A Study on the Extensibility of Perception Concept on K-culture : Focusing on ‘Sumtrend’ big data (2014-2023)

This paper examines the usage patterns, perceptions, and changes in vocabulary concepts surrounding K-culture from various angles, focusing on the big data of newspaper articles published from 2014 to 2023. The Sumtrend Analysis Center function was used as a data collection and analysis tool, and ‘K-culture,’ ‘Korean Wave,’ and ‘Korean pop culture’ were selected as keywords. The amount of references to keywords and the change in related words during the period indicate that the term K-culture is not a term for the mass subject to refer to their cultural phenomena, but a term for a third subject used to emphasize state led industrial purposes or achievements. If the current situation continues, which focuses on the economic effects it creates rather than focusing on ‘culture,’ the essence of K-culture, the wonderful cultural symbol of ‘K-culture’ will eventually decline with only its shell remaining. Therefore, the possibility of the proliferation of K-culture results in whether it is possible to restore ‘culture,’ its origin, to the center of ‘K-culture.’ At this time, the reinstatement of this culture does not simply mean that ‘Korean culture’ should be emphasized or that it should be removed from the perspective of policy and industry. The Korean culture that K-culture has lost is necessary to focus on the ‘Korean element’ in the form of fragments inside the contents and restore and expand it gradually and indirectly highlight it.