Foreign Tourists Visiting Korea Doubled After Squid Game

Korea Culture and Tourism Institute 'Analysis of Tourism Balance Influencing Factors and Policy Implications' Study
"Popularity of K-Content Proportional to Increase in Foreign Tourists Visiting Korea"

An actual analysis result has been announced showing that the number of foreign tourists visiting Korea has increased in proportion to the popularity of K-content following the global craze for the drama 'Squid Game.'

Drama 'Squid Game' image cut. [Photo by Netflix] [Image source=Yonhap News]

According to the 'Analysis of Factors Affecting Tourism Balance and Policy Implications' released on the 28th by the Korea Culture and Tourism Institute, the popularity of K-content showed a statistically significant positive effect on foreign visitors to Korea. Interpreted based on the synthetic difference-in-differences coefficient, countries where K-content ranked first in popularity saw approximately 106.3% more foreign visitors to Korea compared to countries where it did not.

The study was conducted to analyze the impact of K-content on the tourism balance and to present policy implications. First, data analysis was attempted to explore the possibility of improving the tourism balance by leveraging the popularity of K-content.

The research team established a regression analysis model based on the fact that the popularity of K-content increased worldwide after the airing of Squid Game on September 17, 2021. They collected Netflix popularity ranking data from 87 countries from April 1, 2020, to June 30, 2023, and combined it with foreign tourist arrival data by nationality to analyze whether more foreign tourists visited Korea during periods when K-content ranked high in popularity.

K-Content Cumulative Popularity Ranking (Based on TV Shows) (Left) Japan, (Right) Malaysia. The red solid line indicates the 32nd week of 2021 when Squid Game was released. [Graph = Korea Culture and Tourism Institute]

The analysis results showed that the popularity ranking of K-content and changes in tourist numbers actually exhibited similar trends. Furthermore, panel data regression analysis of the impact of K-content popularity on the increase in foreign tourists empirically demonstrated that the recovery of foreign tourists was faster during periods when K-content was more popular.

The research team explained that there were actual differences in the increase of foreign visitors to Korea depending on the degree of K-content popularity, and that the effects were statistically significant across various analysis results.

K-content Popularity Rankings and Changes in Foreign Tourists Examples: (Left) Japan, (Right) Malaysia. [Graph = Korea Culture and Tourism Institute]

Foreign tourists visiting Korea were found to be about twice as many when K-content was popular compared to when it was not. While it is necessary to consider that suppressed demand due to COVID-19 is leading to a rapid recovery of foreign tourists, the fact that the popularity of K-content leads to an increase in foreign tourists was clear and consistent across various regression analysis results.

The research team stated, "Utilizing K-content logically enables the establishment of a virtuous cycle where both the cultural industry and tourism industry grow simultaneously. Therefore, applying intellectual property rights of successful content to theme parks and other venues can promote improvement in the tourism balance." They added, "If the content industry policy channels are unified and the effectiveness of project execution is measured regularly, the possibility of policy success and tourism balance improvement can increase, so continuous production of high-quality K-content is necessary in the future."

A representative from the Korea Culture and Tourism Institute said, "The significance of this study lies in demonstrating, based on data, that actively utilizing K-content can attract foreign tourists to Korea and contribute to improving the tourism balance."