• Journal of Music and Human Behavior
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.55-77
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• 2013

The purpose of this study was to identify current trends in music therapy literature in Korea in order to provide the groundwork for future research. Therefore, 122 articles from the Korean Journal of Music Therapy (KJMT) from 1999 to 2012 and 76 articles from the Journal of Music and Human Behavior (JMHB, formerly known as Korean Journal of Music Therapy Education) from 2004 to 2012 were analyzed. Analysis was performed by identifying the frequency and percentage of the following items: type, population, topic, and methodology of published articles. In addition, the results obtained were compared and contrasted between these two publications. Overall, it was found that there was a high prevalence of descriptive studies (KJMT, 46%,; JMHB, 45%), applied research (KJMT, 51%; JMHB 66%), and quantitative studies (KJMT, 82%; JMHB 37%). In addition, ordinary people with no particular diagnosis were the most often studied population (34%). Differences were found in that a historical study was only found in KJMT whereas a philosophical study was published only in JMHB. Further analysis revealed that JMHB included a higher proportion of applied research than KJMT. In KJMT, quantitative research was appeared twice as often as qualitative and mixed-method research combined. On the other hand, a similar number of each of the three methodological types of studies appeared in JMHB. In conclusion, this study indicates that more effort should be made to increase the quantity and improve the quality of professional publications in the field of music therapy in Korea.