South Korea's complex system of tuberculosis control has never been fully described. The prevalence of tuberculosis has dropped dramatically since 1965, partly because of farsighted governmental policy that provided low-cost, accessible tuberculosis treatment to the entire population. Within the tuberculosis control system, public and private sector entities provide a wide variety of treatment options. The National Tuberculosis Program focuses on improving cure rates for new cases, while the private sector has taken more of a role in the treatment of drug-resistant tuberculosis and other types of complicated cases. There has been a decrease in drug-resistant tuberculosis since 1980 for multiple reasons, including increased cure rates from the introduction of rifampin-based regimens, improved nutrition and living standards, and the treatment of drug-resistant cases in the private sector. Multidrug-resistant tuberculosis, however, still poses a significant threat to public health. The limited outcomes data that exist in South Korea for multidrug-resistant tuberculosis treatment suggest that cure rates are low and failure and abandonment rates are high. New public health measures are needed to improve the control of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis.