The Influence of Character Design on Immersion and Fan Engagement Intention in IP Extension Strategy: Focused on K-Pop Demon Hunters

This study examines how character design in transmedia content influences fan participation intention through different types of immersion. Focusing on K-Pop Demon Hunters, it analyzes the effects of visual, psychological, and social design elements mediated by cognitive, emotional, and sensory immersion. Survey data were analyzed using SPSS and Hayes’ PROCESS Macro (Model 4), including factor analysis, reliability analysis, correlation analysis, and regression analysis. Indirect effects were tested using bootstrapping with 5,000 resamples. The results indicate that visual and psychological design elements have significant indirect effects on fan participation intention through emotional and sensory immersion, while cognitive immersion shows a limited mediating role. These findings suggest that fan engagement is formed through distinct immersion pathways rather than a single immersion construct. By empirically distinguishing immersion into sensory-based subdimensions, this study clarifies how character design leads to fan participation and provides practical implications for immersion-oriented character design in transmedia animation content.