Professor Han Woo PARK from the Cyber Emotions Research Center at YeungNam University was inducted as a Fellow of the International Communication Association (ICA) at the 2023 ICA Conference in Toronto, one of the top honors in the field of communication. 

(https://www.icahdq.org/general/custom.asp?page=Fellows#:~:text=Fellow%20status%20in%20the%20International,documented%20record%20of%20scholarly%20achievement)

The ICA grants the status of Fellow to communication scholars who have made distinguished contributions to the field. To be considered, candidates must be nominated by ICA members based on a documented record of outstanding scholarly achievement and secure a majority vote from ICA’s current Fellows. As of the annual ICA census (August 2021), living ICA fellows account for 4.5% of overall membership.

Professor George A. Barnett, an internationally renowned professor at the University of California, Davis, highlighted Dr. Park's exceptional dedication to the increasingly globalized and interdisciplinary field of communication in his nomination letter. Several distinguished scholars in the field have endorsed the nomination, including Professor Steve Jones, the founding president of the Association of Internet Researchers and the founding editor of New Media & Society. Professor Randy Kluver, for example, has acknowledged Dr. Park's significant methodological contribution to the field of study.

Congratulations to Han!

Here is an acceptance speech from Dr. Park

Good evening, everyone. I am Han Woo Park from Yeungnam University in Daegu-Gyeongbuk area in South Korea, not from Seoul. 

This fellowship from the International Communication Association (ICA) is a great honor and makes me feel very small. I'd like to thank the individuals who wrote a letter and everyone who voted for me to be elected. Professor George A. Barnett, my former adviser, deserves special appreciation. 

My path to becoming a communication scholar has been challenging but enjoyable. It is a fun, indeed. I'm grateful for the opportunities and experiences that got me here. I'm proud of the research my team has done on social media, hyperlink networks, and triple helix. My moto is “Collaborate or Fall Behind.” I hope that our publications have had a positive impact on the field.

This award means a lot to me because it shows how important interdisciplinary research on communication is and how it shapes our society. As scholars in this field, we have a duty to use what we know to make the globe a better place, and I'm committed to keeping up this work.

I'd like to thank my families, students, colleagues, and mentors for all the encouragement they've given me and for making me want to do my best research. I'd also like to recognize the amazing achievement of my colleagues in the field, like the late Professor Loet Leydesdorff, who keep pushing the limits of what we know about social communication.

As I look to the future, I'm excited to keep investigating interdisciplinary communication issues using big data and AI analytics. Again, thank you to the ICA for this recognition and to everyone else for their kindness and support.