Korea Institute of Oriental Medicine's journal IMR achieves impact factor of 4.9, cementing global standing

Integrative Medicine Research (IMR), an international academic journal published by the Korea Institute of Oriental Medicine, has recorded an impact factor of 4.9 in the latest Journal Citation Reports (JCR) released by Clarivate.

IMR is the only journal in Korea's traditional medicine field listed in the Science Citation Index Expanded (SCIE). It is published four times a year as a free open-access journal.

The JCR is a globally recognized journal evaluation report covering only publications that meet the rigorous quality standards of Web of Science. Researchers, academic institutions and publishers worldwide use it as a key indicator for assessing a journal's influence and credibility.

Of the 49 journals listed in the JCR's integrative and complementary medicine category, IMR ranked 10th — placing it in the top 19.8 percent and earning a Q1 rating, the journal's highest ranking to date.

IMR has also recorded a CiteScore of 5.4 on Elsevier's Scopus-based journal evaluation metric, maintaining a Q1 rating for four consecutive years. The Q1 designation means a journal falls within the top 25 percent of publications in its field by influence, with journals divided into four quartiles — Q1 through Q4 — in equal 25-percent bands.

This year, IMR was also designated the official journal of the International Society for Complementary, Alternative and Integrative Medicine Research.

Ko Seong-gyu, president of the Korea Institute of Oriental Medicine and editor-in-chief of IMR, said the achievement "is a deeply meaningful result that shows IMR is being recognized for the quality and impact of its research in the international academic community." He added that the institute would "continue to make every effort to grow IMR into a journal of world-class authority in the field of complementary and alternative medicine."