한류 콘텐츠의 속성이 시청만족도, 국가이미지, 유학의도에 미치는 영향: 우즈베키스탄과 러시아 유학생을 중심으로

Influence of Hallyu content characteristics on viewers' satisfaction, national image perception and intention to study: based on Uzbek and Russian international students as a focus group.

This study empirically investigates the influence of Hallyu content characteristics on viewers’ satisfaction, perceptions of Korea’s national image, and intention to study in Korea, using Uzbek and Russian international students currently studying in Korea as the focus group. Based on previous research, Hallyu content characteristics were classified into four categories: story, filming location, background music (BGM), and star characteristics. The analysis, conducted using SPSS on survey data from 156 students, revealed that story, filming location, and BGM had a significant positive effect on viewers’ satisfaction, while star-related characteristics did not show a significant influence. Further mediation analysis indicated that viewers’ satisfaction negatively mediates the relationship between filming location and BGM with Korea’s economic image, and positively mediates the relationship between story and filming location with Korea’s cultural image. Notably, none of the content characteristics had a significant impact on Korea’s political image. Among the three dimensions of national image (cultural, economic, and political), only cultural image showed a significant positive effect on students’ intention to study in Korea. These findings highlight the importance of emphasizing cultural elements portrayed in Hallyu content, rather than focusing solely on star-centered promotional strategies, when aiming to attract international students — especially from CIS countries. Future research should further explore the decision-making process and the specific motivational factors influencing study intention across different CIS nationalities.