The distribution of lactic acid bacteria and total bacteria in 27 samples of Nuruk (traditional Korean rice wine starter) were investigated, and lactic acid bacteria isolated from those samples were identified. The average number of lactic acid bacteria and total bacteria were 2,11×10^7 and 2.08×10^8 cfu/g, respectively. There was no appreciable differences in the number of lactic acid bacteria among those samples, meanwhile the number of total bacteria varied significantly from sample to sample. Among the lactic acid bacteria, more cocci were counted than rods in those samples. Thirty-two strains of lactic acid bacteria obtained from those samples were identified as Leuconostoc mesenteroides subsp. mesenteroides (11 strains), Pediococcus acidilactici (7 strains), Lactobacillus plantarum (3 strains), L. murinus (7 strains) and Enterococcus faecium (4 strains).