TITLE:
Exploring the “Personae” of Travel in Korea through Chinese Gen Z Tourists on Xiao Hongshu Social Platform
AUTHORS:
Min Yin, Nadia Sorokina
KEYWORDS:
Persona of Destination, Symbolic Convergence Theory, Fantastic Themes
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Business and Management,
Vol.11 No.2,
March
30,
2023
ABSTRACT: This research explores the
destination persona of South Korea on Xiao Hongshu, a popular social media
platform for Chinese Gen Z traveling. The posts from tourists as virtual
communities recurring patterns of dramatic structure, textually and visually
generated the personae of the destination. In this study, the concept of
persona based on Bormann’s symbolic convergence theory is used to illustrate
the fantastic theme of South Korea as destination. A qualitative research based
on fantasy theme analysis was conducted using semi-structured interviews with 14
participants and images and narrative analysis of posts on Xiao Hongshu. Four
fantasy themes were identified: 1) Landscape of ocean blue; 2) Stylish Café; 3)
K-pop related culture and fashion; 4) Traditional Korean culture. Those themes
create the destination persona of South Korea by and for Chinese Generation Z
travellers. It contributes to the destination image discussion by applying SCT
and fantasy theme, from the perspective of Chinese generation Z tourist. For
practical contribution, this study helps destination marketers better
communicate with Chinese Gen Z tourists, using discovered fantasy themes.