"Analysis of Changes in Chinese Tourists' Perception of Korean Tourism using Big Data"

This study aims to utilize big data analysis techniques to compare changes in Chinese perceptions of Korean tourism before and after the onset of COVID-19. The objective is to explore new strategies to attract more Chinese tourists to Korea. To achieve this, text data related to 'Korea tourism' from Chinese major portals Baidu and SNS Weibo were collected using Textom, spanning from pre-COVID-19 years 2018 to 2019, and post-COVID-19 years 2023 to 2024. The data underwent semantic network analysis and CONCOR analysis using NetDraw packaged with UCINET. The analysis revealed that both before and after COVID-19, Chinese potential tourists consistently showed interest in traditional Korean tourism resources such as tourist attractions, cultural experiences, Hallyu (Korean Wave), shopping, and food. However, post-COVID-19, there was a notable increase in interest among Chinese potential tourists in independent travel to Korea compared to pre-COVID-19 levels. These findings on changes in perceptions of Korean tourism among Chinese potential tourists could serve as valuable foundational data for developing feasible tourism marketing strategies.