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Impact of 2018 winter Olympics on the Korea Wave

(M = 4.37 for Koreans and M = 3.83 for Americans [F = 203.669 (2056), P < 0.05]). The post-Games data displayed the
same pattern. In other words, Koreans rated all measured variables much higher than Americans, and these differences
were statistically significant. These results suggest that Koreans perceived the influence of Hallyu from the PyeongChang
Winter Olympics more positively than Americans.

4. Discussion

This study was designed to achieve two purposes: (1) To understand the impact of the PyeongChang Winter Olympic
Games on Hallyu and (2) to examine perceptual differences between Koreans and Americans in terms of Hallyu. These
goals were fulfilled by conducting two surveys, one before and one after watching the Olympics, in the two countries,
South Korea and the United States. In short, Koreans perceived Hallyu more positively than Americans as a result of the
Olympic Games. This study has several meaningful findings as follows.
First, the PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games brought synergy to Hallyu. When comparing viewers’ perceptual
differences before and after the Olympics, all items – cultural soft power, situational involvement, enduring involvement,
likeability of Hallyu, and the influence of Hallyu in the United States – were enhanced after the Games. Although three
of the five items in the Korean survey and four of the five items in the US survey were not statistically significant, the
cultural recognition of Hallyu after the Olympics was higher than the pre-Olympics level. This indicates that the Games
had a synergy effect on Hallyu. This finding expands the literature on the influence of mega-sport events in regard to host
countries’ cultural features and supports previous findings suggesting that the Olympic Games offer an opportunity to
build and maintain national identity among global citizens (Havitz and Dimanche, 1997). The statistical analysis indicated
that the Olympics significantly impacted Koreans between pre- and post-Olympics, in terms of cultural soft power and
their perceived influence of Hallyu in the United States; it is worth noting that the margin of difference was not large.
One of the explanations for this phenomenon may be the design of the study. This study did not consider participants’
previous attitudes or perceptions toward the Olympics. Studies have indicated that the citizens of countries who benefit
from hosting the Games, either directly through tourism or indirectly, have a tendency to view positively the impact of
mega sporting events (Fredline, 2004). Future studies should control pre-existing individual factors that may influence
the results to gain more robust results.
Second, the effects on the host country of the Olympic Games were reflected in Hallyu. The statistically significant
change in levels of cultural soft power and influence of Hallyu on Americans that was perceived by Koreans from the
PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games may represent how Koreans feel about Hallyu. It is possible that Koreans are proud
of Hallyu and their culture, and as a result, the perceived influence of Hallyu was higher among Koreans than among
Americans. In particular, positive results in the perceived influence of Hallyu in the United States can be interpreted as the
confidence Koreans have in Hallyu being circulated successfully in the US market as a result of the PyeongChang Winter
Olympic Games. Reflecting the effects of hosting the PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games on Hallyu, it can be said that
policy related to Hallyu can be managed based on the cycle of creation-growth-peak-decline.
Third, EIH showed a statistically significant change before and after the PyeongChang Winter Olympics among
Americans. Enduring involvement is a long-term interest in Korean pop culture, rather than short-term enjoyment (Havitz
and Dimanche, 1997). The 2018 Olympic Games were held not only in the pure sports context but also under the shadow
of the threat of North Korea’s nuclear development and missile launches, which could have produced a fear factor for
Americans. The theme of the PyeongChang Olympic Games was the global harmony of communication and peace
through the history and culture of Korea. For Americans who were able to see peaceful cultural messages throughout
the Olympics, including the unified Korean ice hockey team, the long-term relevance of Korea’s popular culture may
have played a role beyond a short-term awareness of Korean culture. In other words, rather than directly associating the
mega-sport event of the PyeongChang Winter Olympics with Hallyu, Americans may associate it with complex political,
diplomatic, and military issues and consider fundamental aspects of the peaceful culture of Korea.
Fourth, this study expanded the horizons of Hallyu research using an approach that has not been used in previous
research – asking Korean and American viewers about their perceptual changes before and after a mega-sport event. The
results of this study suggest that the current trends of Hallyu can penetrate countries of the Organization for Economic
Co-operation and Development beyond the Asian countries (Japan, China, and the Middle East) and Africa that have been
previously studied.
Last, this study provided a research topic – cultural aspects of the host country – on international mega-sport events
such as the PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games. In this study, the specific effect regarding the cultural aspects of a
hosting country was examined by comparing changes in the perceptions of viewers in target countries before and after the

22 International Journal of Population Studies | 2020, Volume 6, Issue 2