Abstract
Historical background and present status of Korean functional sericulture was reviewed. Five-year expansion projects began in 1962, and produced 41,700 tons of cocoon in 1976 and exported $271 million. However, the number of silkworm rearing households reduced to 59,800 by 1987 from 488,000 in 1976 due to rapid development of the secondary and the tertiary industries with higher labor cost. That's why functional sericulture was developed in Korea. Freeze-dried silkworm powder was found that it lowered the level of blood glucose. Nuedongchunghacho, Paecilomyces tenuipes, was cultured on silkworm larva. Odi, the fruit of mulberry trees, was studied as a new food ingredient. Mulberry tree varieties for improved Odi production were also developed.