As an attempt to explore the international relationship between South Korea and Japan from the lens of performative landscape of nationalism, my ongoing doctoral project focuses on the cross-border tourism between two countries. This presentation discusses the theoretical framework for my thesis centered on two novel contributions to the cross-border studies. Firstly, it broadens the geographic focus of border studies beyond physical line of state borders and their immediate surroundings to encompass wider range of tourist cities. The rapidly growing tourism industry across the Korea-Japan border over the past few decades has been accompanied by the expanded transportation options such as aviation and shipping that connected different local cities directly. Since those tourist destinations are the places where dynamics of nationalism is made by direct face-to-face interactions, these local regions can be recognized as border spaces. Secondly, the project seeks to shift the focus of tourism research from a traditional perspective of political economy to one that incorporates cultural considerations. The Korea-Japan cross-border tourism industry is not solely driven by political and economic factors but also involves cultural aspects such as identity, emotions, and memory. Therefore, to pursue more nuanced research of cross-border tourism, diverse contexts of nationalism should be considered. This process of exploring new approaches and perspectives can help to shed light on the complex interplay between various factors that shape cross-border tourism. Also, based on this establishment of theoretical foundations, the one-year fieldwork scheduled to begin from this fall is expected to be clearer and more organized.

Authors:
Jihyuk Park, Syracuse University, United States

About the Presenter(s)
Mr JIHYUK PARK is a University Doctoral Student at Syracuse University in United States

See this presentation on the full schedule – Saturday Schedule

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