(Re)negotiating authenticity through virtual travel: a case study of Law of the Jungle, a Korean reality travel program. Issue 3 (24th March 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Kim, Sohye; Park, Sanghun; Santos, Carla A.; Shinew, Kimberly J.
• Is Part Of: Journal of travel & tourism marketing. Volume 35:Issue 3(2018)
• Page Start: 348
• Page End: 364
• Publication Date: 2018-03-24
• Subjects: Authenticity -- tourist gaze -- postmodern -- Korean reality travel program; Tourism -- Periodicals; 338.47910688
• DOI: 10.1080/10548408.2017.1318735
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1054-8408

Abstract

ABSTRACT: The current study investigates tourists' discourse regarding authenticity in the postmodern tourism context by employing the intertwined concepts of authenticity and gaze to examine Law of the Jungle, a Korean reality travel program. Findings from our thematic content analysis of data suggest that the program provides viewers with a dual structure through which to view and negotiate the tourism setting of the show, and that the authenticity of the program is perceived from three main perspectives: objective, subjective, and postmodernist. Findings are contextualized within extant literature on authenticity, orientalism, the tourist gaze, and the second gaze.