This organization of business and professional men was initiated in 1905 by Paul P. Harris, an American lawyer, and his close friends who met in Chicago, to encourage and foster the ideal of service as a basis of building a better society.

The Rotary movement since then has steadily grown into a popular International service organization, which now has 16,091 clubs in 151 countries across the World with a total membership of 760000.

In Korea, the Rotary movement was started in 1927, but was later suspended when World War 2 broke out. After the country was liberated from foreign colonial rule, the movement was resumed with the formation of the Seoul Rotary Club on March 29,1949. Subsequently, the Pusan Rotary club was founded in 1952 and the Taegu Rotary club on June 28, 1955. There are now 12 clubs in the three major-regions of the country with a combined membership of 4987.