The Impact of Embodied Major Cognition of Korean Traditional Dance Students on Personal Branding Mediated by Social Media Use Integration

This study aims to investigate the structural impact of embodied major cognition on personal branding, mediated by social media use integration, among college students majoring in Korean traditional dance. For this purpose, a survey was conducted on 325 dance majors nationwide, and the collected data were analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). The main findings of this research are as follows. First, it was found that higher levels of body awareness, positive physical perception, and a profound understanding of the major led to a significantly deeper integration of social media into the students' daily lives and personal identities. Second, the level of social media use integration was identified as a direct and core factor determining personal branding performance, such as establishing a professional reputation and increasing brand exposure. Third, embodied major cognition was analyzed to have a more powerful and significant influence on personal branding when passing through the mediating mechanism of social media use integration, thereby confirming the mediating effect. These results strongly suggest that branding competency education, which involves translating and meticulously managing one's unique artistic values into a digital language, should be systematically conducted alongside practical technical training in traditional dance education. Ultimately, this study is highly significant in identifying the actual mechanisms through which the psychological resources of dance majors expand into broader societal value today.