ABSTRACT
This study attempts to develop a drama consumption model in the context of film tourism and empirically test it using the mainland Chinese audience of Korean television dramas (K-dramas). Celebrity and dramatized characters strongly influenced the emotional involvement and referential reflection of this audience, whereas the effects of filming location and backdrops were relatively weak in this respect. It is worth noting that the perceived values of K-dramas did not have a direct effect on behavioral intention to visit film tourism locations. Rather, they are expected to lead to film tourism through a process of psychological and emotional involvement with the dramas. Further studies can beneficially apply this model to measure media value, audience involvement, and intention in different social and geographical settings.
