Professor Kim Myung Ja

Professor Kim Myung Ja

  • Distinguished Professor
Department of Marketing Strategy & Innovation
  • ºìÐÓÊÓƵ Business School
SDGs Focus

Biography

Dr. Myung Ja Kim is a Distinguished Professor at ºìÐÓÊÓƵ Business School and Founding Director of AirStas. Recognized among the Top 2% most cited scientists globally by Stanford University and Elsevier, her pioneering research encompasses sustainable tourism, space tourism, artificial intelligence, and digitalization. With over 100 high-impact journal articles and multiple Best Paper awards, she brings profound expertise to her field. Prof. Kim has secured over USD 8 million in major research grants. She actively serves as an Associate Editor for the Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management and on numerous top-tier editorial boards. 

Academic & Professional Qualifications

  • Ph.D. in Tourism, Hanyang University, South Korea (1994)
  • Master of Business Administration (MBA), Kyung Hee University, South Korea (1986)
  • Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in Physics, Chonnam University, South Korea (1981)
  • Teacher Certificate, Ministry of Education, South Korea (1981)

Research Interests

  • Artificial Intelligence and Digitalization in Business - Metaverse, VR, Web 3.0
  • Space Tourism and Commercial Aerospace Ecosystems
  • Sustainable Tourism, ESG, and Climate Crisis Mitigation
  • Advanced Data Analytics and Tourist Behavior

Teaching Areas

  • SSCI Research Development Utilizing AI
  • Research Methodology using AI
  • Artificial Intelligence Seminar
  • Hotel & Tourism Marketing Seminar

Courses Taught

  • Research Methodology and Data Analytics utilizing AI
  • Smart Tourism and Digital Transformation
  • Hospitality and Tourism Marketing Strategy
  • SSCI Research Development and Publishing Strategy

Notable Publications

  1. Kim, J. S., Hall, C. M., Goh, K. B., & Kim, M. J. (2026). Stress and mindfulness in nature-based tourism: An integrated model of restoration and coping. Journal of Outdoor Recreation and Tourism, 53, 101017. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jort.2026.101017
  2. Jo, Y., Park, J., Jo, H., Kim, D. K., & Kim, M. J. (2026). Tourist preferences and willingness-to-pay for nighttime tourism using discrete choice experiment. International Journal of Tourism Research. https://doi.org/10.1002/jtr.70202
  3. Kang, S., Kim, M. J., Olya, H., & Kim, J. S. (2026). Can I trust GenAI to plan my next trip? A multi-method approach to optimizing media mix. Journal of Travel Research, 65(2), 335-353. https://doi.org/10.1177/00472875241305630
  4. Franco, S., Presenza, A., Petruzzelli, A. M., & Kim, M. J. (2025). Metaverse applications in hotel chains: Value creation and value capture mechanisms. Journal of Hospitality Marketing & Management. https://doi.org/10.1080/19368623.2025.2577338
  5. Xiaoxin, L., Konar, R., & Kim, M. J. (2025). The impact of human-robot collaboration on hotel employees: A meta-analytic exploration of behavioral intentions and influencing factors from the UTAUT perspective. International Journal of Hospitality Management. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhm.2025.104492
  6. Kim, J. S., Goh, B., Hall, C. M., & Kim, M. J. (2025). Pathways to quality of life: Roles of customer orientation, organizational commitment, leadership, and job engagement among hotel staff facing job insecurity. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 132, 104400. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhm.2025.104400
  7. Seyfi, S., Kim, M. J., Lee, C., Jo, Y., & Zaman, M. (2025). Exploring Functional and Psychological Barriers to Generative AI Adoption for Travel: A Cross-Cultural Study. Journal of Travel Research. https://doi.org/10.1177/0047287525133295
  8. Kim, M. J., Barnes, J. S., & Kang, S. (2025). Embracing sustainable diversity climates in hospitality and tourism: Insights from prospective employees on human-robot collaboration. Journal of Sustainable Tourism. https://doi.org/10.1080/09669582.2025.2459628
  9. Kim, M. J., Hall, C. M., Kwon, O., Hwang, K., & Kim, J. S. (2024). AI’s role in making space tourism more sustainable: Applying mixed methods to compare on-Earth, sub-orbital, and orbital space tourism. Journal of Smart Tourism, 4(3), 9-21.
  10. Kim, M. J., Hall, C. M., Kwon, O., & Sohn, K. (2024). Space tourism: Value-attitude-behavior theory, artificial intelligence, and sustainability. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 77, 103654. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretconser.2023.103654
     

Achievements & Accolades

  1. World's Top 2% Most Cited Scientist: Consistently featured among the Top 2% most cited scientists globally across all disciplines by Stanford University and Elsevier from 2021 to 2025.
  2. Major Research Grants (>USD 8 Million): Secured highly competitive funding as Principal Investigator (PI) for massive, multi-year national grants mapping the sustainability and risks of commercial space tourism, climate resilience, and ESG.
  3. Founding Director, AirStas: Established and leads The AI Research Center for Space Tourism and Sustainability, driving vast global interdisciplinary research projects across nine countries.
  4. Top National Academic Rankings: Ranked 2nd and 4th overall in South Korea across all academic fields per the P-ranking database.
  5. Academic Excellence Awards: Recipient of the Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award, Kyung Hee Fellow Professor Award, and multiple 'Best Paper' awards at international conferences.

Professional Associations

  1. High-Impact Editorial Leadership: Associate Editor for the Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management (SSCI, Q1) and editorial board member for over 10 premier SSCI-indexed journals (e.g., JTR, IJCHM, JST).
  2. Scientific Committee & Track Co-Chair: R&D Management Conference (2024, 2025) and Global Congress of Special Interest Tourism & Hospitality Conference.
  3. Panel Member / Evaluator: Evaluation Panel Member for The Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT), Portugal, and the National Research Foundation of Korea.
  4. Professional Memberships: Active member of the Travel and Tourism Research Association (TTRA), The Tourism Sciences Society of Korea (TOSOK), and The Korean Society for Aeronautical and Space Sciences.
  5. NGO Leadership: Former Secretary-General, International Committee of the Senior Citizens’ Culture Association, Korea Senior Citizens Association (KSCA).