Trend Analysis of Music Therapy Research in South Korea(2000-2023): A Semantic Network Approach to Keywords

Objectives The purpose of this study is to select literature related to music therapy in South Korea published in KCI academic journals from 2000 to 2023, in order to examine trends in domestic music therapy research and to suggest future directions for music therapy research. Methods From August 2022 to January 2024, a total of 542 research articles were selected from major domestic academic journal sites. Among 705 types of refined 1,799 keywords identified, 100 keywords that appeared six or more times were extracted. Synonyms were represented with a consistent expression, and compound words were separated and standardized. The refined keywords were validated for appropriateness by three experts. The UCINET 6.0 program visualized the keyowrds with NetDraw. Results The overall keyword network, consisting of 100 nodes connected by 1,422 links, had a density of .144. The keywords ‘instrument playing,’ ‘sociality,’ ‘depression,’ and ‘anxiety’ showed high centrality in terms of degree, closeness, and betweenness, confirming them as the core keywords in domestic music therapy research. Conclusions By identifying the core keywords in domestic music therapy research, this study sheds light on past research trends and discusses the considerations for applying current research in clinical practice, as well as the direction and factors to consider for future research. This is the significance of this study.