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San Analysis of the Empathy Mechanism of Korean Travel Observation Slow Variety Shows from the Perspective of the Burnout Society

Author(s)

Yuexi Shen, Xiao Qian*

Affiliation(s)

School of Cultural and Creative Management, Communication University of Zhejiang, Jiaxing, Zhejiang, China *Corresponding Author

Abstract

In the "burnout society" depicted by Han Byung-Chul, a series of Korean healing travel observation slow variety shows, represented by Born to Travel Once, have captured the pain points of spiritual exhaustion and emotional burnout among contemporary young people, becoming phenomenal cultural products. Grounded in burnout society theory and empathy theory, this study takes Born to Travel Once as its research subject and systematically explores the formation of the program's empathy mechanism from three dimensions of the industry value chain: creative planning, content production, and distribution and consumption. The findings reveal that the program lays the foundation for cognitive empathy through its "healing" theme, "slow travel" mechanics, "non-typical" scenes, and "non-typical" characters. It strengthens emotional empathy through narrative, audiovisual language, and post-production, and closes the empathy loop through highly interactive audience engagement, thereby achieving the transition from emotional resonance to brand loyalty.

Keywords

Burnout Society; Travel Observation Slow Variety Shows; Empathy Mechanism; Born to Travel Once

References

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