Non-Korean consumers’ preferences on Korean popular music: A two-country study

This research employs a mix of theoretical and data-driven approaches to understand how Korean pop music (KPop) consumption, despite physical and social barriers, is currently at unprecedented levels. The stimulus-organism-response (S-O-R) model was used as a basis to examine factors regarding influencing KPop’s popularity on non-Koreans, focusing on production and consumer-based factors inducing their attitudes and preferences. Data gathered from 951 Taiwanese and 949 Philippine survey respondents were analyzed through structural equation modeling (SEM), in which 13 of the hypothesized 16 direct, mediating, and moderating relationships were supported. This research demonstrates how, through appropriate theoretical lenses supported by empirically tested data, production-based factors of visual and audio components can sway favorable attitudes and preferences under customer-based contextual factors, including peer pressure, self-efficacy, and media. This guides producers to appreciate cultural nuances affecting KPop’s global popularity, and the importance of deciding the product mix strategies best suited for different markets.