Report on the KACA 30th Anniversary Conference August 5, 2008

The KACA celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2008. Since conceived at the 1977 annual convention of the Association for Education in Journalism (which later changed to become the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication) held in Madison Wisconsin, the KACA continues to serve the academic and social needs of Korean communication scholars and students in North America. Founded by 4 Korean American professors and a Korean graduate student, we have now grown to represent over 450 Korean communication scholars, professionals and graduate students. As a celebration of the KACA’s achievement, we help the anniversary conference in Chicago on August 5, 2008 at the Chicago Marriott Downtown Magnificent Mile. It was fitting that the conference was held in conjunction with the AEJMC meeting given our historical connection to the association. The conference had a theme of “Hybridization of Reality: Re-Imagining the Communication Environment in Korea.”

Keynote Speech

Started with greetings from the KACA President, the Consul General of Chciago and the President of the Korean Society for Journalism and Communication Studies, the conference featured Dr. Youn Ho Oh of OhmyNews as the keynote speaker. A worldwide leader in citizen journalism and founder of OhmyNews, an international media outlet operating under the motto "Every citizen is a reporter," Dr.Oh delivered a talk entitled “Candlelight 2008: The shift of media leadership [speech transcript in DOC], [Presentation Slides in PPT (11.5MB)]. In his talk, Dr. Oh discussed how the format of news and journalism has changed with the introduction of online news outlets, and posed intriguing questions about the future of news media in the rapidly changing environment.

Key Programs

The conference also featured many exciting programs including a theme panel, three breakout paper sessions, a student paper session, the community perspective panel, and a final plenary session entitled “Looking towards the future.”

The student paper session featured three outstanding research papers from our student members. Sun-A Park of University of Missouri-Columbia won the top student paper award with a paper entitled, “Perceived impact of threat levels in a declaration of war.” Eun-Jeong Han (Washington State University) and Sumi Kim (University of Minnesota) shared the top two paper slot together.

The community perspective panel featured seven prominent Korean American leaders from the Chicago area who shared their expectations as to how communication scholars can contribute to the Korean American community at large. The final plenary was a opportunity for diverse constituents of the KACA to come together and discuss the future of the KACA. They reflected on the accomplishments of the KACA so far and shared ideas about how the KACA can effectively adapt to the changing needs of its members. The detailed summary of the final plenary panel is available in the last issue of KACA newsletter (Volume 30, No.2)

The Anniversary Gala Reception

At the end of the day, we had the Anniversary Gala Reception, generously sponsored by the Korea Times USA. At the reception, Dr. Charles Self, the president of the AEJMC, and Dr. Jacqueline Taylor, Dean of College of Communications, DePaul University delivered congratulatory remarks. At the reception, KACA Service Awards were presented to five of our senior members in honor of their contribution to the KACA over the years. The five recipients are: Professors Taik Sub Auh (Korea University/Korean Advanced Institute of Science and Technology), Won Ho Chang (University of Missouri), Hyun K. Kim (University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point), Jae-won Lee (Cleveland State University), and Seong H. Lee (Appalachian State University). We were very proud to recognize these senior scholars for their contribution to building the strong foundation for the KACA. Without their dedication and hard work, the KACA won’t be here today. Professor Seong H. Lee in particular dedicated countless hours to build the KACA during its early days, and I am so grateful that we had the opportunity to acknowledge and thank him for his contribution before he passed away in November last year.

Recognition

We also recognized two scholars with the Distinguished Young Scholar Awards. Drs. Kwan Min Lee, and Jisu Huh were the winners of the Awards selected through an extremely competitive review process, and received an Award Certificate and the prize of $1,000. Dr. Kwan Min Lee is tenured Associate Professor of Annenberg School for Communication at University of Southern California. He received his doctoral degree from Stanford University in 2002, majoring in Communication and minor in psychology. Dr. Jisu Huh is an assistant professor of school of Journalism and Mass Communication. She received her doctoral degree from University of Georgia, and her research areas include Advertising Effects, Health Communication, Trust and Credibility in Interactive advertising. Drs. Lee and Huh have impressive publications in nationally and internationally recognized journals. Three students were honored with the KACA Outstanding Student Award. They are Chul-Joo Lee (University of Pennsylvania), Kang-Suk Lee (University of Texas at Austin), and Rachel Kim (Michigan State University). Selected through a rigorous and competitive selection process, all three of them have outstanding research and teaching records. We look forward to watching their promising careers unfold in the future.

Recognition of Contributions to the Conference

In all, it was a wonderful conference with filled with stimulating academic program and heartwarming celebration of the KACA’s 30th anniversary and outstanding success of Korean American communication students and faculty. I thank all of the conference attendees for their participation, and hope they enjoyed the conference as much as I did. Finally and most importantly, I want to recognize the hard work of many individuals who worked diligently for over a year to plan and execute the wonderful event. I sincerely thank each and every one of the individuals and organizations that made possible the meaningful celebration of the KACA’s 30th anniversary. Thank you!

Financial sponsorship of the conference made by:

Korea Times U.S.A., Hyundai Mobis, Korean Society for Journalism and Communication Studies, Sakyejul Publishing Ltd., College of Communication DePaul University, Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, Korean Consulate General of Chicago, Dr. Ki-Chang Shim.

Conference Planning Committee:

Nojin Kwak (Chair), Jang Hyun Kim, Kwangmi Ko Kim, Hye-ryeon Lee, Eungjun Min, Kay Yoon, Jae Chul Shim.

Young Scholar Award Committee:

Eungjun Min (Chair), Seok Kang (Cooridnator), Jong G. Kang, Jin K. Kim, Min-Sun Kim, Kyu Ho Youm, Ph.D.

Student Awards Committee: Ji Hoon Park (Chair), Chang Mo Bahk, Jaesub Lee, Hyu-Jin Paek, Eun-ho Yeo, Young-Ok Yum

Paper Reviewers:

C. Mo Bahk, Donghun Chung, Kyu Sup Hahn, Jee-Hee Han, Chul Heo, Jisu Huh, Yongick Jeong, Hyeun Seung Jin, Eura Jung, Younbo Jung, Seok Kang, Heeman Kim, Hun Shik Kim, Jang Hyun Kim, Sei-Hill Kim, Yang Soo Kim, Yong-Chan Kim, Byung Lee, Hye Eun Lee, Jaesub Lee, Jong Hwa Lee, Sammy (Sang) Yeal Lee, Sook-Young Lee, Siho Nam, Hye-Jin Paek, Namkee Park, Sung-Yeon Park, Dong Hee Shin, Jae-Hwa Shin, Sung-Un Yang, Kyunghye Yoon, Gi Woong Yun, Ph.D.