Dear current and future KACA members:
Welcome to Korean American Communication Association (KACA). It is a great honor to serve you as the 17th President of the KACA.
Over the last four decades, KACA has grown into the premier academic association for Korean American scholars, teachers, students, and professionals. KACA began in 1978 as a small organization of Korean American communication scholars. Those scholars aspired to transform our organization into the preeminent academic association, and today, we have more than five hundred members, all actively engaged in research, teaching, and the practice of communication in various sectors of society. KACA also partners with the three major national and international conferences of the International Communication Association (ICA), Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC), and National Communication Association (NCA). Our flagship events of research sessions and workshops at these conferences have become renowned venues at which our members can exchange professional knowledge in communication fields.
These achievements would have not been possible without the work of all our past members and officers, who were committed from the start to building an organization characterized by rigorous standards and a diligent work ethic. For this, I would like to express my sincere gratitude. I promise my predecessors to continue the legacy of those who have supported KACA since its inception.
The core of KACA’s identity is to be at the forefront of scholarship related to Korean and American communication. To achieve this, the utmost priority of our organization is currently to realize the launch of the Korean Journal of Communication (KJOC) and establish its reputation as an internationally renowned, peer-reviewed journal for Korean American scholarship. Thanks to the tireless efforts of members past and present of the journal committee, we have appointed Dr. Do Kyun Kim (Richard D’Aquin BORSF Endowed Professor of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette) as our inaugural journal editor. However, the successful launch of the journal continues to call for both human and financial capital. I urge our members to join this year’s officer team in making our best efforts to lay a firm foundation of scholarship with the KJOC.
As I begin my term as president, three keywords express my feelings about KACA: resilience, resourcefulness, and empowerment. Each of these qualities is represented in our recent history: We successfully turned the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic into opportunities. We made it possible for our members to be engaged year-round, even outside the major conference events, by adopting a virtual conference format. We found resilient minds among our members. We did not let racism that Asians and Asian Americans face discourage us. We rather held a conversation session to share experiences and thoughts about racism in higher education. It was the first step to support one another to combat against systemic racism.
It is my aim that these qualities be represented in KACA’s future as well. To that end, KACA will empower its members by providing them with tangible resources. For junior members, who are the next generation of communication scholars and professionals, we will work diligently to provide research grants, networking opportunities, and life-long mentorship programs in both academic and professional sectors. And on behalf of our seasoned members, KACA will become a hub for leadership development in higher education. We will help you to be the voice of Korean American scholars in your institutions.
To accomplish this, KACA needs each one of us. Why not become a part of KACA history? Why not let KACA become a part of your success story? Let us honor and expand the legacy of those who have built this wonderful academic community.
On behalf of all our members and officers, I look forward to your involvement with KACA.
Jin-Ae Kang, Ph.D.
President, 2021 – 2023
