Counselors in South Korea: A Qualitative Study of Senior Professionals

The author describes a qualitative analysis of interviews with 12 senior counselors in South Korea. The participants were certified by the Korean Association of Counseling and Psychotherapy as professional counselors (sang‐dam sim‐li chun‐mun‐ga) and are among the first generation of counselors in South Korea. Eight semistructured questions were asked about the work of these counselors. Qualitative analysis identified practice, relationships, and emotional well‐being as 3 domains of professional experience, each consisting of 2 categories. The results provide (a) a view of counseling practices as experienced by senior members of the profession and (b) a starting point for further research on mental health workers in South Korea.