This study aims to analyze the structural impact of social benefits perceived by foreign tourists in Korean night markets on emotional value, place attachment, and place loyalty. A survey was conducted with 233 foreign tourists who visited night markets in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province. The collected data were analyzed using SPSS 25.0 and AMOS 25.0 through reliability testing, confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), discriminant validity testing, and structural equation modeling (SEM). The findings demonstrate that social benefits significantly enhance tourists’ emotional value, place attachment, and place loyalty, while emotional value itself further strengthens both attachment and loyalty. Interestingly, place attachment did not show a direct effect on loyalty, underscoring emotional value as the critical mediator in shaping behavioral intentions. These results highlight the importance of vibrant social interactions, cultural exchanges, and human connections in night markets, which go beyond physical attributes to create memorable experiences. The study contributes to tourism and hospitality research by extending relational benefits theory to open and dynamic tourism spaces, offering empirical evidence that social benefits are central to fostering emotional engagement and loyalty among foreign tourists. Practically, the findings suggest that night market operators and policymakers should prioritize strategies that stimulate emotional responses through authentic social environments, thereby enhancing sustainable competitiveness and reinforcing Korea’s global appeal as a tourism destination.
Jeon et al. (Sat,) studied this question.