Korean Society of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons Joint Editorial Symposium 2013

On July 19, 2013, the Joint Editorial Symposium for three affiliated academic journals of the Korean Society of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons was held in the museum auditorium at Hanyang University in Seoul (Fig. 1).

Fig. 1

The main participants of the Korean Society of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons Joint Editorial Symposium 2013.

The first topic of discussion was suggested by Professor Sun Huh of Hallym University. It involved the conversion of the Archives of Craniofacial Surgery, which is still published in Korean, to an English-medium publication, and the increase of the frequency of publication to four times annually, both of which will qualify the journal to be listed in Pubmed Central (PMC) and Scopus.

Professor In-Hong Choi, the Editor-in-Chief of Yonsei Medical Journal, which has a considerable reputation, provided advice for the Archives of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, which has just been converted to an English version, on making changes needed to be successful as an English-language journal, just as the Archives of Plastic Surgery (APS) did two years ago.

APS is now registered in several databases including PubMed Central, PubMed, Scopus, EBSCO, and the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ).

The English version of the journal was launched in 2012, and APS is hoping to be recognized as an Science Citation Index (Expanded; SCI[E]) journal in 2015 based on its 2014 impact factor (IF). There are four criteria for achieving SCI status: 'basic journal publishing standards', 'editorial content', 'international diversity', and 'citation analysis'. Up to the present, APS has satisfied 'basic journal publication standards'. Notably, in the 'international diversity' category which had been a weak area, the proportion of overseas contributors has been increased to 26%, and ongoing growth in contributions from international authors can be expected. Among the four criteria mentioned above, the most important factor for SCI registration is 'citation analysis', that is presented as 'impact factor' (IF). The IF refers to the average number of citations of articles published during the two previous years in the current year's papers. Thus the IF of APS can be first calculated in 2014. Thus achieving a high score on the IF criterion is possible if APS articles published in 2012 and 2013 are cited by many SCI papers published in other journals in 2014.

During the Joint Editorial Symposium, Professor Kun Hwang of Inha University led an interactive discussion on the topic of current real conditions, expectations for the future, and ideal directions for APS stakeholders, including subscribers, publishers, editors, authors, and reviewers. In addition, Mr. Dong Sik Shim of Thompson Reuters Corporation and Ms. Hye Min Cho, who is CEO of Infolumi Corporation and in charge of manuscript editing of APS, provided lectures on strategies for qualifying for SCI(E) status. After the lectures, there was a time for questions and answers.

The participants dined on roasted beef together after the meeting at a Korean restaurant, Yourae.

The next day, July 20, all the members of the three editorial boards played a friendship golf tournament at Suwon Country Club. Despite the long rainy season this year, the time was perfect for a round of golf because the weather was relatively clear that day (Fig. 2).

Fig. 2

The participants in the friendship golf cup. Prof. JT Kim (farthest left), the editor-in-chief of Archives of Plastic Surgery, and Prof. YH Kim (second from the left), the co-editor of Archives of Plastic Surgery, are in the back row. Dr. TS Rho, the rightmost in the back row, made a hole-in-one.

It is worth noting that Professor Tae Suk Rho of Gangnam Severance Hospital made a hole-in-one, which made this match even more memorable.

The Joint Editorial Symposium is supposed to be held annually; however, this symposium was held two years after the last one because it was skipped in 2012. We can look forward to the ongoing discussions and social events that will be held in future years.