Forty Years Together, New Leap Forward! The 40th Anniversary of the Korean Endocrine Society

On July 8, 2022, the 40th anniversary ceremony of the Korean Endocrine Society (KES) was held at Sofitel Ambassador Seoul Hotel in Jamsil-dong, Songpa-gu, Seoul. The number of members of the KES is 1,738 as of October 2022, and its official journal (Endocrinology and Metabolism [EnM]) has been listed as a Science Citation Index Expanded (SCIE) journal since August 2019. The impact factor of EnM was 3.607 in 2021. The Seoul International Congress of Endocrinology and Metabolism (SICEM), which is an international academic conference held by the KES, had its 10th anniversary this year. The 10th SICEM took place in Gwangju at Kimdaejung Convention Center between October 27 and 29, 2022. This was the first face-to-face meeting of the KES in 3 years, as the previous two SICEMs were delivered in a virtual format (hybrid) because of the social distancing regulations and public health guidelines associated with the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. The participants were delighted to return to the vibrant, friendly, familial atmosphere of the SICEM as a social meeting and celebrate the 40th anniversary of the KES. The total number of attendees from Korea and abroad returned to the pre-COVID-19 levels. There were many events and displays reminding us that this was the 40th anniversary meeting, including clinical and basic topics based on the outstanding progress that has been made during the last four decades in managing major endocrine diseases (five main symposia discussing about diabetes, bone and mineral diseases, obesity/metabolism, thyroid diseases, and adrenal/pituitary diseases, special symposia, clinical updates, award sessions, hot topics, and meet-the professor sessions). In addition, EnM celebrated its 10th anniversary of publication as an international English academic journal. SICEM provided an opportunity to show the status of the KES, which was founded by our precursors and has grown steadily over the past 40 years (Fig. 1). It is generally accepted that the roots of the establishment of the KES lay in efforts to bring together endocrinology specialists in Korea to attend the Endocrine Symposium, which was held monthly starting on March 28, 1979, with the support of Professor Hun Ki Min of the Medical School of Seoul National University, professor Young Kil Choi of the Medical School of Kyunghee University, and professor Kap Bum Hur of the Medical School of Yonsei University, who were pioneers in endocrinology in Korea. At this first meeting, 13 ‘endocrinologists’ (Gwang Wook Ko, Dong Jip Kim, Seung Jo Kim, Hun Ki Min, Byong Sok Min, Hyung Ro Moon, Sang Ho Baik, Hong Kyu Lee, Sang Yong Lee, Jong Moo Lee, Young Kil Choi, Bum Suk Tchai, and Kap Bum Hur) and colleagues discussed three rare