Our “Building an Academic Career” session at the AEJMC convention on Aug. 11 was a standing-room-only event. More than 25 people attended the two-hour-long discussion of how to search for academic jobs in the U.S. (and abroad).

Prof. Kwangmi Kim (Towson), KACA vice president, moderated the informative meeting. Several brand-new or relatively new Korean-American professors recounted their fulfilling real-life stories about their job search.

Prof. Yongick Jeong (Louisiana State), Prof. Eyun-Jung Ki (Alabama), Prof. Daekyung (Idaho State), and Prof. Jangyul Kim (Colorado State) were the principal speakers at the KACA session. Prof. Jisu Huh (Minnesota), who is NOT a new professor, offers her experiential thought on the quantity vs. quality of research as a factor in the faculty candidates’ credentials.

Several others, including Prof. Sammy “Sang” Lee (West Virginia), actively participated in examining the dos and don’ts of academic job search in the U.S.

Most significantly, Prof. Yang Soo Choi (Yonsei) and Prof. Jae Chul Shim (Korea), both of whom returned to Seoul after several years of teaching in the U.S., offered their up-to-date analysis of the jmc job market in Korea. It was a reality check on the increasingly tough challenges for those who might consider starting their careers in Seoul.

It has been a productive conference for KACA members with three events (research paper session, business meeting, and dinner). Another good news was that three Korean doctoral students received "top student paper" awards in three different divisions. They are Sangho Seo (Penn State Univ., Media Management and Economics Division), Joon Soo Lim (University of Florida, Communication Theory and Methodology Division), Youngkee Ju (University of Missouri, Mass Communication and Society Division).

The KACA's research paper session was held on August 4, focusing on various aspects of media roles in Korean societies. About 13 papers were submitted to the session and four papers were selected through blind review for presentation. I would like to express sincere appreciation to KACA faculty members who volunteered to review these papers, despite their busy schedule. Each paper submitted was blind reviewed by two different reviewers.

Dr. Kwangmi Ko Kim (Towson University) chaired the session and Dr. Jisu Huh (Minnesota University) provided detailed and constructive comments. Unfortunately, one group from Korea was not able to attend the session due to a flight schedule problem.

• U.S. media coverage of South Korean events: A moderating effect of event valence on the prominence of a news story.
  Hochang Shin, Sogang University; Sung-Un Yang and Jong-Hyuk Lee, Syracuse University; Heewon Cha, Ewha Womans University, Suman Lee, Iowa State University
• Construction of the Korean War: A Police action against bandits.
  Jinsun Lee, Rutgers
• Mobile telephone usage in public spaces in Seoul metropolitan area.
  Woong K. Park, Soongsil University

During a business meeting moderated by the vice president, Dr. Kim, various topics and news have been discussed, including the KACA directory, website, upcoming elections, membership dues, newsletters, non-profit status application, and a financial report. Particularly, she explained that two important changes need to be made in the KACA bylaw through members' ballots : 1) Elimination of Interest groups in KACA, and 2) Establishment of three vice presidents for different organizations (ICA; NCA; AEJMC).

About 50 members got together for dinner at Seoul Garden, which was hosted by the Korean Consulate General in San Francisco. Consul General, Sang-Ki Chung, attended the dinner with Consul Chang-Hyun Kim, and introduced the history and development of SF's Korean community to the members. After dinner, about twenty-five members participated in an informal discussion on job searching in the U.S. Dr. Kyu Ho Youm (University of Oregon) led the discussion.

The 2007 ICA meeting was held in San Francisco, CA, May 24-28. The KACA panel session was more competitive than previous year’s ICA. Only five out of over 50 submitted abstracts were chosen to present in the session. KACA president, Dr. Lee chaired the session. Five papers presented are as follows:

• Creation of a New Public Sphere: Internet Activism and Democratization of Korea by Jinsun Lee, Rutgers U, USA
• Cross-Lagged Analysis of Intermedia Agenda-Setting: An Interplay between Television News and Internet Portals in South Korea. by Doo-Hun Choi, Auburn U, USA Sei-Hill Kim, Auburn U, USA
• Talking about Mundane Topics on the Internet: A Comparison of Political and Nonpolitical Online Discussions in Korea. by Eun-Mee Kim, Yonsei U, Korea, Republic of Soohee Kim, Yonsei U, Korea, Republic of
• Representation of 'WE' and 'THEY' in Korean TV: A Study of the Television Documentaries Featuring Foreign Immigrant Workers and Korean Emigrant Workers. by Tae-Jin Yoon, Yonsei U, Korea, Republic of Jae Won Joo, Yonsei U, Korea, Republic of
• Corporate Crisis, Media Tonality, and Corporate Performance: A Time-Series Analysis of Spill-Over Effects. by Jeong-Nam Kim, Xavier U, USA Kai Bossmann, PRIME Research Center Europe, Germany Virginia Chen, PRIME Research Center Europe, Germany

KACA hosted a business meeting after panel session followed by a reception sponsored by Hankook Ilbo U.S.A.

Agendas discussed are as follows:

1. KACA directory update
2. KACA Web site (http://www.kacanet.org) updated with new services: blog, course syllabi collections, and job search guide.
3. Visitors can use login id “members” and pw “kaca1978” to access without membership payment.
4. Financial report was provided and reported.
5. For the 30th anniversary of KACA, a KACA special conference day during the 2008 AEJMC in Chicago was planned.
6. KACA election results for the 2007-2009 term were announced.

Reception was a success with students and professors from both Korea and the U.S. Reception participants enjoyed another reunion of KACA in Korean style at a Korean restaurant near the convention hotel.

 

At this year's ICA, the KACA held a paper session highlighting the state-of-the art research among Korean communication scholars. The KACA president, Dr. Hye-ryeon Lee (U of Hawaii at Manoa) gracefully chaired the crowded session with more than 40 participants. Six excellent papers, chosen through a steep competition process, were presented at the session as follows:

• Role of perceptions about others in predicting and preventing binge drinking: A Korean context.
  Hye-Jin Paek, University of Georgia; Byoungkwan Lee, Hanyang University; Hojoon Lee, Korean Broadcasting Commission
• A cultural third-person effect: Perceived effects of advertising on close others and distant others among Americans and Koreans.
  Sukki Yoon, Cleveland State University; Sangho Seo, Pennsylvania State University
• The "Korean Wave" in Taiwan: Uses and gratifications of Korean television dramas.
  Phyllis Chiao & Joung Im Kim, University of Hawaii at Manoa
• Networking home and host country: The role of ethnic media in Korean community in Los Angeles.
  Hayeon Song, University of Southern California
• What Could Strategic Public Relations Offer to Powerless Groups? Revisiting the 1997 Kia Managerial Crisis Case.
  Jeong-Nam Kim, Seung Bach, Thomas A. Schick, & Barbara Flick, Xavier University
• Why or why not? : Comparative study on spectrum management policy between Korea and U.S.
  Whajin Lee, SBS; Young Shin Cho, Pennsylvania State University; Kyoungbo Hyun, SBS

After the paper session, KACA held a business meeting moderated by Dr. Lee, and documented by the vice president, Dr. Kwan Min Lee (Annneberg School for Communication, USC). At the business meeting in which about 12 active KACA members participated, the following old business items were discussed: KACA directory; KACA website; Membership dues; Job search guideline; Newsletter; Non-profit status application; Financial report. After the discussion of the old items, the president tabled two important changes in the KACA bylaw: 1) Elimination of Interest groups in KACA, and 2) Establishment of three vice-chairs for different organizations (ICA; NCA; AEJMC). Attendees suggested that we should also recruit new members through the the Association of Academy of Advertising in the future.

After the business meeting, the KACA hosted an official reception at the third floor lobby of the conference site. Many KACA members and key ICA members including two Deans from Annenberg East and West joined the reception. The reception was supported by the Korean.