It is well known that CYP2C19 is an enzyme showing genetic polymorphism that may cause marked interindividual and interethnic variation in the metabolism and disposition of its substrates. This study compared the frequency distribution of CYP2C19*1, *2, and *3 alleles in Korean and Vietnamese populations, representing Far Eastern and Southwestern Asian populations, respectively. The presence of the CYP2C19 variant alleles was analyzed in 377 Korean and 165 Vietnamese healthy subjects using a new pyrosequencing method. The respective allele frequencies of CYP2C19*1, *2, and *3 were 64%, 28%, and 8% in Koreans and 69%, 24%, and 5% in Vietnamese. The frequency of poor metabolizer genotype (*2/*2, *2/*3, *3/*3) in Korean (12.5%, 95% confidence interval 11.4-13.6) was not significantly different from that of Vietnamese population (7.2%, 95% confidence interval 6.2-8.2) (P = 0.074). These results obtained from a large number of subjects can be used in comparative studies with other ethnic groups in future clinical research.