Expansion of Digital Technology Use in the Korean Social Work Field

This study aims to examine the status of digital technology utilization in diverse social work facilities and to understand practitioners' perceptions of digitalization in the social work field in South Korea. To achieve this, focus group interviews were conducted with a total of 32 social work practitioners from various social welfare organizations in South Korea. The results of thematic analysis revealed that there are four main factors affecting the usage of digital technology, five main types of digital technologies, four principal outcomes, and five challenges. To gain a more comprehensive understanding of the digital transformation that has occurred in social work, it is suggested that future in-depth studies should be conducted from the client's perspective and that future quantitative research should include more cases. Altogether, this study contributes to establishing a foundation for future research to determine the directions of and challenges involved in social work practice in the digital age.