Dear Members of the Academy of Qualitative Research,

I am Kuem-Ju Park, the newly appointed president of the Academy of Qualitative Research for the year 2026.

The Academy of Qualitative Research is a multidisciplinary association that actively engages in academic exchanges with qualitative researchers from various fields such as nursing, public health, sociology, social welfare, psychology, education, art therapy, North Korean studies, and philosophy.

The Academy took its first steps as the "Korean Qualitative Research Association" in 1998 when it hosted a qualitative research methodology workshop with Janice Morse. Since then, the Academy has contributed to the expansion of knowledge and the academic development of qualitative research through the journal (Qualitative Research) launched in 2000.

Over the years, the Academy has invited renowned qualitative researchers from home and abroad to host academic conferences and workshops, introducing diverse qualitative research methodologies and suggesting new directions for the development of qualitative research in line with the changing times. The Academy has also been operating book publications, translations, research support projects, and educational programs to strengthen the expertise of researchers.

Recently, the Academy has been making efforts to establish a virtuous cycle for the advancement of qualitative research by providing a foundation for researchers to apply various qualitative research methods through research support projects and sharing their findings at academic conferences and in the journal. Particularly, the Academy has been conducting continuous workshops on the topic of qualitative research analysis methods and the utilization of AI tools, pondering the role of qualitative researchers that shines even brighter in the AI era, and fulfilling its responsibility to communicate with qualitative researchers in step with the changing times.

Once again, I would like to express my gratitude to all of you who have visited our website. Based on the achievements of the Academy of Qualitative Research over the past 30 years, we look forward to working together to achieve new developments in qualitative research.

Thank you.