Objectives: To analyze the growth pattern of the functional food market in Korea, and thus produce essential information in mapping out a strategy for Korean medicine. Methods: A survey of literature or analysis reports about market changes related to functional foods in Korea was undertaken. Results: The Korean functional food market has been growing rapidly, to 1.4 trillion won in 2012 compared to 250 billion won in 2004, which is an annual growth rate of about 14%. In particular, individually-approved functional food is worthy of notice regarding its growth rate and functional position, which is similar to herbal drugs. The expanding growth of functional food affects negatively the decrease of herbal drug industry in Korea to date. Conclusions: To compete with functional foods, the Korean medicine community needs to develop patient-friendly and cost-effective herbal drugs, and strategies to adopt them as therapeutic modalities.