Multimodal Analysis of BTS X Visitseoul YouTube Video as Representation af Seoul City Tourism Destination

Abstract

This research discusses the multimodal elements present in the promotional videos of Seoul, South Korea, uploaded on the VisitSeoul YouTube account, in order to examine the representation of Seoul's tourist destinations in these promotional videos. The method used in this study is qualitative descriptive. The data is derived from three promotional videos titled "BTS Life in Seoul," "BTS See You in Seoul," and "BTS 어기영차 서울" obtained from the VisitSeoul YouTube account. The data is categorized based on its semiotic elements and the attributes of the destination images, then analyzed using multimodal theory with a systemic functional linguistic approach, visual language metafunction, intersemiosis between modes, and destination image attributes. The findings indicate that these videos consist of three semiotic elements: linguistic, visual, and audio. The polysemous intersemiotic relationship between linguistic and visual elements provides a broader meaning, and in terms of logical-semantic meaning, verbal text and visual images mutually provide new information, falling under additive intersemiosis.These semiotic elements depict Seoul as a tourist destination associated with nature, offering pollution-free natural conditions, smooth traffic, cultural and artistic attractions, good tourist infrastructure, comfortable tourism atmospheres, engaging activities for tourists, well-developed public infrastructure, and a friendly social environment reflected by its hospitable residents.