🏯 Korean History Timeline

50 key events in Korean history with dates, from Gojoseon to modern times (English)

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All Questions & Answers (50)

When was Gojoseon founded (by Dangun, legendary)?2333 BC — the first state recorded in Korean history
When was Silla founded (Bak Hyeokgeose)?57 BC — founded first of the Three Kingdoms, and outlasted them
When was Goguryeo founded (Jumong)?37 BC — a power spanning Manchuria and the north
When was Baekje founded (Onjo)?18 BC — spread Buddhism and culture to Japan by sea
When did Goguryeo's King Gwanggaeto take the throne?AD 391 — expanded the realm to its largest extent
When did Silla officially adopt Buddhism (martyrdom of Ichadon)?AD 527 — unified belief and strengthened the throne
When did Eulji Mundeok defeat the Sui at the Salsu River?AD 612 — destroyed a 300,000-strong Sui army
When did Silla unify the Three Kingdoms?AD 676 — pushed out Tang and united the peninsula
When did Dae Joyeong found Balhae?AD 698 — successor to Goguryeo, called 'the flourishing land'
When did Gyeon Hwon found Later Baekje?AD 900 — the Later Three Kingdoms period begins
When did Wang Geon found Goryeo?AD 918 — a new dynasty built on a coalition of local lords
When did Goryeo unify the Later Three Kingdoms?AD 936 — the split ends under one dynasty
When did Gang Gam-chan defeat the Khitan at Gwiju?1019 — repelled the third Khitan invasion
When was the Tripitaka Koreana (80,000 blocks) completed?1251 — carved seeking Buddhist protection from the Mongols
When was the Sambyeolcho rebellion?1270–1273 — fought on, rejecting peace with the Mongols
When did Yi Seong-gye found the Joseon dynasty?1392 — a dynasty governed by Confucian principles
When did King Sejong the Great take the throne?1418 — the start of Korea's richest era in science and culture
When was Hangul (Hunminjeongeum) created?1443 (promulgated 1446) — an alphabet made so commoners could read
When was the Imjin War (Japanese invasions)?1592–1598 — seven years of war devastated the country
When did Admiral Yi Sun-sin win the Battle of Hansan Island?1592 — the crane-wing formation crushed Japan's navy
When was the second Manchu invasion (Byeongja War)?1636–1637 — Joseon surrendered to Qing at Samjeondo
When did King Yeongjo take the throne (policy of impartiality)?1724 — curbed factional strife by balanced appointments
When did King Jeongjo take the throne?1776 — reform through Gyujanggak and Hwaseong Fortress
When did Korea open its ports via the Treaty of Ganghwa?1876 — Korea's first modern treaty, and an unequal one
When was the Imo military mutiny?1882 — a soldiers' revolt that invited Qing interference
When was the Gapsin coup?1884 — reformers held power for only three days
When was the Donghak Peasant Revolution?1894 — peasants against both feudal rule and foreign power
When were the Gabo Reforms?1894 — abolished the class system and modernized institutions
When was the Korean Empire proclaimed?1897 — proclaimed full sovereignty at home and abroad
When did the Eulsa Treaty strip Korea of its diplomatic rights?1905 — stripped of diplomacy, reduced to a protectorate
When did An Jung-geun assassinate Ito Hirobumi?1909 — shot Japan's architect of annexation at Harbin
When did Korea lose its sovereignty (annexation by Japan)?1910 — sovereignty lost, colonial rule begins
When was the March 1st Independence Movement?1919 — a nationwide nonviolent independence protest
When was the Provisional Government of Korea established?1919 — the independence movement's base in Shanghai
When was Korea liberated (August 15)?1945 — the end of 35 years of colonial rule
When was the Republic of Korea government established?1948 — the Republic of Korea begins
When was the Korean War?1950–1953 — division hardened and the land was left in ruins
When was the April 19 Revolution?1960 — a rigged election brought down the government
When was the May 16 military coup?1961 — the military takes power
When was diplomatic normalization with Japan (ROK–Japan treaty)?1965 — ties normalized; compensation still disputed
When did the Saemaul (New Village) Movement begin?1970 — a state-led drive to modernize the countryside
When was the October Yushin declared?1972 — rewritten to allow indefinite rule
When was the May 18 Gwangju Democratization Movement?1980 — citizens resisted the new military regime
When was the June Democratic Struggle?1987 — won direct presidential elections
When were the Seoul Olympics held?1988 — introduced Korea to the world
When did North and South Korea join the UN together?1991 — both Koreas seated in the international community
When did the IMF (Asian) financial crisis hit Korea?1997 — mass restructuring and unemployment followed
When was the first inter-Korean summit?2000 — the first meeting of leaders since division
When did Korea (with Japan) host the FIFA World Cup?2002 — a semifinal run and street-cheering culture
When was a Korean president impeached following candlelight protests?2017 (protests began 2016) — the first upheld in constitutional history

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