In the early 1970’s, Korea experienced profuse economic development which contributed to the increase in the generation of waste and waste disposal problems. Until 1980’s, municipal solid waste (MSW) was commonly disposed or dumped along with other solid wastes in unlined open landfills, which posed risks to the environment and human health. These concerns raised the need for environmentally sound management of MSW. Waste Management Act and several regulations were implemented to better manage MSW and increase recycling activities. Some of the major regulations include volume-based waste disposal fee system and extended producer responsibility (EPR), which facilitated source separation of waste and contributed to increase waste recycling. Currently, MSW management practices in Korea aims at waste source reduction, reuse, recycling and conversion of waste to energy. In 1995, the generation rate of MSW was 1.07 kg/capita/day with 23.7% recycling rate, while in 2011, Korea generated 0.95 kg/capita/day of MSW and recycled 59.1% of MSW. This paper presents an overview of the current management practices of MSW in Korea. This paper provides comprehensive information regarding the present status of waste generation, composition, segregation, transportation, treatment, and disposal of solid wastes. Future challenges are discussed to improve MSW management.