In recent decades, Korean communication and media have substantially grown to become some of the most significant segments of Korean society. Since the early 1990s, Korea has experienced several distinctive changes in its politics, economy, and technology, which are directly related to the development of local media and culture. Korea has greatly developed several cutting-edge technologies, such as smartphones, video games, and mobile instant messengers to become the most networked society throughout the world. As the Korean Wave exemplifies, the once small and peripheral Korea has also created several unique local popular cultures, including television programs, movies, and popular music, known as K-pop, and these products have penetrated many parts of the world. As Korean media and popular culture have rapidly grown, the number of media scholars and topics covering these areas in academic discourses has increased. These scholars’ interests have expanded from traditional media, such as Korean journalism and cinema, to several new cutting-edge areas, like digital technologies, health communication, and LGBT-related issues. In celebrating the Korean American Communication Association’s fortieth anniversary in 2018, this book documents and historicizes the growth of growing scholarship in the realm of Korean media and communication.

Foreword by: Peng Hwa Ang
Afterword by: Eyun-Jung Ki, Seungahn Nah
Contributions by: Ji-Hyun Ahn, Younghan Cho, Hye Seung Chung, Yongick Jeong, Kyong Yoon Yong Jin, Seok Kang, Hun Shik Kim, Jeong-Nam Kim, Min-Sun Kim, Narae Kim, Shin Dong Kim, Yeojin Kim, Yeuseung Kim, Yong-Chan Kim, Youna Kim, Yung Soo Kim, Nojin Kwak, Hye-ryeon Lee, Yu Won Oh, Hye-Jin Paek, Ahran Park, Chang Sup Park, Ji Hoon Park, Namkee Park, Yoonmo Sang, Minsun Shim, Jae-Hwa Shin, Kyong Yoon, Kyu Ho Youm