Seven white rot fungi (Irpex lactenis, Coriolus hirsutus, Lopharia mirabilis, Schizopora paradoxa, Ganoderma lucidum, Pleurotus ostreatus and Pycnoporus coccineus) native to Korea and two famous exotic lignin degradable white rot fungi (Coriolus versicolor and Phanerochaete chrysosporium) were investigated to clarify their physiological and physicochemical characteristics on white-rotted wood blocks. G. lucidum degraded wood blocks more seriously than those by exotic lignin-degrading fungi, C. versicolor and P. chrysosporium, but only slightly decreasecl the strength of wood which was compared to the weight loss, persumably on the account of its small use of cellulose when attacking wood. It is quite interesting to note that the holocellulose degradation rate of G. lucidum was also higher than any of the other tested fungi. The order of fungi, according to the lignin-decomposing rates, was G. lucidum>P. coccineus>C. versicolor>S. paradoxa>P. chrysosporium>L. mirabilis>P. ostreatus>C. hirsutus>I. lactenis. The lignin degradation of G. lucidum and P. coccineus which were collected in Korea was greater than that of C. versicolor and P. chrysosporium. If holocellulose degradation is not considered. G. lcidum has the merit of actual application in biomass conversion due to linin removal.