collaboration at CNY festivals. However, the process of organizing CNY festivals has also exposed divisions among Chinese communities. The article proposes that guanxi has important implications for the relationships among Chinese diaspora communities in the context of CNY festivals. Although it facilitates collaboration and promotes solidarity among Chinese communities, it may also intensify competition for power. Diaspora festivals in general are a neglected area of research and this article is the first to study the organization of Chinese New Year festivals in detail.

International students’ perceptions and experiences of British drinking cultures

While the increased scale and importance of international students to the UK Higher Education sector is now well established, little is known about the ways in which students from non-UK countries experience and interact with the heavy drinking culture that predominates on and near many British universities. Drawing on qualitative interviews, this article analyses the perceptions, attitudes, and experiences of British drinking cultures held by international students studying on postgraduate courses at a UK university. Students report prior awareness of alcohol consumption being important to British culture and recount both positive and negative experiences of witnessing and, for many, participating in drinking alcohol. Students make ready comparisons with the drinking habits and attitudes of their own culture. Further still, many made a distinction between the public house, or ‘pub’, as a welcoming and friendly social space, and bars and nightclubs, where a far greater risk of exposure to violence and harassment was perceived. The article provides theoretical insights to support future and more wide-ranging research into mobile drinking cultures and also suggests practical implications to inform stakeholders with interests in the welfare of international students in the UK in relation to the provision of effective and proactive policies which address the impact of British drinking cultures on international student integration and well-being.

Commercial nationalism and tourism: selling the national story

This book addresses ‘the use of national signifiers to sell products or services, and the selling of the national story for purposes such as tourism’ (p. 3). It aims to ‘demystify’ the various ways...

The parallel worlds of tourism destination management and the creative industries: exchanging knowledge, theory and practice

This paper suggests that there may be insufficient recognition of critical ideas, professional and cultural practices associated with the ‘creative industries’ among tourism destination management researchers, practitioners and policy-makers in England. The paper considers the relationships between academic and practitioner knowledge and practice that potentially connect tourism destination management with creativity and the arts. The paper argues that more research is needed on the contrasting backgrounds, education and occupational discourses of tourism and arts / creative practitioners and how these may be addressed in the curriculum at postgraduate and continuing professional development (CPD) levels. The article suggests that there is a need for destination managers to explore contrasting agendas, knowledge needs and interests, and occupational discourses among creative industry practitioners and likewise for creative industry practitioners concerning tourism and destination management.

Royal tourists, colonial subjects and the making of a British world, 1860–1911

This excellent book is published in the Manchester University Press ‘Studies in Imperialism’ series. Reed provides deep and also wide-ranging scholarly coverage of the highly symbolic, planned, stage-managed and mediated official visits that were undertaken by members of the British monarchy to the Empire, Dominions and Commonwealth during the period identified in the title and their reception by those visited.