Open Access Finder

95 free-to-publish journals published in South Korea

95 peer-reviewed open access journals published in South Korea charge no article processing charge and no other author fees, according to the DOAJ. 61 of them are indexed in Scopus and ranked by SCImago (38 in Q1 or Q2); the rest are listed too, Scopus-ranked journals first. Data snapshot: October 2026.

95journals with no APC
61ranked in Scopus (SCImago)
38ranked Q1 or Q2

Of the Scopus-ranked journals here, 62% are Q1 or Q2 (site-wide: 40%). Their median self-reported time from submission to publication is 12 weeks. The largest subject areas are Medicine, Social Sciences and Nursing. 99% accept manuscripts in English and 26% accept at least one other language.

All 95 journals

Sorted by best SCImago quartile, then SJR. Click a column header to sort by it; click a second column to add a tiebreak. The search box narrows the list. Time to publish is the journal’s own DOAJ figure (average weeks from submission to publication).

#JournalQuartileSJRPublisherLanguagesTime to publish
1Journal of Obesity & Metabolic Syndrome
2508-6235 · 2508-7576
Q13.116Korean Society for the Study of ObesityEnglish19 wk
2Journal of Stroke
2287-6391 · 2287-6405
Q12.705Korean Stroke SocietyEnglish12 wk
3Journal of Lipid and Atherosclerosis
2287-2892 · 2288-2561
Q11.844The Korean Society of Lipid and AtherosclerosisEnglish12 wk
4Journal of Liver Cancer
2288-8128 · 2383-5001
Q11.672Korean Liver Cancer AssociationEnglish12 wk
5International Journal of Heart Failure
2636-154X · 2636-1558
Q11.545Korean Society of Heart FailureEnglish6 wk
6Clinical Hypertension
2056-5909
Q11.439XMLinkEnglish6 wk
7Intestinal Research
1598-9100 · 2288-1956
Q11.266Korean Association for the Study of Intestinal DiseasesEnglish38 wk
8Asian Spine Journal
1976-1902 · 1976-7846
Q11.241Korean Spine SocietyEnglish24 wk
9Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
2713-4148
Q11.205The Korean Pediatric SocietyEnglish60 wk
10Journal of Rheumatic Diseases
2093-940X · 2233-4718
Q11.103Korean College of RheumatologyEnglish12 wk
11Kidney Research and Clinical Practice
2211-9132 · 2211-9140
Q11.071The Korean Society of NephrologyKorean, English10 wk
12Clinics in Shoulder and Elbow
2383-8337 · 2288-8721
Q10.892Korean Shoulder and Elbow SocietyEnglish15 wk
13International Journal of Child Care and Education Policy
2288-6729
Q10.882SpringerOpenEnglish13 wk
14The Korean Journal of Pain
2005-9159 · 2093-0569
Q10.881The Korean Pain SocietyKorean, English16 wk
15Clinics in Orthopedic Surgery
2005-291X · 2005-4408
Q10.868Korean Orthopaedic AssociationEnglish36 wk
16Journal of Educational Evaluation for Health Professions
1975-5937
Q10.857Korea Health Personnel Licensing Examination InstituteEnglish5 wk
17Korean Journal of Family Medicine
2092-6715
Q10.853The Korean Academy of Family MedineKorean, English53 wk
18Annals of Pediatric Endocrinology & Metabolism
2287-1012 · 2287-1292
Q10.82Korean Society of Pediatric EndocrinologyEnglish24 wk
19Investigative and Clinical Urology
2466-0493 · 2466-054X
Q10.781Korean Urological AssociationEnglish4 wk
20Acute and Critical Care
2586-6052 · 2586-6060
Q10.65Korean Society of Critical Care MedicineEnglish12 wk
21Journal of Yeungnam Medical Science
2799-8010
Q10.496Yeungnam University College of Medicine, Yeungnam University Institute Medical ScienceEnglish12 wk
22International Journal of Multicultural Education
1934-5267
Q10.272Yonsei UniversityEnglish52 wk
23Korea Journal
0023-3900 · 2733-9343
Q10.246The Academy of Korean Studies PressEnglish36 wk
24International Journal of Korean History
1598-2041 · 2508-5921
Q10.199Korea University, Center for Korean HistoryEnglish12 wk
25Journal of Movement Disorders
2005-940X · 2093-4939
Q21.026Korean Movement Disorder SocietyEnglish12 wk
26Ultrasonography
2288-5919 · 2288-5943
Q20.787Korean Society of Ultrasound in MedicineEnglish15 wk
27Obstetrics & Gynecology Science
2287-8572 · 2287-8580
Q20.697Korean Society of Obstetrics and GynecologyKorean, English16 wk
28Restorative Dentistry & Endodontics
2234-7658 · 2234-7666
Q20.628Korean Academy of Conservative DentistryEnglish12 wk
29Journal of Exercise Rehabilitation
2288-176X · 2288-1778
Q20.579Korean Society of Exercise RehabilitationEnglish10 wk
30International Neurourology Journal
2093-4777 · 2093-6931
Q20.526Korean Continence SocietyEnglish4 wk
31Clinical and Experimental Emergency Medicine
2383-4625
Q20.523The Korean Society of Emergency MedicineEnglish20 wk
32Neurointervention
2093-9043 · 2233-6273
Q20.483Korean Society of Interventional NeuroradiologyEnglish12 wk
33ETRI Journal
1225-6463 · 2233-7326
Q20.42Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI)English8 wk
34Journal of Chest Surgery
2765-1606 · 2765-1614
Q20.402Korean Society for Thoracic & Cardiovascular SurgeryEnglish7 wk
35Journal of Pharmacopuncture
2093-6966 · 2234-6856
Q20.398Korean Pharmacopuncture InstituteEnglish, Korean10 wk
36Science Editing
2288-8063 · 2288-7474
Q20.346Korean Council of Science EditorsEnglish10 wk
37Journal of Marine and Island Cultures
2212-6821
Q20.236Mokpo National UniversityEnglish20 wk
38Journal of Confucian Philosophy and Culture
1598-267X · 2734-1356
Q20.171SHIN Dong RyeolEnglish12 wk
39Osong Public Health and Research Perspectives
2210-9099 · 2233-6052
Q30.469Korea Disease Control and Prevention AgencyEnglish16 wk
40Clinical and Experimental Vaccine Research
2287-3651 · 2287-366X
Q30.404Korean Vaccine Society; Korean Society of ZoonosesEnglish8 wk
41Clinical Transplantation and Research
3022-6783 · 3022-7712
Q30.372The Korean Society for TransplantationEnglish15 wk
42Vascular Specialist International
2288-7970 · 2288-7989
Q30.358MedrangKorean, English17 wk
43Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
2508-1888 · 2466-2461
Q30.285Korean Association for Radiation ProtectionEnglish16 wk
44Investigative Magnetic Resonance Imaging
2384-1109
Q30.273Korean Society of Magnetic Resonance in MedicineEnglish12 wk
45Childhood Kidney Diseases
2384-0242 · 2384-0250
Q30.27Korean Society of Pediatric NephrologyEnglish12 wk
46Journal of Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery and Technique
2508-2043
Q30.261Korean Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery SocietyEnglish15 wk
47Sleep Medicine Research
2093-9175 · 2233-8853
Q30.257Korean Society of Sleep MedicineEnglish8 wk
48Journal of Information Science Theory and Practice
2287-9099 · 2287-4577
Q30.245Korea Institute of Science and Technology InformationEnglish12 wk
49Journal of Rhinology
1229-1498 · 2384-4361
Q30.222Korean Rhinologic SocietyEnglish, Korean8 wk
50Journal of Contemporary Eastern Asia
2383-9449
Q30.212World Association for Triple Helix and Future Strategy StudiesEnglish14 wk
51Journal of Trauma and Injury
2799-4317 · 2287-1683
Q30.21Korean Society of TraumatologyEnglish, Korean11 wk
52Annals of Child Neurology
2635-909X · 2635-9103
Q30.179Korean Child Neurology SocietyEnglish, Korean8 wk
53Journal of Neurocritical Care
2005-0348 · 2508-1349
Q30.178The Korean Neurocritical Care SocietyEnglish, Korean10 wk
54Gwagyeong Ilboneo Munhak Yeongu
2383-5222 · 2635-4829
Q30.108The Global Institute for Japanese Studies, Korea UniversityEnglish, Japanese23 wk
55KEDI Journal of Educational Policy
1739-4341 · 3092-3824
Q40.175Korean Educational Development InstituteEnglish30 wk
56Mass Spectrometry Letters
2233-4203 · 2093-8950
Q40.156Korean Society for Mass SpectrometryEnglish6 wk
57International Journal of Gastrointestinal Intervention
2636-0004 · 2636-0012
Q40.147Society of Gastrointestinal InterventionEnglish24 wk
58Cheyuk gwahag yeon-gu
1598-2920 · 2233-7938
Q40.136Korea Institute of Sport ScienceKorean7 wk
59Journal of Korean Society of Spine Surgery
2093-4378 · 2093-4386
Q40.112Korean Society of Spine SurgeryEnglish, Korean10 wk
60The Review of Korean Studies
1229-0076 · 2733-9351
Q40.102The Academy of Korean StudiesEnglish24 wk

Where these journals come from

Top publishers

  1. Korean Society of Critical Care Medicine 2
  2. Society of Gastrointestinal Intervention 2
  3. Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI) 1
  4. Ewha Womans University College of Medicine 1
  5. Guhmok 1
  6. Innovative Information Science & Technology Research Group (ISYOU) 1

Manuscript languages accepted

  1. English 94
  2. Korean 24
  3. Japanese 1

About this list

Country means the publisher’s country as recorded in the DOAJ, not the language or the authors’ origin: most journals accept submissions from anywhere. Community-verified journals were checked by hand against a short checklist (ISSN, peer review, no fees, recent issues) and are marked “Not in DOAJ”.

Diamond open access (also called Platinum) means the journal is free to read and free to publish in: the DOAJ records it with “APC: no” and “other fees: no”. Quartiles come from the latest SCImago edition: Q1 is the top 25% of journals in a subject category, Q4 the bottom 25%; the lists show a journal’s best quartile. Read more in our open access guide.

Before submitting, always confirm the journal on its own website and in the DOAJ, verify Scopus indexing by ISSN with the Scopus check rather than trusting claims on the journal’s site, and watch out for look-alike titles (see the predatory journal checklist).

Other countries

Arab world386 free journals · 44 in Scopus Maghreb194 free journals · 8 in Scopus Brazil1,227 free journals · 217 in Scopus Indonesia1,188 free journals · 59 in Scopus Spain981 free journals · 481 in Scopus Poland800 free journals · 286 in Scopus United States670 free journals · 246 in Scopus Türkiye670 free journals · 128 in Scopus Iran608 free journals · 176 in Scopus Russia562 free journals · 207 in Scopus United Kingdom524 free journals · 237 in Scopus Italy482 free journals · 177 in Scopus Colombia462 free journals · 119 in Scopus Argentina408 free journals · 63 in Scopus France376 free journals · 98 in Scopus Ukraine326 free journals · 61 in Scopus Romania308 free journals · 65 in Scopus Germany291 free journals · 132 in Scopus India287 free journals · 95 in Scopus Mexico239 free journals · 59 in Scopus Chile187 free journals · 68 in Scopus Canada186 free journals · 48 in Scopus Serbia184 free journals · 63 in Scopus Croatia157 free journals · 105 in Scopus Peru154 free journals · 29 in Scopus Portugal146 free journals · 55 in Scopus