Top of page
Global Site Navigation

School of Business and Law

Local Section Navigation
You are here: Main Content

Associate Professor Sangkyun (Sean) Kim

Associate Professor

Staff Member Details
Telephone: +61 8 6304 5146
Email: s.kim@ecu.edu.au
Campus: Joondalup  
Room: JO2.251  
ORCID iD: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2746-9952

Associate Professor Sean Kim is in the area of Tourism at the School of Business and Law.

Key research areas

  • Film tourism
  • Tourism and popular culture
  • Tourism and creative industries
  • Food and tourism; food tourism
  • Representation, identify and tourism
  • Tourism impacts and communities
  • Tourism in Asia
  • Tourist behaviour and psychology

Biography

Dr Kim is Associate Professor of Tourism and Creative Industries and Deputy Head of SBL Centre for Tourism Research. He is listed as the top 2% of the world’s most cited scientists in the field of “Sport, Leisure & Tourism” by Stanford University, consecutively in 2021 and 2022. He is Associate Editor of Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research (JHTR).

His main research areas are twofold. The first focuses on the close relationships between tourism and popular culture, with particular attention to tourism and (popular) media, media representation, celebrity cultures, and fan pilgrimage. Specifically, he is an internationally recognised scholar in the field of film tourism and its broader impacts and implications. The second theme is centred on the relationship between (in)tangible heritage (e.g., food and foodways), identity and tourism with particular attention to global food tourism phenomenon. His work is international and interdisciplinary at the boundaries of social psychology, cultural studies, media studies, geography, and tourism management and marketing.

He has published more than 100 scholarly and industrial publications. In addition, Associate Professor Kim has co-edited ‘Food Tourism in Asia (2019)’ and ‘Film tourism in Asia: Evolution, transformation and trajectory (2018)'.

Furthermore, he is regularly appointed as an expert advisory panel member and external assessor for prestigious funding bodies such as European Research Council (ERC) and Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) Humanities and Social Sciences division.

Associate Professor Kim is currently a visiting professor at Hiroshima University in Japan. Prior to that, he served as a visiting professor at School of History, Culture and Communication in Erasmus University Rotterdam, the Netherlands.

Theme Two: Society and Culture; Individual, economic, organisational, political and social transformation. As well as, Human movement and performance; and Creativity, culture and artistic practice

2022 - Invited Expert Public Lecture on “Hallyu and Film Tourism in South Korea’ in the UAE, hosted by The Embassy of the Republic Korea and Korean Cultural Centre in the UAE

2020 - Expert Advisory Panel Member for Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowship Project entitled "Living in the media. Analysing the Impact of Media Tourism on Locals’ Identities and Sense of Belonging" funded by European Research Council

2016 - Best Paper Award at the 2016 International Conference on Tourism (ICOT 2016), Naples, Italy

2015 - Best Paper Award at the 2015 International Conference on Tourism (ICOT 2015), Middlesex University, London, UK

2014 - Best Paper Award at the 4th International Conference on Tourism Research (4ICTR), Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia

2012 - Vice-Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Early Career Researchers, Flinders University

2012 - Marquis Who's Who in the World

  • Council for Australian University Tourism and Hospitality Education (CAUTHE)
  • International Council of Hotel, Restaurant and Institutional Education (I-CHRIE)
  • Tourism Sciences Society of Korea
  • External Assessor for the Netherlands Organisation of Science Research (NWO) and the Council for the Humanities, the Netherlands (2014)
  • Research Integrity Advisory for the Faculty of Education, Humanities and Law, Flinders University (2013 - 2016)
  • Le Cordon Bleu International Academic Board (2010 - 2019)
  • Korean (Native)
  • French

Qualifications

  • Doctor of Philosophy, England, 2011.

Research Outputs

Book Chapters

  • Kim, S., Xu, M., Park, E. (2024). Food taste experiences and gastrophysics: gender matters?. Handbook on Food Tourism (259-271). Edward Elgar Publishing. https://doi.org/10.4337/9781803924175.
  • Park, E., Kim, S., Klarin, A. (2024). What we know of food tourism: systematic review of the literature using informetric analysis and directions for future research. Handbook on Food Tourism (288-306). Edward Elgar Publishing. https://doi.org/10.4337/9781803924175.
  • Thelen, T., Kim, S. (2024). The Emergence of Fan Pilgrimage Sites – Unintended and Intended. Touristic World-Making and Fan Pilgrimage in Popular Culture Destinations (31-49). Channel View Publications. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.21832/ZIAKAS8946.
  • Jang, K., Kim, S., Thelen, T. (2024). The homeland of Sanuki udon: unconsolidated placemaking processes in a food tourism destination. Handbook on food tourism (167-181). Edward Elgar Publishing. https://doi.org/10.4337/9781803924175.

Journal Articles

  • Klarin, A., Park, E., Xiao, Q., Kim, S. (2023). Time to transform the way we travel?: A conceptual framework for slow tourism and travel research. Tourism Management Perspectives, 46(March 2023), Article number 101100. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tmp.2023.101100.
  • Thelen, T., Kim, S. (2023). Understanding fan tourists at a non-commodified fan pilgrimage site: An application of fan capital theory. Current Issues in Tourism, 26(1), 12-17. https://doi.org/10.1080/13683500.2021.2011162.
  • Kim, S., Kim, S., Wong, A. (2023). Music-induced tourism: Korean pop (K-pop) music consumption values and their consequences. Journal of Destination Marketing and Management, 30(TBD), article number 100824. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jdmm.2023.100824.
  • Castro, D., Kim, S., Assaker, G. (2023). An empirical examination of the antecedents of residents’ support for future film tourism development. Tourism Management Perspectives, 45(January 2023), Article number 101067. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tmp.2022.101067.

Journal Articles

  • Park, E., Kim, S., Xu, M. (2022). Hunger for learning or tasting? An exploratory study of food tourist motivations visiting food museum restaurants. Tourism Recreation Research, 47(2), 130-144. https://doi.org/10.1080/02508281.2020.1841374.
  • Kim, S., Park, E. (2022). Identifying film tourism impacts on grassroots communities: implications for film tourism development and community planning. Tourism Recreation Research, 2022(article in press), 1-5. https://doi.org/10.1080/02508281.2022.2133810.
  • Klarin, A., Park, E., Kim, S. (2022). The slow movements: Informetric mapping of the scholarship and implications for tourism and hospitality. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Research, 2022(article in press), 1-19. https://doi.org/10.1177/10963480221116049.
  • Xu, M., Kim, S. (2022). Movie roadshow as dramaturgical interaction between film professionals and audiences: An event organiser perspective in the Chinese film industry. Event Management: an international journal, 26(4), 915-929. https://doi.org/10.3727/152599521X16288665119576.
  • Jang, K., Kim, S. (2022). Staging mediatized tourism places as imagined playscapes: The crucial role of a tour designer. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Research, 2022(article in press), 1-5. https://doi.org/10.1177/10963480221130997.

Journal Articles

  • Kim, S., Park, E., Fu, Y., Jiang, F. (2021). The cognitive development of food taste perception in a food tourism destination: A gastrophysics approach. Appetite, 165(1 October 2021), Article number 105310. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2021.105310.
  • Park, E., Muangasame, K., Kim, S. (2021). ‘We and our stories’: Constructing food experiences in a UNESCO gastronomy city. Tourism Geographies: an international journal of tourism place, space and the environment, 2021(Article in Press), 32p.. https://doi.org/10.1080/14616688.2021.1943701.
  • Xu, M., Reijnders, S., Kim, S. (2021). ‘Mingren are the respectable ones’: an analysis of everyday engagements with contemporary celebrity culture in China. Celebrity Studies, 12(1), 84-101. https://doi.org/10.1080/19392397.2019.1611461.
  • Kim, S., Park, E. (2021). An integrated model of social impacts and resident’s perceptions: From a film tourism destination. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Research, 2021(Article in Press), 28p.. https://doi.org/10.1177/10963480211011641.
  • Kim, S., Morgan, A., Assaker, G. (2021). Examining the relationship between sport spectator motivation, involvement, and loyalty: a structural model in the context of Australian Rules football. Sport in Society, 24(6), 1006-1032. https://doi.org/10.1080/17430437.2020.1720658.

Journal Articles

  • Thelen, T., Kim, S., Scherer, E. (2020). Film tourism impacts: a multi-stakeholder longitudinal approach. Tourism Recreation Research, 45(3), 291-306. https://doi.org/10.1080/02508281.2020.1718338.
  • Xu, M., Reijnders, S., Kim, S. (2020). Inside the movie roadshow: a critical approach to media events in China. Chinese Journal of Communication, 13(3), 312-328. https://doi.org/10.1080/17544750.2019.1653341.
  • Xu, M., Kim, S., Reijnders, S. (2020). From food to feet: Analysing A Bite of China as food-based destination image. Tourist Studies: an international journal, 20(2), 145-165. https://doi.org/10.1177/1468797619888305.
  • Kim, S., Park, E., Xu, M. (2020). Beyond the authentic taste: The tourist experience at a food museum restaurant. Tourism Management Perspectives, 36(October 2020), Article number 100749. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tmp.2020.100749.

Book Chapters

Journal Articles

  • Kim, S., Kim, S., Han, H. (2019). Effects of TV drama celebrities on national image and behavioral intention. Asia Pacific Journal of Tourism Research, 24(3), 233-249. https://doi.org/10.1080/10941665.2018.1557718.
  • Kim, S., Kim, S., King, B. (2019). Nostalgia film tourism and its potential for destination development. Journal of Travel and Tourism Marketing, 36(2), 236-252. https://doi.org/10.1080/10548408.2018.1527272.
  • Kim, S., Park, E., Lamb, D. (2019). Extraordinary or ordinary? Food tourism motivations of Japanese domestic noodle tourists. Tourism Management Perspectives, 29(January 2019), 176-186. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tmp.2019.01.001.
  • Kim, S., Kim, S., Petrick, JF. (2019). The effect of film nostalgia on involvement, familiarity and behavioral intention. Journal of Travel Research, 58(2), 283-297. https://doi.org/10.1177/0047287517746015.

Book Chapters

  • Tham , A., Kim, S. (2018). Factors Hindering the Intention of Tourists to Visit Film Tourism Locations: The Case of the Korean TV Drama Descendants of the Sun (DOTS). Film Tourism in Asia, Evolution, Transformation and Trajectory (157-170). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-5909-4_10.
  • Kim, S., Suri, G., Park, E. (2018). Change in local residents' perceptions and attitudes towards the impact of film tourism: the case of Eat Pray Love(EPL) film tourism in Ubud, Bali. Film tourism in Asia: evolution, transformation and trajectory (125-138). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-5909-4_8.
  • Tikhonova, D., Kim, S., Butler, G. (2018). Conceptualising challenging experiences and post-travel culture involvement. Tourist behaviour: An experiential perspective (111-128). Springer.
  • Park, E., Kim, S. (2018). Supporting the industry or just consuming leisure? The case of industrial festivals and events in Jeonju, South Korea. Exhibitions, Trade Fairs and Industrial Events (161-172). Routledge.
  • Kim, S., Kim, S. (2018). Nostalgia and the development of film tourism products and activities: The case of Korean audiences of Hong Kong films. Film tourism in Asia: evolution, transformation and trajectory (141-155). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-5909-4_9.
  • Kim, S., Reijnders, S. (2018). Asia on my mind: understanding film tourism in Asia. Film tourism in Asia: evolution, transformation and trajectory (1-18). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-5909-4_1.
  • Park, E., Phandanouvong, T., Xaysena, P., Kim, S. (2018). Empowerment, participation and barriers. Ethnic minority community-based ecotourism development in Lao PDR. Tourism and ethnodevelopment: Inclusion, empowerment and self-determination (139-152). Routledge.
  • Kim, S., Park, E., Kang, B. (2018). The Noodle Grand Prix as a regional food industrial heritage festival: A Japanese case study. Exhibitions, Trade Fairs and Industrial Events (119-132). Routledge.

Journal Articles

  • Ellis, A., Park, E., Kim, S., Yeoman, I. (2018). What is food tourism?. Tourism Management: research, policies, practice, 68(October), 250-263. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2018.03.025.
  • Kim, S., Kim, S. (2018). Perceived values of TV drama, audience involvement and behavioral intention in film tourism. Journal of Travel and Tourism Marketing, 35(3), 259-272. https://doi.org/10.1080/10548408.2016.1245172.
  • Park, E., Phandanouvong, T., Kim, S. (2018). Evaluating participation in community-based tourism: a local perspective in Laos. Current Issues in Tourism, 21(2), 128-132. https://doi.org/10.1080/13683500.2017.1323851.
  • Park, E., Kim, S. (2018). Are we doing enough for visual research in tourism? The past, present, and future of tourism studies using photographic images. International Journal of Tourism Research, 20(4), 433-441. https://doi.org/10.1002/jtr.2194.
  • Kim, S., Kim, S. (2018). Segmentation of potential film tourists by film nostalgia and preferred film tourism program. Journal of Travel and Tourism Marketing, 35(3), 285-305. https://doi.org/10.1080/10548408.2017.1284705.

Conference Publications

  • Kim, S., Park, E. (2018). Japanese Udon Noodle Tourists: What Matters?. Proceedings of 8th Advances in Hospitality and Tourism Marketing and Management (AHTMM) conference (155-165). University of Thai Chamber of Commerce (UTCC) and Washington State University.

Journal Articles

  • Fu, Y., Kim, S., Mao, R. (2017). Crafting collaboration: Conflict resolution and community engagement in the Hangzhou Arts and Crafts Museum Cluster. International Journal of Intangible Heritage, 12(2017), 59-75.
  • Kim, S., Kim, S., Oh, M. (2017). Film Tourism Town and Its Local Community. International Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Administration, 18(3), 334-360. https://doi.org/10.1080/15256480.2016.1276005.

Conference Publications

  • Kim, S., Park, E., Suri, G. (2017). Impacts of Eat Pray Love (EPL) film tourism and local communities in Ubud, Bali. 15th APacCHRIE Proceeding Book (Asia-Pacific Council on Hotel Restaurant and Institutional Education) The future of hospitality and tourism: Opportunity and challenges (82-92). International Bali Institute of Tourism.

Book Chapters

  • Kim, S. (2016). Japanese obsession to noodles and regional development: the udon noodle tourism phenomenon in Japan. Food tourism and regional development: networks, products and trajectories (135-144). Routledge.
  • Kim, S., Nam, C. (2016). Opportunities and challenges for South Korean tourism and creative industries. Tourism and the creative industries: Theories, policies and practices (102-115). Routledge.

Journal Articles

Journal Articles

  • Fu, Y., Kim, S., Zhou, T. (2015). Staging the ‘authenticity’ of intangible heritage from the production perspective: the case of Craftsmanship Museum Cluster in Hangzhou, China. Journal of Tourism and Cultural Change, 13(4), 285-300. https://doi.org/10.1080/14766825.2014.983439.
  • Kim, S., Park, E. (2015). First-time and repeat tourist destination image: the case of domestic tourists to Weh Island, Indonesia. Anatolia: an international journal of tourism and hospitality research, 26(3), 421-433. https://doi.org/10.1080/13032917.2014.984233.
  • Kim, S. (2015). Understanding the Historical and Geographical Contexts of Food Festival Tourism Development: The Case of the Tatebayashi Noodle Grand Prix in Japan. Tourism Planning and Development, 12(4), 433-446. https://doi.org/10.1080/21568316.2015.1025991.
  • Kim, S., Ellis, A. (2015). Noodle production and consumption: from agriculture to food tourism in Japan. Tourism Geographies: an international journal of tourism place, space and the environment, 17(1), 151-167. https://doi.org/10.1080/14616688.2014.978812.
  • Yoon, Y., Kim, S., Kim, S. (2015). Successful and unsuccessful film tourism destinations: From the perspective of Korean local residents' perceptions of film tourism impacts. Tourism Analysis, 20(1), 297-311. https://doi.org/10.3727/108354215X14356694891852.
  • Kim, S., Iwashita, C. (2015). Cooking identity and food tourism: the case of Japanese udon noodles. Tourism Recreation Research, 41(1), 89-100. https://doi.org/10.1080/02508281.2016.1111976.
  • Kim, S., Butler, G. (2015). Local community perspectives towards dark tourism development: The case of Snowtown, South Australia. Journal of Tourism and Cultural Change, 13(1), 78-89. https://doi.org/10.1080/14766825.2014.918621.
  • Kim, S., Kim, S., Heo, C. (2015). Assessment of TV Drama/Film Production Towns as a Rural Tourism Growth Engine. Asia Pacific Journal of Tourism Research, 20(7), 730-760. https://doi.org/10.1080/10941665.2014.927378.

Conference Publications

  • Park, E., Xaysena, P., Kim, S. (2015). The influence of local community’s empowerment on its perception towards community-based ecotourism in the protected area. Proceedings of the International Conference on Tourism (ICOT2015) (312-323). International Association for Tourism Policy.
  • Kim, S., Nam, C. (2015). Barriers to implementing an effective tourism policy for the Korean Wave: from the government’s perspective. Proceedings of the International Conference on Tourism (ICOT2015) (312-323). International Association for Tourism Policy.

Book Chapters

  • Rahman, NA., Kim, S., Brown, S. (2014). Constructing and shaping tourist experiences via travel blog engagement. Tourists’ perceptions and assessments (129-135). Emerald Group Publishing Limited. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1871-317320140000008007.

Journal Articles

Conference Publications

  • Fu, Y., Kim, S. (2014). Staging diaspora community festival: heterogeneity and conflict of identity in Chinese diaspora New Year festival in UK. Colloqium: Papers from Global Events Congress VI (160-178). Flinders University.
  • Parke, E., Kim, S. (2014). Enhancing local community’s involvement and empowerment through practicing Cittaslow: Experiences from Goolwa, South Australia. SHS Web of Conferences Volume 12: 4th International Conference on Tourism Research (4ICTR) (1-7). EDP Sciences. https://doi.org/10.1051/shsconf/20141201044.
  • Kim, S., Park, E., Phandanouvong, T. (2014). Barriers to local residents’ participation in community-based tourism: Lessons from Houay Kaeng Village in Laos. SHS Web of Conferences Volume 12: 4th International Conference on Tourism Research (4ICTR) (1-8). EDP Sciences. https://doi.org/10.1051/shsconf/20141201045.

Book Chapters

  • O'Connor, N., Kim, S. (2013). Media related tourism phenomena – A review of key issues. Mediating the tourist experience: From brochures to virtual encounters (13-32). Ashgate Publishing Limited.

Journal Articles

  • Kim, S., Savinovic, A., Brown, S. (2013). Visitors’ Motivations in Attending an Ethnic Minority Cultural Festival: A Case Study of the Feŝta Croatian Food and Wine Festival, South Australia. Event Management: an international journal, 17(1), 349-359. https://doi.org/10.3727/152599513X13769392444828.

Journal Articles

  • Savinovic, A., Kim, S., Long, P. (2012). Audience members' motivation, satisfaction, and intention to re-visit an ethnic minority cultural festival. Journal of Travel and Tourism Marketing, 29(7), 682-694. https://doi.org/10.1080/10548408.2012.720154.
  • Kim, S. (2012). The Relationships of On-Site Film-Tourism Experiences, Satisfaction, and Behavioral Intentions: The Case of Asian Audience's Responses to a Korean Historical TV Drama. Journal of Travel and Tourism Marketing, 29(5), 472-484. https://doi.org/10.1080/10548408.2012.691399.
  • Kim, S., Long, P. (2012). Touring TV Soap Operas: Genre in Film Tourism Research. Tourist Studies: an international journal, 12(2), 173-185. https://doi.org/10.1177/1468797612449249.
  • Kim, S., Wang, H. (2012). From television to the film set: Korean drama Daejanggeum drives Chinese, Taiwanese, Japanese and Thai audiences to screen-tourism. The International Communication Gazette, 74(5), 423-442. https://doi.org/10.1177/1748048512445152.
  • Kim, S. (2012). A cross-cultural study of on-site film-tourism experiences among Chinese, Japanese,Taiwanese and Thai visitors to the Daejaggenum Theme Park, South Korea. Current Issues in Tourism, 15(8), 759-776. https://doi.org/10.1080/13683500.2011.640394.
  • Kim, S. (2012). The Impact of TV Drama attributes on Touristic experiences at film tourism destinations. Tourism Analysis, 17(5), 573-585. https://doi.org/10.3727/108354212X13485873913804.
  • Kim, S. (2012). Audience involvement and film tourism experiences: Emotional places, emotional experiences. Tourism Management: research, policies, practice, 33(2), 387-396. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2011.04.008.

Conference Publications

  • Kim, S. (2012). Stories, characters, locations, aesthetic effects and tourist experiences: Examining film-tourism experiences at a TV drama set. The New Golden Age of Tourism and Hospitality (332-349). CAUTHE.
  • Kim, S. (2012). Does nationality really matter? From the film-tourism experience perspective. The New Golden Age of Tourism and Hospitality (314-331). CAUTHE.

Journal Articles

Research Student Supervision

Co-principal Supervisor

  • Master of Business by Research, Exploring the Impact of Workplace Gratitude on Employees' Wellbeing within the Cafe Sector in Western Australia

Associate Supervisor

  • Doctor of Philosophy, Reframing the foodscape in a food tourism destination: from a symbolic social interaction perspective

Principal Supervisor

  • Doctor of Philosophy: Understanding blogging behaviour and motivation in narrative construction of the tourist experience at the post-visit, on-site and post-vist stages: The Malaysian travel blogger and tourist perspective
  • Master by Research: The effectiveness of tourism policy for responding to Korean Wave tourism in Korea
  • Doctor of Philosophy: Understanding entrepreneurial practices in designing major events: An Australian perspective
  • Master by Research: The impact of animation films on tourist perception and expectiaion of a cinematized destination: The case of Rio
  • Master by Research: Tourist experience and motivation of food tourism: The case of Blauwgrong, Suriname
  • Master by Research: Community participation in tourism planning and development from the sustainable tourism perspective: The case of Houay Kaeng Village, Laos
  • Master by Research: The influence of local community's empowerment on its perception to community-based tourism impacts: The case of Phou Khao Khouay national protected area in Laos
  • Master by Research: Barriers to ecotourism development from the local government persepctive: The case of Ha Long Bay, Vietnam
  • Master by Research: Tourism motivation, experience and identity in Udon tourism in Japan: The case of Mizusawa
  • Master by Research: Gender differences with engagement with interpretations in cultural heritage spaces
  • Master by Research: Image differences between prospective and repeat visitors
  • Doctor of Philosophy: Chinese media audiences and the ritual boundary between inside and outside the media
  • Master by Research: Local community perceptions and attitudes towards film tourism impacts: The case of the Eat Pray Love film in Ubud, Bali, Indonesia

Associate Supervisor

  • Doctor of Philosophy: The place of challenge and post-travel culture involvement in small group tourism
  • Doctor of Philosophy: Ethical decision making, social desirability bias and ethics training of Vietnamese banking and finance professionals and students
Skip to top of page