An optically pumped semiconductor laser and an optical pumping method are disclosed. The optically pumped semiconductor laser includes an output mirror and a reflective mirror for forming a resonant region therebetween, a gain medium disposed between the output mirror and the reflective mirror and a light source for applying a source light in a direction between the output mirror and the gain medium to activate the gain medium, whereby the optical axes of the light from the source light and the light generated from the gain medium are substantially perpendicular to each other and the optical axes of a second harmonic generated from a nonlinear crystal is substantially equal to the optical axis of the light generated from the gain medium.