Over the last two decades, Korean Society of Clinical Pharmacology has performed a pivotal role to have the concept of clinical pharmacology take root in Korea through various academic activities. Clinical pharmacology is not only a research discipline, but also a clinical specialty which aims to provide support for physicians and patients about rational use of drugs. Although it is difficult for any one individual to cover wide range of clinical pharmacology activities, the integrative aspects of the discipline are very important to the development and use of drugs. Recently the world has been faced with serious economic crises and pharmaceutical companies have been shrunken in their research and development, so that clinical pharmacology also has been internationally affected. However, clinical pharmacology has been rapidly grown up in Korea despite the negatively given condition. At this time it is important for physicians in this field to understand the background of our clinical pharmacology in order to complement and develop our current situation for the future. In this review the academic achievement in clinical pharmacology in Korea is valued through looking back our activities for the past twenty years.