In 2014, two remarkable changes were made in the official journal of the Korean Academy of Orofacial Pain and Oral Medicine. First, the title of the journal was changed from Korean Journal of Oral medicine to Journal of Oral Medicine and Pain (JOMP). Next, the publication language of the journal was declared as English-only. Through the title change, the editorial board of JOMP attempted to communicate that the new journal would be a comprehensive academic journal covering oral medicine and orofacial pain, including temporomandibular joint disorders. Furthermore, by adopting the English publication format, the editorial committee attempted to promote the international contribution of JOMP through active academic communications with clinicians and researchers around the world.

After declaring these two important changes, we have steadily pursued the improvement and developments of JOMP. We have established a journal submission-review system so that the submission, review, and publication process of papers can be conducted fairly and easily. Additionally, by declaring an open access policy, anyone interested in the papers can download it for free on the journal website (www.journalomp.org). As a result of these vigorous efforts, international submissions are gradually increasing, and submissions by researchers from other fields conducting research related to oral medicine and orofacial pain are also increasing. Moreover, the download statistics indicate that, although JOMP is an official journal of the Korean Academy of Orofacial Pain and Oral Medicine, the number of downloads of JOMP is rapidly increasing not only in Korea but also in various countries globally. I am extremely proud of the aforementioned steady and meaningful progress of JOMP. These achievements were possible because the Korean Academy of Orofacial Pain and Oral Medicine provided generous financial support to JOMP. I would also like to express my gratitude to Professors Jae-Kap Choi and Hong-Seop Kho, the senior editors of JOMP, who provided valuable advice and continued support for the journal. I would also like to thank Professor Jinkyu Kang, who has devoted himself to being the associated editor of JOMP over the past decade.

In 2022, JOMP celebrates the 50th anniversary of its publication. Given the achievements achieved over the past 50 years, JOMP should further strive to make a leap forward for the next 50 years. Therefore, I believed that a new editor-in-chief with intuition and knowledge should lead the JOMP editorial committee to seek and promote the future development plans. From this issue, Volume 47, No. 2, Professor Hye-Kyoung Kim will serve as the editor-in-chief of JOMP, and I believe she is the right person to be the leader of JOMP. As this change begins, I hope that JOMP will become a leading academic journal in the field of oral medicine and orofacial pain not only in Korea but also in Asia and worldwide.

No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.