Barley and wheat are a major food crop of humans, along with rice, soybean and corn. A systematic breeding program for Korean barley began in 1906 with selection and introduction breeding. In 1908, landrace barley was collected, and breeding focused on selection and introduction for high yielding varieties until the 1970s. In the 1980s and 1990s, breeding was carried out for diversity; thereafter, we aimed to improve quality, productivity and lodging tolerance that can be applied to the paddy field in Korea. Since 2010, the major result of breeding was shortening cultivation to approximately 6–12 days, making a double cropping system possible in the paddy field in Korea. Yield has increased by 1.2 times from 438 kg/10 a in the 1960s to 536 kg/10 a in the 2010s, and farm yield has increased by 1.7 times. In addition, as cultivation safety has been enhanced, the varieties have also improved, such as the covered barley used in making tea and other processing products. In case of wheat, up to now forty cultivars have been developed in Korea. In the early stage, we developed a domestic wheat variety that was early maturing and high yielding. As a result, the maturation time of wheat planted in the 1970s to 2010 was shortened (from 13 to 30 days), while productivity increased by 30% from 408 kg/10 a in the 1970s to 532 kg/10 a in 2010. In recent years, there have been remarkable efforts for a more stable production by focusing on increasing disaster and pest resistance due to climate change. In addition, a wheat variety discrimination marker was developed using a variety-specific marker, and selection was made using a trait-specific marker at the early stage of breeding to enhance breeding efficiency. In the 2000s, winter cereals for forage have been promoted to expand forage production and to replace imported feed grains. Therefore, winter cereal that is useful for feed, such as rye, oat, and triticale, have had various varieties and safe production techniques developed. Currently, our research goal for winter cereals for feed is to develop a double-cropping adaptation and abiotic stress tolerance cultivar, and safe production in paddy field. Hence, aggressive action is needed to support the strategic survival of the Korean wheat and barley industry. Barley is a health food that requires a multifaceted effort to improve breeding efficiency, develop varieties that contain large amounts of functional components and are more resistant to stronger biotic and abiotic stresses in response to climate change. It is necessary to recognize the role of wheat and barley as the second main crop after rice, and to improve the self-sufficiency rate of these crops for the health and food industry crisis of Korea.

Studies on forest tree breeding (FTB) in South Korea started in the 1950s and have achieved remarkable outcomes through various techniques and methods such as selective breeding, cross breeding, introduction breeding, and biotechnology. Despite these outstanding achievements, no attempt has been made to
objective
ly and quantitatively evaluate the results of domestic FTB research. Here, we quantitatively analyzed past research trends using keywords of published journal papers and compared the current domestic research level of FTB with the international level. Using various keywords in this field, we searched for research articles published in the Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science, the Korean Journal of Breeding Science, and the journals listed on the Science Citation Index from 1962 to present. The analysis of these studies showed that the research on FTB has grown quantitatively in Korea, and has been conducted on various subjects. Research topics from Korea, in terms of purpose and species, are not significantly different from those of foreign countries. The genus Pinus has been the major subject of FTB studies both domestically and internationally. However, in foreign FTB research, the trees used for research have diversified each year, while they were not diverse in Korea. The FTB research capacity of Korean national institutions, such as the National Institute of Forest Science, continues to dramatically increase, while the research capacity of universities is relatively low. Based on the results of this analysis, it is necessary to establish a concrete and effective policy for future research and development of FTB.