PhD Grad Kibum Youn Finds a Future in Teaching Business
It has been a long journey both geographically and timewise for Kibum Youn to walk away from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, with a PhD degree in hand.
Youn came to the United States from South Korea to pursue a career in academia after earning his undergraduate degree with a double major in communications and business administration and a master’s degree in communications in his home country. After some deliberation, he made the decision to earn another master’s in public communication and technology at Colorado State University with a full scholarship.
“In that moment, I was on the fence about entering a PhD program or pursuing another master’s degree, but I felt that the second master’s would benefit my career in academia in the United States and help me overcome my language barrier,” he explained. “Even though we utilize the same concepts for academic work, there are subtle differences. The words we use in Korean may translate differently into English.”
Kibum said he was glad he made that choice, even though it extended his degree-earning efforts by a couple more years. Now, he has mastered his second tongue to the point where he has published four papers in English-language journals during his time in the College of Communication and Information’s PhD program. His dedication to the field has not gone unnoticed, as noted by his advisor, Tombras School of Advertising and Public Relations Professor Eric Haley.
“Kibum has been focused on getting the most of his PhD program from day one. He established goals for publications and exceeded them. He’s leaving us with an impressive resume,” Haley said.
Youn’s decision to come to the CCI PhD program was fueled in part by the abundance of opportunities to prepare for his career in academia, especially to work with Haley, Assistant Professor Matthew Pittman, and many other outstanding faculty members as mentors, all of whom he said have been supportive and influential in developing his academic scholarship. He narrowed his focus from the broader field of communications to advertising due to his interest in consumer behavior and social media advertising, which also forms the foundation of his dissertation.
“Specifically, I’m looking at how people react to personalized advertising on social media. A lot of people think, ‘Oh this is great, because I’m already interested in it.’ However, some simultaneously express concerns, saying, ‘Oh, how do they have my information?’,” he said. “My research area addresses a more specific inquiry: why do firms persist in using ad personalization in data-driven advertising, despite inherent privacy risks? Moreover, I explore how and why the benefits of ad personalization in data-driven advertising on social media outweigh consumers’ backfires, such as privacy concerns, subsequently influencing consumer responses via psychological routes.”
The work Kibum has done in advertising translates well to business, which is exactly where he’s landing after spring graduation; he’s accepted a position as an associate professor of marketing at the Department of Business Administration within Kutztown University of Pennsylvania’s College of Business, where he will teach marketing.
“I earned my PhD in advertising, along with my cognate classes focused on marketing. Advertising offers a unique perspective within communications and it’s closer to the business mindset of marketing and branding,” he said.
While he’s looking forward to taking on this next new challenge, what Kibum is really excited about is the opportunity to relax a little more now that he doesn’t have to worry about an uncertain future and isn’t spending all his time earning a degree.
“I’m ready for a better work-life balance,” he said, with a chuckle.
PhD Grad Kibum Youn Finds a Future in Teaching Business written by Hillary Tune and originally published on the College of Communication & Information site.