PRS Korea 2017 & 2018: How to organize an International Plastic Surgery Congress and how to make it more attractive

The Korean Society of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons (KSPRS) was established in 1966. Since then, it has held an annual national congress, mostly to provide a venue for plastic surgeons in South Korea to share knowledge and experience. The Korean plastic surgery industry received worldwide recognition since the 2000s due to its role in developing original surgical techniques and concepts for Asian patients, and the 50th anniversary congress of the KSPRS was a major success based on the international congress format. In 2017, when preparing the 75th Annual Congress of the KSPRS, the tasks of the chairman of the Academic Affairs Committee included how to maintain this impact for the upcoming congress and how to make the congress more attractive. The organizers of many plastic surgery-related congresses seem to face similar challenges.

First, the number of the nationwide speakers is limited. Moreover, the panelists and their topics tend to be similar each year, making it increasingly difficult to attract the interest of potential participants. Second, financial limitations of the society hinder sending invitations to renowned faculty from overseas. Third, the official language of the congress remains a huge obstacle to international participation. Most national congresses are conducted in the country’s native language because the majority of the expected participants are domestic professionals. If English is used as the official language, the number of domestic participants is likely to drop, and the presentations and discussions become much more complicated. We needed to solve these problems to make our PRS Korea Congress internationally attractive. To overcome these obstacles, we reorganized the congress and introduced new programs. In this article, I will share our experiences with these changes.

Publication History

Received: 01 June 2018

Accepted: 02 July 2018

Article published online:
03 April 2022