Kyeongin BaekRESEARCH · MEDIA · CULTURE

02 / Kyeongin Baek

Academic Journey

From business and marketing at Beijing Foreign Studies University to journalism and communication at Tsinghua University — two English-taught degrees, one growing question about how media earn trust.

01 / Education

Education & Honors

  1. Sep. 2025 – Present

    Tsinghua University — School of Journalism and Communication · Beijing, China

    M.A., Journalism and Communication (Global Business Journalism Program)

    • Ranked 1st / 107
    • Talent Scholarship 2025
    • GPA 3.8 / 4.0 — ranked 1st of 107 (as of June 2026)
    • Second Class Talent Scholarship (2025)
    • Thesis (in progress): AI news anchors’ nonverbal cues and news credibility in South Korea and China · Advisor: Prof. Zhang Li

  2. Sep. 2019 – Jun. 2025

    Beijing Foreign Studies University — International Business School (IBS) · Beijing, China

    Bachelor of Business Administration, International Marketing

    • Academic Scholarship × 2
    • BFSU Academic Scholarship, Second Tier (2023, 2024)
    • BGS & BFSU Scholarship, Third Tier (2024)
    • Thesis: individual preferences and job satisfaction in the gig economy, a factor analysis · Advisor: Prof. Ma Qin
    • Studies paused Aug. 2020 – Apr. 2022 for mandatory military service in the Republic of Korea Navy.

02 / Research

Theses

M.A. Thesis / In progress

AI News Anchors’ Smiles, Bowing Depth, and News Credibility: A South Korea–China Comparison of Indirect Effects Through Perceived Eeriness

Tsinghua University · Advisor: Prof. Zhang Li · Expected 2027

AI news anchors are already on air in both South Korea and China, but audiences may not read their nonverbal behavior the same way. This thesis asks whether two culturally loaded greetings — a smile and a bow — make an AI anchor more credible, or push it into the uncanny valley. Two between-subjects experiments vary smile intensity (Study 1) and bowing depth (Study 2) for Korean and Chinese participants. Perceived eeriness is tested as the pathway from each cue to news credibility, with country as the moderator.

Research question
Do an AI anchor’s smile and bow raise news credibility, or lower it by making the anchor feel eerie — and does the answer differ between Korea and China?
Theory
Computers Are Social Actors (CASA) paradigm · expectancy violation theory · the uncanny valley
Design
Two 3 × 2 between-subjects experiments (three cue levels × two countries)
Measures
Perceived eeriness (Ho & MacDorman) · message credibility (Appelman & Sundar)
Analysis
Moderated mediation (PROCESS Model 8)
Status
Proposal approved · experiments in preparation
Proposed conceptual model / PROCESS Model 8

The model is specified separately for Study 1 and Study 2.

Proposed M.A. thesis conceptual model The independent variable is the AI anchor’s nonverbal cue: smile intensity in Study 1, or bowing depth in Study 2, with three levels in each study. Path a connects the cue to perceived eeriness. Path b connects perceived eeriness to news credibility. Path c prime is the cue’s direct effect on credibility. Country, South Korea versus China, moderates path a and path c prime, shown with dashed arrows. It does not moderate path b. Perceived eeriness uses the Ho and MacDorman index; credibility uses the Appelman and Sundar scale. The research proposal is approved and experiments are in preparation. AI anchor’s nonverbal cue Independent variable Study 1: smile intensity Study 2: bowing depth Three levels in each study Perceived eeriness Mediator · Ho and MacDorman index News credibility Outcome · Appelman and Sundar scale Country Moderator South Korea vs. China a b c′ direct effect moderates a moderates c′ Proposed M.A. thesis model, arranged vertically The AI anchor’s nonverbal cue is smile intensity in Study 1 or bowing depth in Study 2, with three levels in each study. The solid a path runs from the cue to perceived eeriness. The solid b path runs from perceived eeriness to news credibility. The solid c prime path on the left runs directly from the cue to credibility. Country, South Korea versus China, has two dashed arrows: one to path a and one to path c prime. Country does not moderate path b. Perceived eeriness uses the Ho and MacDorman index, and news credibility uses the Appelman and Sundar scale. The experiments are in preparation. Country Moderator South Korea vs. China AI anchor’s nonverbal cue Independent variable Study 1: smile intensity Study 2: bowing depth Three levels in each study Perceived eeriness Mediator · Ho and MacDorman index News credibility Outcome · Appelman and Sundar scale a b c′ direct effect moderates a moderates c′

Paths a and b form the indirect pathway through perceived eeriness; c′ is the direct effect on credibility. Country moderates a and c′. Dashed arrows show moderation.

Figure 1. Conceptual model. An AI anchor’s smile intensity (Study 1) or bowing depth (Study 2) is expected to shape news credibility through perceived eeriness, and country (South Korea vs. China) moderates the cue’s effects on eeriness and on credibility. Dashed arrows mark moderation.

B.B.A. Thesis / 2025

A Factor Analysis on the Effects of Individual Preferences on Job Satisfaction in the Gig Economy

Beijing Foreign Studies University, International Business School · Advisor: Prof. Ma Qin

What makes gig work satisfying? This study used factor analysis to identify the underlying dimensions of gig workers’ individual preferences and examined how each dimension relates to their job satisfaction. It was my first full quantitative project, and it laid the methodological groundwork for my experimental research at Tsinghua.

03 / Publications

Published work

Two conference publications from my undergraduate years, in regional development and economic theory.

2025

Baek, K., & Malkov, K. B. (2025). Separate and Special Mechanisms for the Strategic Development of Tourist Destinations Using the Example of Yangyang County in South Korea [in Russian]. In Relevant Issues of Economic Sciences and Contemporary Management: Collection of Articles Based on the Materials of the XCV International Scientific and Practical Conference (No. 6(78), pp. 103–117). Novosibirsk: SibAC. ISSN 2587-9219.

A case study of destination-development strategy in Yangyang County, Gangwon Province. I wrote the English manuscript and conducted the analysis; Prof. Malkov revised it and translated it into Russian for publication.

Cite

Baek, K., & Malkov, K. B. (2025). Separate and Special Mechanisms for the Strategic Development of Tourist Destinations Using the Example of Yangyang County in South Korea [in Russian]. In Relevant Issues of Economic Sciences and Contemporary Management: Collection of Articles Based on the Materials of the XCV International Scientific and Practical Conference (No. 6(78), pp. 103–117). Novosibirsk: SibAC. ISSN 2587-9219.

2023

Baek, K. (2023). The Review of Kondratieff’s Static Theory [in Russian]. In Proceedings of the VII International Scientific and Practical Conference “Accounting, Analysis and Audit: Status and Prospects of Development” (pp. 409–410). Luhansk State University.

A short review of N. D. Kondratieff’s static theory in economics.

Cite

Baek, K. (2023). The Review of Kondratieff’s Static Theory [in Russian]. In Proceedings of the VII International Scientific and Practical Conference “Accounting, Analysis and Audit: Status and Prospects of Development” (pp. 409–410). Luhansk State University.

04 / Academic community

Academic Engagements & Teaching

Since 2025, I have spoken at or co-hosted four sessions at international forums in Beijing, and I currently teach Korean at Tsinghua.

Teaching

Learning across languages.

Sept. – Dec. 2026 · Korean Language Teaching Assistant, Tsinghua University Language Center, Beijing

Supporting Korean-language instruction for Tsinghua students.