Endourology, the initiative

The development of minimally invasive surgical te­ chniques in the f ield of urology is dynamic and has gained immense momentum recently. The endourology section of Korean Journal of Urology (KJU) has focused its efforts on introducing these novel methods and their clinical results to our readers as quickly as possible. Art­ icles on robotic surgery were published as early as in 2006 and many more have been released since [1]. Recent topics include state­of­the­art techniques such as laparo­ endoscopic single­site surgery (LESS), robotic LESS, retrograde intra­renal surgery (RIRS), and “mini­perc” and tubeless percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PNL). Our journal has played a major role in spreading these novel minimally invasive techniques not only in Korea, but also throughout both Asia and the world. The KJU endourology section took a great leap for­ ward with the integration of the official journal of the Korean Endourology Society, an academic division of the Korean Urology Association, in 2014. The merger has amplif ied the expertise of the KJU endourology section and has led to an increased pool of followers and reviewers, allowing a higher standard of academic status and quality of reviews. The KJU Endourology section can be divided into two large sectors: Laparoscopic/Robotics and Endourology/ Urolithiasis. The Laparoscopic/Robotics division deals with new laparoscopic and robotic surgical approaches and techniques, their surgical outcomes, educational forums, Endourology, the initiative