The purpose of this study is to analyze the formulation and implementation of improvement strategies and the outcome structure of the Yeosu International Web Drama Film Festival, and to derive subsequent improvement strategies by applying the Event Le...
The purpose of this study is to analyze the formulation and implementation of improvement strategies and the outcome structure of the Yeosu International Web Drama Film Festival, and to derive subsequent improvement strategies by applying the Event Leverage Framework. Cultural and tourism events can enhance the image and cultural and tourism value of host regions by concentrating the attention of visitors, creators, the media, local businesses, and public institutions at a particular time and place. However, regional benefits are not generated automatically merely by hosting an event. For an event to contribute to regional outcomes, its content, visitors, media attention, creator networks, and local resources must be strategically connected to the goals of the host city.
This study employed a mixed-methods approach based on action research. The first Yeosu International Web Fest, held in 2024, was examined for problem diagnosis, while the second Yeosu International Web Drama Film Festival, held in 2025, was examined as the setting for the implementation and evaluation of improvement strategies. During the planning stage, operational documents and stakeholder opinions from the first festival were analyzed to identify operational problems and leverage opportunities. During the implementation stage, the study examined how tactics related to programming, audience experience, regional linkage, media, partnerships, and operational support were implemented at the second festival. During the evaluation stage, a survey was conducted with 394 individuals who had prior experience participating in film festivals to analyze the general perceptual structure among festival event attributes, host city image, and intention to revisit the host city. In addition, in-depth interviews were conducted with seven stakeholders involved in festival planning and operation, program implementation, and collaboration. The interviews examined the implementation outcomes and limitations of the tactics, factors facilitating or constraining their implementation, and requirements for subsequent improvement.
The findings were as follows. First, the first festival secured domestic and international submissions, creator networks, media attention, and a foundation for international cooperation. However, the strategic linkage structure required to transform these resources into long-term outcomes for the host city was insufficient. Citizen participation was largely limited to attendance and viewing, while local tourism promotion, familiarization tours, and local cultural performances were implemented separately and had limitations in communicating the place identity and city image of Yeosu in an integrated manner.
Second, various leverage tactics were implemented at the second festival based on the problems identified during the first festival. These included the introduction of AI and Yeosu Special sections, expansion of the award program, Q&A sessions with filmmakers, professional forums, citizen experience programs, flea markets, local product pop-up events, familiarization tours, multilingual and digital promotion, international memoranda of understanding, and university partnerships. Through these tactics, the festival sought to connect content and audience participation with the local economy, tourism resources, and partner networks. These initiatives represented not merely an expansion of individual tactics but an attempt at cross-leverage, in which a single activity was designed to contribute simultaneously to economic, social, and cultural outcomes.
Third, the analysis of the outcome structure indicated that program attractiveness had significant positive relationships with all three dimensions of host city image: attractiveness, cultural character, and uniqueness. Both the direct path from program attractiveness to revisit intention and the total indirect path through host city image were also significant. Experiential attributes showed significant relationships with host city image, whereas the direct path to revisit intention was not significant. Media exposure was indirectly associated with revisit intention through the cultural character of the host city. In contrast, no significant paths were found from regional linkage to host city image or revisit intention. This finding does not suggest that regional linkage is unnecessary. Rather, it indicates that regional linkage tactics should be more closely integrated with the festival’s core content, audience experiences, visitor routes, and media messages so that they can be perceived by audiences as part of the host city image.
Fourth, stakeholder evaluations indicated that the AI section, Yeosu Special section, Q&A sessions with filmmakers, professional forums, flea markets, citizen experience programs, and familiarization tours contributed to the diversity of festival content, interaction between creators and audiences, citizen participation, and place-based experiences. At the same time, several limitations were identified, including insufficient direct connections between festival content and local programs, inadequate post-event management of creator, university, and international partner networks, shortages of professional personnel and preparation time, and weaknesses in performance documentation and feedback systems.
Based on these findings, this study proposes four improvement strategies to strengthen the leverage effects of the Yeosu International Web Drama Film Festival: (1) enhancing content identity and participatory experiences; (2) integrating regional linkage and media strategies centered on the vision of “Cultural City Yeosu”; (3) institutionalizing cross-leverage through a year-round network extending beyond the event period; and (4) strengthening the performance management and feedback systems of the implementing organization.
This study contributes to the event leverage literature by extending a body of research traditionally centered on sports and mega-events to the context of a regional cultural event and a web-content-based film festival. It also analyzes event leverage as a continuous process encompassing problem diagnosis, strategy formulation, tactic implementation, evaluation, and feedback through an action research approach. Future research should assess the leverage effects of regional cultural events more rigorously through pre- and post-event surveys of actual festival attendees and comparative analyses across subsequent festival editions.