On January 11, the GBA Institute of International Communication held its 10th academic lecture. Prof. Sung K. Cho, Honorary Professor at Chungnam National University, Founder of the Asian Network for Public Opinion Research (ANPOR), and Co-editor of the Asian Journal of Public Opinion Research, was invited to deliver a special lecture on “Media Effects in Cross-Cultural Communication among Asian Youth.” The event was hosted by Prof. Luo Yunjian, Deputy Director of the GBA Institute of International Communication.
At the beginning of the lecture, Prof. Cho introduced a cross-national survey conducted by ANPOR between 2013 and 2014, which revealed differences in the quality of life between countries, helping people overcome cultural barriers and strengthen international cooperation. To further enhance mutual exchange among Asian countries, ANPOR, in collaboration with the GBA Institute of International Communication and other academic institutions in seven Asian countries, conducted a new round of cross-national surveys in 2023.
Prof. Cho explained that the 2023 Asian Youth Survey focused on Asian university students, as they are often considered future leaders. The survey investigated university students’ attitudes toward city images and their willingness to visit 14 major cities across seven Asian countries.
The findings showed that the more channels through which respondents were exposed to a city, the stronger their familiarity and willingness to visit. While city image did not significantly influence overall visit intentions, it did affect tourist visit intentions but had no significant impact on business visit intentions. The study also found that social media’s influence might not be as extensive as previously thought, perhaps due to limited user groups, whereas mass media might play a greater role in promoting city images, especially overseas.
Prof. Cho noted that city media exposure is a form of soft power, and increasing it can enhance young people’s willingness to visit a city. Hence, media productions (like TV shows, films, and music) set or filmed in a city could be a good strategy to boost visitors’ interest. The future role of AI remains to be seen, in acting as opinion leaders in communication networks, promoting cross-cultural exchange and understanding, and becoming an important channel for learning about another culture.
During the group seminar, Prof. Cho also detailed the implementation, data processing methods, and model validation processes of the 2023 Survey to the graduate students in our school. He emphasized that this cross-national survey’s success relied on the cooperation of academic institutions in seven Asian countries and expressed gratitude to the GBA Institute of International Communication for its support. He looks forward to further collaboration to advance Asian communication research.
