Our History and Vision

On September 4, 2019, the Media Literacy Research Institute at Kyungin University was established to conduct research and education on new media literacy and digital citizenship, addressing the challenges posed by the digital transformation era.

While media literacy research has a relatively long history in Korea, the advent of data and artificial intelligence-based algorithms—spurred by advances in social media, artificial intelligence, and network technologies—has brought forth unprecedented issues in research and education. This evolution necessitates rigorous academic research into emerging topics and the development of corresponding educational methodologies.

Media literacy encompasses a range of competencies, including visual literacy, multiliteracy, multimodality literacy, network literacy, algorithmic literacy, platform literacy, social media literacy, digital literacy, and digital media literacy. It fundamentally involves a critical understanding of media messages and operations, alongside practical application. To this end, the Media Literacy Research Center at Kyungin University is dedicated to leading research, education, policy formulation, and practical application of media literacy in Korea, employing a multidisciplinary approach.

Despite growing interest in media literacy in educational institutions and society at large, the academic underpinning of media literacy education, particularly in the context of evolving digital media, remains underdeveloped. Current educational efforts often do not extend beyond traditional media forms like newspapers and broadcasting or misinterpret the mere use of digital technology as media literacy. Therefore, there is an urgent call for an enriched media literacy framework that fosters a profound understanding, utilization, and innovative design of digital media in light of the latest developments in digital networks, smart devices, and AI algorithms.

The Media Literacy Research Center is committed to enhancing the media literacy comprehension of pre-service teachers at Kyungin University through various research and educational endeavors. Additionally, by advancing the educational qualifications and capabilities of educators in schools and communities, particularly those pursuing a master's in digital media education at the Graduate School of Education, we aim to boost the educational influence on schools and communities. Embracing an interdisciplinary approach that includes the humanities, social sciences, information technology, engineering, as well as the arts and sciences, we aspire to cultivate the interdisciplinary imagination needed by pre-service teachers and to facilitate learner-centered research and educational practices informed by an understanding of the digital culture of learners.

Graduate Programs in Digital Media Education

Center for Media Literacy Research is closely involved in teaching for the M.Ed. Course in Digital Media Education, which was established in May 2021. M.Ed. and Ed.D. in Digital Media Education are designed to cultivate research and evidence-based education for critical understanding and practices in new media literacy and digital citizenship in order to meet the social and educational needs of an era in which daily communication, work, and learning environments are rapidly changing into a digital environment.  


Faculty members come from various academic fields in digital media literacy, social semiotics and discourse analysis, civic education, public history, digital art, storytelling, media law and ethics, and data science. We collaborate both among the faculty members as well as with media industries and the public institutions including schools and youth & media centers, not only in order to foster integrated education and interdisciplinary research but also to develop the capacities of our graduate students in terms of critical understanding, creative use of media, and social participation in the ever-changing digital environment.


Our People


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