Abstract
This study analyzes visitor book entries as cultural repositories of guest-generated hospitality discourses to understand how guests articulate/narrativize hospitality. Inquiry into visitor book entries offers insight into ways in which tourists render people and place intelligible. Utilizing textual analysis, this study examines discursive entries contained within visitor books displayed at a traditional South Korean hanok guesthouse/commercial home. The findings indicate that tourists' entries could be classified into three emergent categories: Structural Esthetics, Emotions/Affective State, and Inter-personal Engagement. Guests' entries indicated that there was an areciation for the display of traditional architecture, which facilitated sentiments of relaxation, contentment, tranquility, and homeliness. The hanok is thus regarded as a therapeutic landscape in which positive emotions are nurtured. Guests' entries also showcased evidence of genuine and personalized exchanges with hosts. This study points to the need for further theorizations on the role of indigenous knowledge in informing the performance and reception of hospitality.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 114-132 |
Number of pages | 19 |
Journal | Asia Pacific Journal of Tourism Research |
Volume | 20 |
Issue number | 1 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 1 Jan 2015 |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- commercial home
- emotions
- hanok
- hosts/guests
- visitor books
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Geography, Planning and Development
- Tourism, Leisure and Hospitality Management