Tourism impact of the Korea-Japan trade conflict : A subjectivity study using Q-methodology

The recent trade dispute between South Korea and Japan has triggered an on-going tension between the two countries. The prolonged economic and diplomatic conflicts have touched Korean tourists’ subtle and complex feelings that are collectively associated with the Japanese colonial history. As a result, the number of outbound Korean tourists to Japan drastically dropped right after the initial phase of the trade dispute in July 2019. Using Q-methodology, this study aims to investigate the underlying mechanism of how the economic sanctions towards Japan prompted different types of travel constraints among Korean tourists, which influenced their travel behavior. More specifically, this study attempted to elicit the subjectivity of Korean tourists who cancelled their Japan trip due to the trade dispute and to classify the types of Korean tourists on the basis of their subjectivity. Hence, Korean tourists’ diverse viewpoints were classified by five types: “patriotism,” “social participation,” “image deterioration,” “economic revenger,” and “social restrictions.” By applying travel constraint theory into the complex case of intercountry conflicts caused by the Korea-Japan trade dispute, the study findings provide meaningful theoretical contributions. Moreover, this study provides potential suggestions to resolve the prevailing tension between Korea and Japan in the post-COVID-19 era.