Framing Korea: the role of international student YouTubers in shaping destination perceptions

International student mobility plays a crucial role in cultural diffusion and mutual understanding in the globalised world, particularly in the digital era where platforms like YouTube amplify these exchanges. Recently, South Korea has emerged as an attractive study-abroad destination, drawing students worldwide due to its cultural industry and educational opportunities. This study examines how international student YouTubers in South Korea frame their experiences and influence viewers, using framing theory as the foundational framework. A dataset of 5,344 videos and 78,320 comments was analyzed through topic classification, keyword extraction, emotion classification, and document similarity. The findings reveal that YouTubers frame Korea as a realistic everyday space, a hub for K-pop culture, and a destination for education. Their content predominantly conveys positive emotions such as joy and anticipation, while challenges like language barriers were also highlighted, providing a nuanced and balanced perspective. Viewer responses reflect emotional resonance and alignment with these frames, demonstrated by overlapping keywords and similarity scores. This study redefines international students as dynamic cultural ambassadors, contributing to global cultural dissemination and shaping destination perceptions. Methodologically, it advances video analysis in tourism research through scalable, text-based deep learning approaches. This study offers practical implications for educational and tourism sectors.