Trends in Business Communication Research, Teaching, and Academic Societies in Korean Higher Education

Abstract

Objectives This paper investigates the contemporary academic trend in business communication in Korea. It tries to address the question of whether Korean business communicators are teaching business communication, and if they are, which kinds of business communication they teach, which traditions they follow, and how the teaching trend is projected to research trends in business communication in Korea. Methods This study first examines web content on business communication curricula and then conducts a content analysis of the websites of Korean communication associations as well as related qualitative interviews with professors whose academic interest is related to business communication in order to address some particular research questions. Results This study shows that business communication education in Korean universities (in communications departments) has a lack of variety (i.e., a predominance of organizational communication and media studies) and that actual business communication education (with an emphasis on language use in business contexts) is not done in courses titled Business Communication. Conclusions Nevertheless, interviewees expect a bright future for Korean business communication in both teaching and research (i.e., increasing the number of business communication courses to conduct a government-funded research project; establishing academic associations focusing on business and professional communication).