Effects of Cultural Familiarity, Familiarity, and Involvement on Attitude and Visit Intention Toward South Korea

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

This study aims to address a gap by examining how cultural familiarity, familiarity, involvement, and attitude predict tourists’ intention to visit Korea. Data were collected from 351 respondents through a questionnaire distributed via a well-known influencer in Uzbekistan, and 325 valid responses were used for the empirical analysis. SPSS 30.0 and AMOS 30.0 were employed to analyze the data. The results indicate that cultural familiarity is positively associated with involvement, familiarity and intention to visit South Korea. Involvement and familiarity significantly and positively influence tourists’ attitude toward the South Korea. Furthermore, tourists’ attitude show a significant relationship with their intention to visit. Involvement and familiarity exert direct effects on intention to visit South Korea, while attitude serves as a mediating variable. These findings provide meaningful theoretical contributions and practical implications for tourism marketing and destination management.