The Korean Wave in China began after the establishment of diplomatic relations between Korea and China in 1992, which facilitated increased cultural exchange between the two countries. Its early development was marked by the popularity of the Korean t...
The Korean Wave in China began after the establishment of diplomatic relations between Korea and China in 1992, which facilitated increased cultural exchange between the two countries. Its early development was marked by the popularity of the Korean television drama ‘What Is Love?’ in China. In 2000, the successful H.O.T. concert in Beijing signaled the full-scale emergence of the Korean Wave in the Chinese market. Since then, the consumption of Korean popular culture—initially centered on television dramas and music—has become an integral part of everyday cultural life, gradually expanding into a wide range of genres.
The preference for Korean cultural content, which originated in China, reached a major turning point in 2003 with the immense popularity of ‘Winter Sonata’ in Japan, accelerating the spread of the Korean Wave across Asia. Today, the Korean Wave has established itself as a global cultural phenomenon, contributing significantly to the enhancement of Korea’s national image.
More recently, webtoons have emerged as a prominent area of Korean cultural content, and the success of webtoon-based dramas produced through OSMU (One Source Multi Use) has come to be recognized as a new manifestation of the Korean Wave.
In other words, the growth of the webtoon industry is largely due to the success of webtoon-based dramas, which utilize webtoon IP (Internet Property Rights). Based on these characteristics of webtoons and webtoon-based dramas, this study analyzed the relationships among factors such as Chinese viewers' motivations for viewing webtoon-based dramas, their satisfaction with the original webtoons, Korea's national image, and their intention to visit Korea. To achieve this goal, seven factors were identified by referencing prior research. Confirmatory factor analysis and reliability analysis were used to determine statistical significance and to verify the validity and reliability of the findings. In addition, a structural equation model was implemented to verify the causal relationships among the constructs discussed in this study. To collect data, this study conducted a survey of undergraduate and graduate students majoring in animation and comics at universities in Nanjing and Beijing, China. The survey examined the relationship between Chinese viewers' motivations for watching webtoon-based dramas, their satisfaction with the original webtoon, their country image, and their intention to visit Korea. The results showed that Chinese viewers' motivations for watching webtoon-based dramas—seeking interaction, seeking entertainment, and preferring actors—influenced their satisfaction with the webtoon. Furthermore, these motivations, including seeking interaction and preferring actors, were found to influence their country image. This suggests that Chinese viewers' reasons for watching webtoon-based dramas, such as interacting with others and preferring actors, contribute to enhancing Korea's country image. The results also revealed that Chinese viewers' perceived satisfaction with webtoons and country image factors influence their intention to visit Korea. With the recent surge in Hallyu fans visiting Korea, tourism patterns such as K-pop performances, drama filming locations, and local attractions are becoming more evident. These trends are becoming a significant growth driver for the Korean tourism industry ecosystem. The results of this study provide empirical evidence of these changes. These implications suggest that original webtoons' On-Site Multi-Use (OSMU) strategies with other genres will continue to contribute to the continued growth of webtoons and the expansion of related industries.