Two bacterial isolates from ginseng fields in Korea, strains GR17-7(T) and GP18-1(T), were characterized using a polyphasic approach. Phylogenetic analysis of their 16S rRNA gene sequences revealed a clear affiliation with the Gammaproteobacteria, and showed that the closest phylogenetic relationships were with members of the genus Rhodanobacter. The 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity between strains GR17-7(T) and GP18-1(T) was 97.2 %. Both strains showed 16S rRNA gene sequence similarities of 95.2-96.9 % to type strains of recognized Rhodanobacter species. The G+C contents of the DNA of strains GR17-7(T) and GP18-1(T) were 61.0 and 62.5 mol%, respectively. According to the DNA-DNA hydridization tests, the hybridization value between strains GR17-7(T) and GP18-1(T) was 34 %. Strains GR17-7(T) and GP18-1(T) showed less than 32 % DNA-DNA relatedness with Rhodanobacter fulvus KCTC 12098(T) and Rhodanobacter spathiphylli LMG 23181(T). Strains GR17-7(T) and GP18-1(T) were aerobic, Gram-negative, rod-shaped, and catalase- and oxidase-positive. Major fatty acids of both strains were iso-C(17 : 1)omega9c and iso-C(16 : 0). Based on the data presented, two novel Rhodanobacter species are proposed, with the names Rhodanobacter ginsengisoli sp. nov. (type strain GR17-7(T)=KACC 11762(T)=DSM 18993(T)) and Rhodanobacter terrae sp. nov. (type strain GP18-1(T)=KACC 11761(T)=DSM 19241(T)).