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Dr. Suh-hee Choi
Kyung Hee University

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Short Biography

Dr. Suh-hee Choi is Assistant Professor in the Department of Geography at Kyung Hee University (Seoul, South Korea). Her research interest includes tourism mobilities, public diplomacy, migrants’ leisure, serious leisure, and tourist experience. She has published her works in Journal of Destination Marketing & Management, Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing, Tourism Analysis, Tourism Management, and Place Branding and Public Diplomacy, among others.

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Journal article
Published: 12 July 2021 in Public Relations Review
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With the increase of individuals’ global mobility and diversified migration patterns, research on sociological public diplomacy has highlighted the importance of the interpersonal communication of within-border foreign publics (WBFPs) for public diplomacy. The present study aims to help move the research in public diplomacy forward and contribute to empirical and theoretical understanding of temporary migrants (TMs) as a subgroup of WBFPs by examining how they communicate about their host region with their personal networks from home. Using semi-structured interviews with 17 TMs in Macao, this study examines their megaphoning characteristics and two-way communication patterns with their personal networks in their home regions. TMs communicated about Macao based on their firsthand experiences, providing evidence of megaphoning. The communicated content consisted mainly of cultural and life-based topics, including both positive tones and negative problem sharing of issues they immediately encountered in their life in the host region. Two-way rather than one-way communication was found, which reflected TMs’ willingness to adjust their communication pattern after understanding the awareness level and the interest of their communication counterparts. Furthermore, TMs’ two-way communication facilitated the correction and expansion of information their personal networks held about Macao. The present study helps build understanding of the communication behaviors of TMs and their roles as microboundary spanners in public diplomacy.

ACS Style

Suh-Hee Choi; Kelly Vibber; Jeong-Nam Kim. Diplomatic first aid or first harm: The specialized communicative role of foreign temporary migrants for their host region. Public Relations Review 2021, 47, 102092 .

AMA Style

Suh-Hee Choi, Kelly Vibber, Jeong-Nam Kim. Diplomatic first aid or first harm: The specialized communicative role of foreign temporary migrants for their host region. Public Relations Review. 2021; 47 (4):102092.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Suh-Hee Choi; Kelly Vibber; Jeong-Nam Kim. 2021. "Diplomatic first aid or first harm: The specialized communicative role of foreign temporary migrants for their host region." Public Relations Review 47, no. 4: 102092.

Journal article
Published: 05 July 2021 in Public Relations Review
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Although existing public relations research has explored self-efficacy as a psychological factor that predicts behaviors, the construct has been loosely conceptualized and operationalized mainly as an all-purpose measure that has been examined and valued for its predictive but not its operational power. It is rarely tailored to the specific domains of functioning in which it is applied and is generically operationalized with items measuring whether one can perform an action in terms of ability, confidence, and knowledge. Despite the predictive power of such an all-purpose measure, the construct's operational power lies in its ability to identify the experiential sources from which self-efficacy is derived and in providing guidelines to structure experiences to enable the desired behavioral changes. To demonstrate the construct's operational power in a specific research domain within public relations, this study revisits Bandura’s (1977) original publication on self-efficacy to explain how to reconceptualize the construct for a specific research problem within public diplomacy: how sojourners—experiential relationship holders with a host region—develop self-efficacy to proactively forward information and make a positive recommendation about their host region. Results from a survey (N = 320) conducted among sojourners living in Macao found that the tailored construct with four experiential sources explains two communicative behaviors: proactive forwarding of information about a sojourner's host region and persuading others to work or study in their host region. The process of reconceptualizing self-efficacy to enhance its operational power in examining specific research domains within public relations is discussed.

ACS Style

Lisa Tam; Suh-Hee Choi; Jeong-Nam Kim. Reconceptualizing the self-efficacy construct in public relations research: The case of sojourners and their communicative behaviors. Public Relations Review 2021, 47, 102090 .

AMA Style

Lisa Tam, Suh-Hee Choi, Jeong-Nam Kim. Reconceptualizing the self-efficacy construct in public relations research: The case of sojourners and their communicative behaviors. Public Relations Review. 2021; 47 (4):102090.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Lisa Tam; Suh-Hee Choi; Jeong-Nam Kim. 2021. "Reconceptualizing the self-efficacy construct in public relations research: The case of sojourners and their communicative behaviors." Public Relations Review 47, no. 4: 102090.

Journal article
Published: 20 January 2021 in Sustainability
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This qualitative exploratory study focuses on marriage immigrant women and explores the possibility they might contribute to the sustainability of the host country. A sustainable society, the contribution of visiting friends and relatives (VFR) tourism to destination sustainability, information behavior, and fringe stakeholder involvement for sustainable destination management are the focus of this study. Vietnamese marriage immigrant women in South Korea were investigated; the reasons for the investigation include: their increasing numbers, their significance caused by the roles both at the household and the societal levels, and the increased diplomatic ties between Vietnam and South Korea. The narratives of 16 informants about their leisure, hosting of friends and relatives, and information sharing patterns show that Vietnamese marriage immigrant women’s leisure and travel facilitate their subjective well-being and the enhancement of social capital, which potentially contribute to a sustainable society. Their hosting experience of the visits of friends and relatives, and its implications for sustainability, are further discussed. Furthermore, their roles as information mediators suggest their potential to contribute to the formation of the host country reputation. Self-appraisal of their unique travel patterns provides implications for involving this group for destination management. We consider both their importance and constraints as contributors to the host country attaining sustainability, and the implications are discussed.

ACS Style

Suh-Hee Choi; Haeri Jang. How Can Marriage Immigrants Contribute to the Sustainability of the Host Country? Implications from the Leisure and Travel Patterns of Vietnamese Women in South Korea. Sustainability 2021, 13, 1039 .

AMA Style

Suh-Hee Choi, Haeri Jang. How Can Marriage Immigrants Contribute to the Sustainability of the Host Country? Implications from the Leisure and Travel Patterns of Vietnamese Women in South Korea. Sustainability. 2021; 13 (3):1039.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Suh-Hee Choi; Haeri Jang. 2021. "How Can Marriage Immigrants Contribute to the Sustainability of the Host Country? Implications from the Leisure and Travel Patterns of Vietnamese Women in South Korea." Sustainability 13, no. 3: 1039.

Research article
Published: 16 December 2020 in The Social Science Journal
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This study investigates the role of individuals’ accidental, contextual talking – rather than planned, goal-oriented conversation – about tourism to illuminate its influences on touristic motivation and communicative behaviors. Contextual talking in daily life can trigger internalized and situational motivation toward information behaviors regarding tourist concern. Two comparative studies were conducted to provide a causal account of touristic information behavior in the U.S. and China. The studies’ results suggest the role of contextual talking in triggering situational motivation, which explains the substantial variance of communicative actions regarding tourist destinations. Moreover, an alternative model was specified and tested; this model proposes that tourist concern still functions as a significant predictor of active communication. This study discusses the implications of the role of contextual talk and its domino effect.

ACS Style

Suh-Hee Choi; Jarim Kim; Jeong-Nam Kim. The power of gossip: contextual talk in tourism communication. The Social Science Journal 2020, 1 -19.

AMA Style

Suh-Hee Choi, Jarim Kim, Jeong-Nam Kim. The power of gossip: contextual talk in tourism communication. The Social Science Journal. 2020; ():1-19.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Suh-Hee Choi; Jarim Kim; Jeong-Nam Kim. 2020. "The power of gossip: contextual talk in tourism communication." The Social Science Journal , no. : 1-19.

Research article
Published: 02 December 2020 in Journal of China Tourism Research
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The aim of this study is to understand food tourists in comparison with nonfood tourists to Macao, China, especially their profiles and behavioral characteristics, and to understand how much the regional cultural components and image of the gastronomy are associated with these two groups of tourists. Quantitative surveys with 470 visitors including both food tourists and nonfood tourists were conducted. Results revealed that food tourists and nonfood tourists were not differentiated significantly from each other in relation to demographic background or most of the behavioral pattern, including previous visiting experience. Furthermore, food tourists did not have significantly different images about the gastronomic, cultural, and food-related aspects of Macao, except for a few factors such as age and awareness. Additionally, Hongkongers had a stronger image about Macao as a place for Macanese food than other respondents including the mainland Chinese and international visitors. Results of this study add knowledge to the existing body of food tourism literature and provide some insights to the stakeholders involved in food tourism of ways to strengthen the city’s food image for the promotion of the food brand.

ACS Style

Yim King Penny Wan; Suh-Hee Choi. Food Tourists and Food Image in a Creative City of Gastronomy in Macao, China. Journal of China Tourism Research 2020, 1 -21.

AMA Style

Yim King Penny Wan, Suh-Hee Choi. Food Tourists and Food Image in a Creative City of Gastronomy in Macao, China. Journal of China Tourism Research. 2020; ():1-21.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Yim King Penny Wan; Suh-Hee Choi. 2020. "Food Tourists and Food Image in a Creative City of Gastronomy in Macao, China." Journal of China Tourism Research , no. : 1-21.

Journal article
Published: 29 July 2020 in International Journal of Hospitality Management
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Given the emergence of solo dining resulting from the changing family structure and increasingly individualised lifestyle in contemporary Chinese society, this study investigates solo dining in the setting of Chinese restaurants in Macao, including the solo dining motivations, behavioural characteristics, and experiences, taking into considerations the underlying social and cultural factors. Adopting a sequential exploratory mixed-method design, 18 interviews were conducted, followed by a survey with 493 local diners. Findings show that freedom of choice and satisfying hunger are the main motivations for solo dining, and some solo-friendly attributes, food-related attributes, and restaurant characteristics are considered as important elements. Solo dining is perceived positively, partly because its perceptions and experiences are shaped by the diners’ socio-cultural backgrounds and unique regional characteristics, in which solo dining is considered relatively common in Macao as opposed to extant literature that has suggested an essentialised assumption about Chinese group-oriented dining preference. Sociocultural insights and managerial implications are provided in catering to the growing solo diner market.

ACS Style

Suh-Hee Choi; Elaine Chiao Ling Yang; Saloomeh Tabari. Solo dining in Chinese restaurants: A mixed-method study in Macao. International Journal of Hospitality Management 2020, 90, 102628 -102628.

AMA Style

Suh-Hee Choi, Elaine Chiao Ling Yang, Saloomeh Tabari. Solo dining in Chinese restaurants: A mixed-method study in Macao. International Journal of Hospitality Management. 2020; 90 ():102628-102628.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Suh-Hee Choi; Elaine Chiao Ling Yang; Saloomeh Tabari. 2020. "Solo dining in Chinese restaurants: A mixed-method study in Macao." International Journal of Hospitality Management 90, no. : 102628-102628.

Earlycite article
Published: 23 June 2020 in International Journal of Event and Festival Management
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PurposeThe present study aims to investigate resident attendees' perceptions and attitudes towards a traditional cultural festival. It further clusters the attendees and identifies the profiles of each cluster based on its demographic, attitudinal and behavioral variables.Design/methodology/approachThe Drunken Dragon Festival, a traditional cultural festival in Macao SAR, which has been embedded in the local community for about a century, is used as a case. Data collected from 378 residents on the day of the festival were factor analyzed and then grouped by using cluster analysis.FindingsA two-cluster solution revealed that the two groups, overall, had distinct demographic characteristics and had somewhat different perceptions and attitudes towards the festival.Practical implicationsThe results not only show the overall perceptions of the Drunken Dragon Festival among the resident attendees, but they also imply that the government and the organizers need to communicate with and involve the two resident attendee clusters differently.Originality/valueThis study is one of the first attempts to investigate the residents' attitudes towards the transformational development of a traditional cultural festival as an effort to ensure the viability of intangible cultural heritage and to utilize it as a tourism resource.

ACS Style

Suh-Hee Choi; Ubaldino Sequeira Couto; Sharif Shams Imon. Resident attendees of Macao's Drunken Dragon Festival: a cluster analysis. International Journal of Event and Festival Management 2020, 11, 375 -393.

AMA Style

Suh-Hee Choi, Ubaldino Sequeira Couto, Sharif Shams Imon. Resident attendees of Macao's Drunken Dragon Festival: a cluster analysis. International Journal of Event and Festival Management. 2020; 11 (3):375-393.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Suh-Hee Choi; Ubaldino Sequeira Couto; Sharif Shams Imon. 2020. "Resident attendees of Macao's Drunken Dragon Festival: a cluster analysis." International Journal of Event and Festival Management 11, no. 3: 375-393.

Research article
Published: 11 June 2020 in Leisure Studies
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Since the theoretical lens of lifestyle mobilities was introduced, there has been a growing interest in the role of mobility in weakening rigid binaries such as home/away and work/leisure. This article draws on this theoretical perspective to explore how sojourners in Macau blur spatial and temporal binaries in their adaptation to their new and temporary situation. Individual thematic interviews with 17 sojourners were conducted, revealing their choice of lifestyle as regards home/away and work/leisure patterns. Theoretically, the study demonstrates how once distinct spheres of social life such as ‘home, ‘away’, ‘work’, and ‘leisure’ are now highly integrated. Sojourners keep a sense of being ‘at home’ through upholding their habitual routine; simultaneously, they feel ‘away from home’ by partly adopting a local lifestyle and exploiting the sightseeing and tourism opportunities. Yet long working hours can highly restrict leisure and in particular tourism activities. Empirically, this study documents different types of lifestyles among Macau sojourners ranging from selective mobilisation of the local resources into a lifestyle attuned to their new temporary circumstances to almost exclusive concentration on work and cultural indifference to the new environment and the opportunities it offers.

ACS Style

Suh-Hee Choi; Benjamin Lucca Iaquinto; Cora Un In Wong. Sojourners in Macau: blurring binaries of home/away and work/leisure. Leisure Studies 2020, 39, 811 -824.

AMA Style

Suh-Hee Choi, Benjamin Lucca Iaquinto, Cora Un In Wong. Sojourners in Macau: blurring binaries of home/away and work/leisure. Leisure Studies. 2020; 39 (6):811-824.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Suh-Hee Choi; Benjamin Lucca Iaquinto; Cora Un In Wong. 2020. "Sojourners in Macau: blurring binaries of home/away and work/leisure." Leisure Studies 39, no. 6: 811-824.

Articles
Published: 03 June 2020 in Asia Pacific Journal of Tourism Research
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This paper explores the potentials of and issues with managing Sorokdo as a dark tourism site themed with a combination of leprosy and a heritage reflecting colonialism. Based on on-site observations and interviews, this study identifies dark tourism elements in Sorokdo, perceptions of them, and their development. Then it discusses the consideration in developing Sorokdo as a dark tourism destination. The results show that a careful treatment of tourism elements and the residents is crucial. Understandings of different motivations of tourists and ethically sensitive interpretations, which would awaken awareness about leprosy and its dark historical facts, are suggested.

ACS Style

Eun-Hye Choung; Suh-Hee Choi. Sorokdo as a combined dark tourism site of leprosy and colonized past. Asia Pacific Journal of Tourism Research 2020, 25, 814 -828.

AMA Style

Eun-Hye Choung, Suh-Hee Choi. Sorokdo as a combined dark tourism site of leprosy and colonized past. Asia Pacific Journal of Tourism Research. 2020; 25 (8):814-828.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Eun-Hye Choung; Suh-Hee Choi. 2020. "Sorokdo as a combined dark tourism site of leprosy and colonized past." Asia Pacific Journal of Tourism Research 25, no. 8: 814-828.

Journal article
Published: 13 May 2020 in Public Relations Review
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The present study theorizes ways in which foreign publics’ different relationship building patterns are associated with the reputation of a host country and with the outcomes of those patterns, which yield positive behavioral intentions. The study first distinguished the reputational relationship group (i.e., those who lack firsthand experience with the host country) from the behavioral relationship group (i.e., those who have firsthand experience with the host country). Next, it further conceptualized and tested the structural paths that theoretically illustrate how reputation is built across these two different groups of foreign publics. Model testing results suggested that the two groups fit well with the respective models. The results imply that the puzzle of relationship’s and reputation’s causal influences on the formation of future behavior can be solved using differentiated communication strategies. An understanding of these two distinct processing models provides a new foundation for theory building in public relations and public diplomacy, as well as new ground for strategic relationship management with foreign publics.

ACS Style

Soo Yun Kim; Suh-Hee Choi; Jeong-Nam Kim; Liping A. Cai. Dual modes of ‘Good will hunting’: Untangling the reputation and relationship correlations en route to foreign amity. Public Relations Review 2020, 46, 101922 .

AMA Style

Soo Yun Kim, Suh-Hee Choi, Jeong-Nam Kim, Liping A. Cai. Dual modes of ‘Good will hunting’: Untangling the reputation and relationship correlations en route to foreign amity. Public Relations Review. 2020; 46 (3):101922.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Soo Yun Kim; Suh-Hee Choi; Jeong-Nam Kim; Liping A. Cai. 2020. "Dual modes of ‘Good will hunting’: Untangling the reputation and relationship correlations en route to foreign amity." Public Relations Review 46, no. 3: 101922.

Journal article
Published: 24 January 2020 in Sustainability
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The present study examines the three perceptual factors (cultural, economic, and social) that affect residents’ attitude towards transformation in the search for sustainability. Macao’s Drunken Dragon Festival, China’s intangible cultural heritage, was used as the case. Self-administered surveys were conducted on 378 resident festival participants in 2015 and 692 residents (both participants and non-participants) in 2017. The results show that regardless of previous experiences of participating in the festival, those who perceive more strongly about its cultural values tend to have positive attitudes towards its transformation, which may involve a loss of objective authenticity. Those who perceive more strongly that the festival is exclusive and does not embrace diverse participants are more likely to support its transformation. However, such a perception does not lead to their belief that diverse groups of people should be incorporated into the festival. Only among the non-participants from the sample collected in 2017, the perception that this festival provides economic benefit is associated with positive attitudes towards transforming and incorporating diverse groups of participants. This study provides insight into understanding the residents’ common and differentiated attitudes with regards to how much transformation is necessary to ensure sustainability of a local traditional cultural festival.

ACS Style

Suh-Hee Choi; Sharif Shams Imon; Ubaldino Couto. Negotiating with Authenticity to Ensure Sustainability of Traditional Cultural Festivals: Residents’ Perspectives about Macao’s Drunken Dragon Festival. Sustainability 2020, 12, 885 .

AMA Style

Suh-Hee Choi, Sharif Shams Imon, Ubaldino Couto. Negotiating with Authenticity to Ensure Sustainability of Traditional Cultural Festivals: Residents’ Perspectives about Macao’s Drunken Dragon Festival. Sustainability. 2020; 12 (3):885.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Suh-Hee Choi; Sharif Shams Imon; Ubaldino Couto. 2020. "Negotiating with Authenticity to Ensure Sustainability of Traditional Cultural Festivals: Residents’ Perspectives about Macao’s Drunken Dragon Festival." Sustainability 12, no. 3: 885.

Articles
Published: 03 January 2020 in Journal of Teaching in Travel & Tourism
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This case study elaborates on the benefits and challenges of lecturer-led, class-level online international collaboration between two colleges in Korea and China, based on the students’ feedback and the lecturers’ reflections. More specifically, this study reports the content of collaboration as group assignments in 2015 and online joint classes in 2018. Students’ reflections on each task were collected and thematically analyzed. The results show that students perceived enhanced understanding of the topics and each other’s regions through the two collaborative activities. Furthermore, informal interactions among the students from the two different cultures appeared to facilitate intercultural understanding and enhance intercultural competence as a result. Students particularly appreciated the inclusive nature of this educational method, which is not bounded by prior educational achievement and financial restrictions. Reflections from the two lecturers further illustrate the challenges with joint class organization, including class scheduling, aligning course content, language issues, and technical problems. This study addresses consideration for international class collaboration among tertiary educational institutions at the class level in the field of tourism and leisure.

ACS Style

Suh-Hee Choi; Sung-Hun Choi. Virtual short-term intercultural exchange as an inclusive educational strategy: Lessons from the collaboration of two classes in South Korea and China. Journal of Teaching in Travel & Tourism 2020, 20, 308 -325.

AMA Style

Suh-Hee Choi, Sung-Hun Choi. Virtual short-term intercultural exchange as an inclusive educational strategy: Lessons from the collaboration of two classes in South Korea and China. Journal of Teaching in Travel & Tourism. 2020; 20 (4):308-325.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Suh-Hee Choi; Sung-Hun Choi. 2020. "Virtual short-term intercultural exchange as an inclusive educational strategy: Lessons from the collaboration of two classes in South Korea and China." Journal of Teaching in Travel & Tourism 20, no. 4: 308-325.