First, I would like to briefly outline the history of the Academies sponsoring the publication. The Korean Academy of Asthma, Allergy, and Clinical Immunology was founded in 1972 and its membership, as of 2011, is comprised of approximately 1200 physicians, pediatricians, rhinologists, and dermatologists. The Korean Academy of Pediatric Allergy and Respiratory Disease was founded in 1987 and consists of 1400 pediatricians in 2011. Since their founding, the two Academies have sponsored several international congresses and symposia on allergy, immunology, and pediatric respiratory diseases. The Korean-Japan Joint Allergy symposium has been held biannually since the founding of the Korean Academy of Asthma, Allergy, and Clinical Immunology. Many international meetings have been hosted successfully in Korea. At international and domestic symposia, members of both Academies have presented numerous excellent abstracts, which have been published in program booklets. Major contributions by Academy members have been published in their official journals: the "Korean Journal of Asthma, Allergy, and Clinical Immunology" and "Korean Journal of Pediatric Allergy and Respiratory Disease". However, as the journals of both Academies are written in Korean and distributed domestically, the results of studies by our members reach few readers outside Korea. To promote international communication by their members, the two Academies decided to publish an official journal in English in 2008.

Since it was first issued in Oct 2009, AAIR has presented timely, clinical, basic science and experimental research papers, as well as instructive case reports. As of April 2011, we have published seven issues of AAIR containing five editorials, 26 reviews, 29 original articles, 14 case reports, and one brief communication. Twenty-five world-famous scholars have contributed excellent articles, and 30 domestic professors and researchers have contributed distinguished papers to AAIR. Seventy reviewers have willingly performed their duties for each article, from the title to the last sentence. All of the editorial members would like to express our special appreciation to the authors and reviewers for their outstanding contributions to AAIR.

We are keen to develop AAIR as a leading journal in asthma, allergy, and clinical immunology. To enhance its academic quality, we have invited world-class professors and researchers to join the AAIR Advisory and Editorial Boards. As the Editor-in-Chief, I am very grateful for their continuing contributions to AAIR. On behalf of all of the Editors, I look forward to continued excellent support and assistance from members of the Korean Academies. All members have a mission to improve the quality and quantity of AAIR by submitting a variety of clinical and research studies. We also ask the members to cite articles published in AAIR.

Finally, preparing the issues of AAIR has been an enjoyable, rewarding experience, which has been greatly enhanced by the contributions of a dedicated team, including the associate editorial members, who are responsible for the final decision on publication for all manuscripts, and a loyal, hard-working Editorial Office staff.