Application of Storytelling for Marketing Purposes: A Study with Korean Tourism Students

The purpose of this study is to learn how university tourism students are adapting Korean traditional folktales to market Korean cultural products or services using English. Brand competitiveness and seeking ways to appeal to consumers involves new and innovative techniques (Bassano et al., 2019). In this study thirty-nine university tourism students participated in a 15-week long course and selected one of the following traditional Korean folktales to create a digital story using a Korean brand/service within the story: The Little Frog Who Never Listened; The Faithful Daughter Sim Cheong; The Tiger and the Dried Persimmon; The Woodcutter and the Heavenly Maiden; The Firedogs; and The Ogres’ Magic Clubs. Content analysis of the folktales indicated that the Food and Beverage category overall (51.2%) was the most popular category for marketing of products. Analysis of the specific Korean brands used and catchphrases used within the stories are also discussed. It is recommended that future research in this area expand to include destination marketing which would help student employability in the tourism and hospitality field.