The role of enteropathogenic Escherichia coli(EPEC) was evaluated in a group of children with endemic diarrhea admitted to Hanyang University Hospital in Seoul, Korea. EPEC was detected in fecal samples of 23% of 100 cases and 4.5% of 44 concurrent control children. The most commonly isolated EPBC strains were serogroups $O_{18a}O_{18c}:K_{77},;O_{86a}:K_{61},;O_{119}:K_{69},;and;O_{128}:K_{70}$. On testing for enterotoxin production, 6(26%) strains were isolated from 17% of the 100 diarrheal children and in 4.5% of the 44 well controls(P<0.05). Our study supports the concept that EPEC may be an important cause of endemic diarrheas in Korea.