Read A History of Korea Online
Authors: Jinwung Kim
3 June 1947 | In accordance with U.S. “Koreanization” policy, South Korean Interim Government established |
10 July 1947 | U.S.-Soviet Joint Commission collapses over which Korean political parties and social organizations should be consulted in pursuance of the Moscow agreement to form a provisional Korean government |
19 July 1947 | Yo Un-hyong assassinated |
29 July 1947 | Left-Right Coalition Committee collapses |
17 September 1947 | United States presents Korean issue before Second Session of the |
14 November 1947 | U.N. |
23 January 1948 | Soviet Union refuses admission into northern Korea by |
6 February 1948 | U.N. |
7 February 1948 | South Korean leftists carry out sabotage and strikes in opposition to establishment of separate South Korean government |
8 February 1948 | Korean People’s Army established in northern Korea |
26 February 1948 | Interim Committee of |
22 March 1948 | U.S. Military Government announces program to sell formerly Japanese-owned farmland |
3 April 1948 | South Korean communists initiate Cheju-do uprising |
19 April 1948 | North-South political leaders’ conference convenes in Pyongyang |
30 April 1948 | North-South political leaders’ conference calls for withdrawal of all foreign troops, establishment of a provisional all-Korean government, and peaceful unification of Korea by nationwide elections |
10 May 1948 | First general elections held in southern Korea |
14 May 1948 | Protesting the general elections, northern Korea cuts off electric power to southern Korea |
31 May 1948 | National Assembly convenes in Seoul |
12 July 1948 | First South Korean constitution adopted |
24 July 1948 | Syngman Rhee sworn in as South Korean president |
15 August 1948 | Republic of Korea (South Korea) formally established |
25 August 1948 | Elections in northern and southern Korea to choose representatives of a Supreme People’s Assembly |
9 September 1948 | Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea) formally established, with Kim Il-sung as premier |
19 October 1948 | ROK |
27 October 1948 | ROK |
20 November 1948 | ROK |
12 December 1948 | ROK |
27 December 1948 | Soviet Union announces complete withdrawal of its troops from North Korea |
10 February 1949 | Korean Democratic Party renamed Democratic National Party |
17 March 1949 | North Korea and Soviet Union conclude cultural and economic treaties, and secret military assistance agreement |
4 May 1949 | North and South Korea commence border fighting along 38th parallel |
21 June 1949 | South Korean government promulgates land reform bill |
25 June 1949 | North Korea forms Democratic Front for the Unification of the Fatherland to forge a united front with Syngman Rhee’s opponents |
29 June 1949 | United States withdraws last of its troops from South Korea |
30 June 1949 | North Korean Workers Party and South Korean Workers Party merge into Korean Workers Party, with Kim Il-sung as chairman |
12 January l950 | In National Press Club speech, U.S. Secretary of State Dean Acheson excludes South Korea from America’s defense perimeter in East Asia, casting doubts on U.S. security commitment to the |
19 January 1950 | U.S. House of Representatives defeats Korea aid bill for 1950 |
30 March- | In visit to the Soviet Union, Kim Il-sung secures Stalin’s |
25 April 1950 | approval for invasion of South Korea |
3 April 1950 | Land reform begins in South Korea, with most farmlands distributed in May and June |
13-16 May 1950 | Kim Il-sung visits China to secure Mao Zedong’s approval for planned invasion of South Korea |
30 May 1950 | Second |
7 June 1950 | Central Committee of Democratic Front for the Unification of the Fatherland proposes all-Korean elections in August to elect a unified assembly |
19 June 1950 | North Korean Supreme People’s Assembly proposes merger with South Korean National Assembly |
25 June 1950 | North Korean forces cross 38th parallel to invade South Korea, initiating the Korean War |
27 June 1950 | U.N. |
28 June 1950 | Seoul falls to North Korean forces |
30 June 1950 | U.S. President Harry S. Truman commits American ground troops to Korea |
5 July 1950 | Task Force Smith takes action against North Korean forces just north of Osan |
7 July 1950 | U.N. |
14 July 1950 | South Korean President Syngman Rhee hands over authority of South Korean forces to General MacArthur |
26 July 1950 | “Nog |
15 September 1950 | U.N. |
28 September 1950 | U.N. |
1 October 1950 | South Korean troops cross 38th parallel |
7 October 1950 | U.N. |
19 October 1950 | U.N. |
25 October 1950 | U.N. |
24 November 1950 | U.N. |
11 December 1950 | H |
4 January 1951 | Seoul again falls to communists |
14 March 1951 | U.N. |
11 April 1951 | U.S. President Truman relieves General MacArthur of his command, replacing him with Lieutenant General Matthew Ridgway |
23 June 1951 | Jacob Malik, Soviet representative to the United Nations, proposes armistice negotiations |
10 July 1951 | Armistice talks begin at Kaes |
25 October 1951 | Armistice talks resume at P’anmunj |
23 December 1951 | Liberal Party formed as Syngman Rhee’s ruling party |
18 January 1952 | ROK |
25 May 1952 | Syngman Rhee declares martial law in Pusan and surrounding regions |
26 May 1952 | More than 50 opposition legislators arrested in protest against Syngman Rhee’s declaration of martial law |
4 July 1952 | ROK |
5 August 1952 | Syngman Rhee wins direct presidential election |
18 June 1953 | Syngman Rhee releases 27,000 North Korean prisoners of war Korean armistice signed at P’anmunj |
27 July 1953 | |
1 October 1953 | ROK-U.S. |
20 May 1954 | Syngman Rhee’s Liberal Party obtains majority of seats in National Assembly elections |
29 November 1954 | In the “rounded-off” constitutional amendment, Rhee’s proposal to abolish two-term limitations on the presidency passes in National Assembly |
28 December 1955 | Kim Il-sung enunciates the juche ideology |
15 May 1956 | Synagman Rhee reelected president; in separate vice presidential election, opposition candidate Chang My |
2 May 1958 | In National Assembly elections, main opposition Democratic Party gains dramatic win, taking 79 of 233 seats |
24 December 1958 | National Assembly passes new National Security Law, virtually suspending democracy |
15 March 1960 | Rhee, unopposed, wins another presidential victory; Rhee’s Liberal Party rigs vice presidential election to ensure Chang My |
19 April 1960 | April Student Revolution erupts |
26 April 1960 | President Rhee resigns; three days later leaves Korea for exile in Hawaii; First Republic ends |
15 June l960 | ROK |
29 July 1960 | Democratic Party wins overwhelming victory in National Assembly election |
23 August 1960 | Chang My |
16 May 1961 | Major General Park Chung-hee stages coup, ending Second Republic |
18 May 1961 | Park Chung-hee forces general resignation of Chang My |
13 January 1962 | South Korea announces First Five-Year Economic Development Plan (1962–1966) |
17 December 1962 | New constitution resembling that of the First Republic put to popular referendum and approved by a wide margin |
15 October 1963 | Park Chung-hee elected president by narrow margin |
26 November 1963 | Park Chung-hee’s Democratic Republican Party wins majority of seats in National Assembly elections |
17 December 1963 | Park Chung-hee sworn in as president, inaugurating Third Republic. |
22 June 1965 | South Korea and Japan sign Treaty of Basic Relations, establishing formal diplomatic ties |
29 July 1966 | South Korea announces the Second Five-Year Economic Development Plan (1967-1971) |
3 May 1967 | Park Chung-hee wins another presidential term |
8 June 1967 | Democratic Republican Party obtains a two-thirds majority of seats in National Assembly elections, enabling it to pass constitutional amendments |
21 January 1968 | Squad of 31 North Korean commandos reaches northern edge of Seoul |