Korean Celebrities' Image in Online Teen Media and Their Effects on Vietnamese Adolescents

Abstract

Vietnamese adolescents enjoy freedom of exposure to exotic cultures, especially Korean Wave, which are portrayed on online teen media and they got affected. This research paper investigates the most frequently portrayed Korean celebrities’ images on teen websites and whether the images and long exposure to such images have influences on teenagers’ intention of emulating the celebrities. The four most frequently portrayed images of the celebrities, Physical Appearance, Fashion, Relationship, and Normal Life, were identified by conducting content analysis in which all articles about Korean Showbiz from a selected website, www.kenh14.vn – Channel for Teens in September 2011 and September 2012. A questionnaire was designed based on the four themes to test the hypotheses proposing that Level of Exposure to online teen media portraying Korean celebrities and Attitude towards those celebrities positively contribute to teenagers’ intention of emulating the Korean stars. Statistical results revealed that Level of Exposure to online teen media portraying Korean celebrities’ images has effects on both attitude toward the celebrities and intention of emulating them of the teenagers whereas teenagers’ attitude alone cannot predict their intention. The findings reinforce the effects of long exposure to media in adolescence and encourage further studies on other predictors such as subjective norms and perceived behavioral control for better understanding about motivation behind teenagers’ emulation of Korean celebrities.