earticle

영어

This study aims to explore the multi-layered concept of “cultural sports” from the perspective of the sports industry and to clarify its structural characteristics within contemporary social and media environments. Drawing on Bourdieu’s theory of cultural capital and Gerbner and Gross’s cultivation theory, the study constructs an integrated theoretical framework that explains how sports participation and consumption, media representation, and globalization interact to reshape the boundaries and meanings of sports. Methodologically, the research employs literature review and critical discourse analysis to examine domestic and international studies, policy documents, media texts, and fan discourses related to cultural sports and the sports industry. The findings indicate that cultural sports operate as a complex structure encompassing cultural capital accumulation, social stratification, media-driven cultural cultivation, ideology and myth-making, and globalization-induced cultural homogenization. In particular, digital media expansion, fandom-based user-generated content, and the spread of ESG-oriented management practices are shown to reinforce the dual nature of cultural sports as both an economic asset and a socio-cultural field of power. These results provide theoretical and practical implications for redefining the identity of sports studies, designing sports industry policies, and developing strategies that simultaneously pursue industrial growth, social responsibility, and cultural diversity.