When I decided to leave my secure, well-paying job at a prestigious telecommunications company in Seoul, Korea, to study abroad, my family and my friends were astonished. Age is a critical factor in the Korean job market and once well-established in a job, especially in year mid-thirties as I was, people don’t just leave. However, even with a good job and the comforts of an upper middle class lifestyle, I still felt a void. I chose to take the road less traveled, to pursue my childhood dream of becoming a research scholar who would provide valuable knowledge to students and professionals. After a few years in the U.S., I am confident I made a correct decision. Study in the U.S. has opened up a new academic world and given me a sense of accomplishment.
 

My ultimate career goal stems from my academic and professional experience. As my curriculum vitae indicates, I majored in aesthetics at Seoul National University and thus became well acquainted with creativity in fine arts and the cultural contexts of arts. After graduation, working as a copywriter for the advertising agency Han Comm Inc. (an affiliate of Lintas Worldwide), I became interested in creativity as a persuasive factor in advertising. In 1993, I moved to SK Telecom Company, a top cutting-edge technology-based company in Korea. As their advertising manager, I was fortunate to have the opportunity to use advanced communications technologies for more effective advertising strategies.
 

This professional experience motivated me to supplement my experience with advanced study. As I pursued a master’s degree in advertising at Chung-Ang University, Seoul, I was attracted to academic research in this field. Furthermore, I realized that the advertising industry in Korea was in need of a more solid theoretical foundation, and that my graduate education was only a starting point in gaining the necessary knowledge. Such realization sparked my desire to pursue further study in the U.S. While preparing for advanced study in the U.S., I taught advertising and communications theory classes at the university level. At the same time, I wrote many columns for a monthly trade publication, Consumer Culture, which helped to enhance my understanding of consumer culture.
 

Instead of immediately applying for a doctoral program in the U.S., I have chosen to pursue a second master’s at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, because I need a fundamental understanding of American perspectives on the advertising system. After receiving a second master's degree May 2000,  I transferred to the doctoral program at the University of Missouri, Columbia. Since 1998 when I began studyng in the U.S., I have also been writing magazine articles about the U.S. advertising industry for a Seoul-based trade publication, Daehong Communications, to gain fundamental knowledge of the U.S. advertising system.

As a doctoral student, I basically hope to have a comprehensive and thorough understanding of communications theories and research methodologies including quantitative and qualitative approaches. Based on this understanding, I would like to concentrate my study on the following areas. First, I have interests in cultural implications of communications. This focuses on how advertising as a mass communication has constructed and developed consumer culture in a society. The second area is advertising creative strategies, in which cultural values particularly influence consumer behaviors. Finally, I developed special interests in the impact of communication technologies on advertising creative strategies. ‘Culture,’ ‘creativity,’ and ‘technology’ in advertising are three key words which have kept my attention since I started to work in this field.
 

I believe that my previous education and work experience will help my studies in communications, and that I will be able to contribute to the academic community in my area of interest