University of Iowa graduate student Byung Wook Kim was on campus when he received emails stating he won two honors for his research on climate change coverage in his home country of South Korea.

Because of the public setting, he was forced to contain his excitement until he got home, he said.

“My wife cried,” Kim said. “For some people, it may not mean a lot, but for me it was really big.” Byung Wook Kim, known by UI students as BK, won both the Ballard/Seashore Fellowship and the Korean American Communication Association Dissertation Award. The Ballard/Seashore Fellowship is granted through the UI Graduate College, giving winners one final semester devoted specifically to finishing their dissertation. Come 2019, Kim, a teaching assistant and Ph.D. student in the UI School of Journalism and Mass Communication, will no longer serve as a TA for Media Uses and Effects.

UI Assistant Professor Rachel Young said Kim has been part of the class since she began teaching it in 2014.

“BK always has time for students,” Young said. “He takes their learning very personally and carefully. He always takes the time to make sure they understand, and students really appreciate that personal commitment. It’s really hard to imagine Media Uses and Effects without BK.”

After getting a bachelor’s degree in engineering in South Korea, Kim lost interest for furthering his education in the field, he said. He had worked for a radio station during his undergraduate years and developed a passion for media studies. That brought him to the United States to pursue a master’s degree in communication from Iowa State University.

Kim arrived at the UI in 2013. After applying to many Ph.D. programs around the country, he said, the UI was at the top of his list after hearing about the renowned mass-communication program it offered. Also, with the arrival of a new baby, moving from Ames to Iowa City was easiest for his growing family, he said.

Kim also won the Korean American Communication Association Dissertation Award. According to the association’s website, the award aims to assists researchers covering a Korea-related project.

With the goal of defending his dissertation in May 2019, Kim said he can focus on the completion of his studies. Kim’s research focuses on how journalists cover climate change in South Korea.

RELATED: UI journalism professor gains tenure and new position leading undergraduate studies

Kim uses big-data analytics, a system that allows researchers to go beyond manual-content analysis, to analyze thousands of sources quickly, said journalism Associate Professor Frank Durham, BK’s adviser. Because Kim is using this method, he can gather data from 20,000 different Korean news stories at one time, searching specific words and phrases relating to climate change. In contrast, the most news stories Durham has ever manually analyzed was around 700, he said.

“His work is special because big-data analysis is new to mass-communication studies and he’s the pioneer. He is doing something innovative that is going to get a lot of notice,” Durham said. “I think a lot of people, especially students, don’t recognize that success comes from putting your best foot forward, and that’s what he’s doing.”

With Durham’s help, Kim is applying for higher-education teaching jobs around the country. However, Kim’s research may never be complete, he said.

“I’m not sure whether I can feel that end moment, even though I will defend [my dissertation],” Kim said. “I still have some questions and think about some current limitations with [my research]. I will keep those issues for advancing.”