Greetings!
I am Im Joo Rhyu, President of the Korean Association of Anatomists.

Dear honorable and proud members of the Korean Association of Anatomists:

I will serve as the president of the Korean Association of Anatomists for the next two years. Since its humble beginnings in 1947 with just 12 members, our association has enjoyed a rich history and tradition and evolved into a leading society for basic medicine with more than 1,200 members, nearly 100 times its original size. I believe this is due to the passion of our senior professors, colleagues, and junior members who worked tirelessly with pride and the belief that anatomy is the foundation of all medicine.

In the long history of the Korean Association of Anatomists, there have been many evolutionary changes, especially in recent years. We have successfully hosted two conferences of the Asia Pacific International Congress of Anatomists (APICA) and will host the International Federation of Associations of Anatomists (IFAA) in Gwangju in 2024. In 2021, we were awarded the prestigious “Academy Grand Award” by the Korean Academy of Medical Sciences for the first time as a basic research association. This is thanks to the active participation of our members.

I look forward to embracing the assets and strategies of my predecessors that have made our association successful and adding my own creative ideas to ensure continued progress. I as well as the executives who will serve with me, have set the following topics as the top five goals for our association and will do our best to keep on track to achieve these goals.

First, we are going to create a place where we can actively contemplate about anatomy, the fundamental common interest of our members. To this end, we will organize a workshop for members of the Korean Association of Anatomists to discuss and practice related subjects such as anatomy, histology, and neuroanatomy.

Second, we will prepare topics of common interest for all members for discussion at the academic conference, along with the latest subjects in the field, to have the conference cover various research topics and activities of our diverse members.

Third, we will endeavor to achieve our long-awaited entry into the journal Science Citation Index Expanded (SCIE).

Fourth, we will work diligently to prepare for the successful hosting of IFAA in 2024 and hand it over to the next executives.

Fifth, we will open our doors to all medical-related societies and individuals who believe that anatomy is necessary and important to broaden the scope of our activities and fulfill our social responsibilities.

We look forward to your interest and participation in the future of our association as it continues to grow and protect the pride of its members who study and teach anatomy—the foundation and starting point of medicine and the center of morphology.

Thank you.