Tong-il, a high-yielding rice variety developed in Korea in the 1960s, was widely recognized as successful innovation and was credited with bringing self-sufficiency in rice to Korea in the 1970s. The development of Tong-il rice was also selected as one of the most important scientific achievements in the 20th century in Korea. Despite the prominence and socio-economic implications of Tong-il rice to other less-developed countries, its history has not been known. Hence, the history of Tong-il may have lessons for considering the local development and adoption of new agricultural technologies in less-developed countries. This paper deals with a brief history of Tong-il rice from development to disappearance.