Timeline of Korean history
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This is a timeline of Korean history. Dates prior to the 6th century CE are subject to dispute.
Contents |
[edit] Prehistoric (Stone) age
- 700th millennium BCE: First hypothesized presence of hominids on the Korean peninsula, beginning of the Paleolithic period.
- 8th millennium BCE: Beginning of the Mesolithic Jeulmun pottery period.
- 35th century BCE: Appearance of Pit-Comb Ware culture, beginning of the Middle Jeulmun pottery period.
[edit] Early history
- 1500 BCE: Beginning of Mumun pottery period.
- 1000 BCE: Beginning of the Bronze age.
- 800 BCE: Beginning of the Liaoning bronze dagger culture.
- 200 BCE: Approximate date of the founding of Goguryeo and Buyeo states and the Samhan confederacies.
- 195 BCE: Wiman usurpation of Gojoseon, and Wiman Joseon Establishment
- 108 BCE: Han Dynasty Han dynasty destroyed Wiman Joseon, establishing four commanderies in Liaoning.
[edit] Three Kingdoms
See also: Proto-Three Kingdoms of Korea, Three Kingdoms of Korea
- 57 BCE: Traditional date for the founding of Silla by Bak Hyeokgeose.
- 8: Baekje annexes much of the Mahan confederacy.
- 42: Founding of the Gaya confederacy.
- 66: King Daru of Baekje captures Wasanseong from Silla.
- 105: Baekje and Silla sign peace treaty.
- 115: Silla attacks Gaya.
- 122: Goguryeo allies with the Mahan confederacy to attack Han China in Liaodong.
- 167: Baekje attacks Silla for harboring a Baekje court traitor.
- 188: Baekje expands into Silla territory, capturing several castles.
- 214: Silla attacks Baekje, seizing Sahyeonseong.
- 313: Goguryeo destroys China's Lelang commandery.
- 364: Silla repels attack by Wae Japan.
- 369: Baekje completes absorption of the Mahan confederacy.
- 372: Under Sosurim, Goguryeo imports Buddhism from Former Qin of China.
- 392: Gwanggaeto the Great of Goguryeo begins his reign, expanding Goguryeo into a major regional power.
- 413: Jangsu of Goguryeo erects the Gwanggaeto Stele.
- 433: Baekje and Silla form an alliance against Goguryeo's aggression.
- 475: Goguryeo attacks Baekje and captures Hanseong (modern day Seoul). Baekje moves its capital south to Ungjin(modern day Kongju), and again to Sabi(modern day Buyeo) in 523.
- 520: Silla establishes civil service.
- 522: Silla begins absorption of Gaya.
- 553: Silla attacks Baekje, breaking the alliance.
- 562: Silla completes annexation of Gaya.
- 598: First of a series of major Sui attacks in the Goguryeo-Sui Wars, which ends in 614 in a costly defeat for Sui.
- 632: Queen Seondeok of Silla becoming the peninsula's first known ruling Queen. Cheomseongdae built.
- 645: Goguryeo repels attacking Tang Dynasty forces at Ansi fortress.
- 645: Silla completes Hwangryongsa.
- 648: Silla establishes alliance with Tang China.
- 660: Baekje falls to combined Silla and Tang forces.
- 668: Goguryeo falls to combined Silla and Tang forces.
[edit] Unified Silla and Balhae
- 676: Silla repels Chinese alliance forces from Korean peninsula, completes unification of much of the Three Kingdoms.
- 698: Former Goguryeo general Dae Joyeong repels Chinese forces from remainder of former Goguryeo territory, founding Balhae as a successor state.
- 828: Jang Bogo establishes Cheonghaejin, a major center of trade with China and Japan.
- 892: Silla begins to lose control of parts of the peninsula as the brief Later Three Kingdoms period begins.
- 935: Silla formally surrenders to Goryeo.
[edit] Goryeo
- 936: Goryeo completes the reunification of the Later Three Kingdoms, absorbing the remainder of Hubaekje and parts of Balhae territory.
- 956: King Gwangjong forces major land and slavery reforms, and in 958 implements civil service examinations.
- 993: The first of three Goryeo-Khitan Wars.
- 1010: The Second Goryeo-Khitan War ravage the northern border. The Third follows in 1018.
- 1033: Goryeo builds the Cheonri Jangseong, a massive wall running along the northern border.
- 1145: Kim Bu-sik compiles the Samguk Sagi, Korea's oldest extant history text.
- 1170: A violent coup results in a military junta effectively controlling the Goryeo court for the next 88 years.
- 1231: The Mongol invasions of Korea begin.
- 1234: Choi Yun-eui's Sangjeong Gogeum Yemun is published, the first metal-block printed text in the world.
- 1251: Goryeo completes the Tripitaka Koreana, the most comprehensive and oldest intact version of the Buddhist canon in Chinese script.
- 1270: Goryeo surrenders to the Mongols, beginning an 80-year period of suzerainty. The Sambyeolcho Rebellion lasts for three more years.
- 1285: Il-yeon's Samguk Yusa, record of history and legends.
- 1388: General Yi Seonggye, ordered to engage China in a border dispute, turns his troops against the Goryeo court.
[edit] Joseon
- 1392: Yi Seonggye is crowned king, officially beginning the Joseon Dynasty.
- 1402: Paper currency initiated
- 1408: High military service examination system created
- 1420: Palace of scholars established
- 1424: History of Goryeo compiled.
- 1437: Sundial and water clock invented
- 1446: The Hangul alphabet, created 3 years earlier, is promulgated by King Sejong the Great.
- 1592: The Seven Year War begins, a series of invasions by Japanese forces under the command of Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Admiral Yi Sun-Sin employs the use of the Turtle boat (geobukseon), the world's first ironclad vessel, and is successful at repelling Japanese forces in many battles.
- 1627: The first Manchu invasion takes place.
- 1636: The second Manchu invasion takes place.
- 1653: Dutch ship, with Captain Hamel and sailors, wrecked off the coast of Cheju Island.
- 1762: The tragedy of Crown Prince Sado (son of King Yeongjo)
- 1777: Introduction of Catholicism
- 1791: Persecution of Catholicism begins
- 1811: Hong Gyeongrae Rebellion
- 1861: Kim Jeong Ho draws the great map of Korea
- 1871: The Sinmiyangyo incident takes place between Korean forces and an American vessel, the USS General Sherman. The vessel, attempting to force treaty negotiations ala Admiral William Perry, was overcome and destroyed by Korean military and civilian fighters.
- 1876: Korea's ports are formally opened under the Treaty of Ganghwa.
- 1884: The King and Queen are taken hostage in a coup d'etat staged by the Progressives headed by Kim Okgyun in what became known as the Gapsinjeongbyeon, or Gapsin Coup. In a few days, Chinese forces are able to overwhelm the Progressives and their Japanese supporters.
- 1894: Donghak Rebellion When Chinese armed forces responded to Gojong's requests for assistance in putting down this peasant rebellion, Japanese armed forces also moved into the area, fomenting the first Sino-Japanese War.
- 1894: Reform-minded officals push through the Kabo Reforms in response to the Donghak Rebellion.
- 1895: Queen Min murdered. Japan and Russia go to war in the aftermath in the Russo-Japanese War.
- 1896: Cabinet announces several reforms--the last of the Kabo Reforms. The reforms include the adoption of the solar calendar to replace lunar calendar, the enforcement of vaccination, the commencement of postal service, and the Hair-Cut Act which orders men to clip off their topknots.
[edit] Korean Empire
- 1897: Kojong changes the name of the nation to the Korean Empire
- 1898: The first daily newspaper (Maeil Shinmun) founded
- 1900: Seoul-Incheon railroad opens
- 1905: Japan declares Korea a protectorate.
- 1909: Hirobumi Ito (the ex-Resident-General) assassinated by Korean patriot An Jung-geun.
[edit] Japanese Colonial rule
- 1910: Korea is annexed by Japan, beginning the period of Japanese Colonial rule.
- 1919: The Independence Movement (March 1st Movement). The Declaration of Korean Independence is signed by thirty-three nationalists and read aloud in Tapgol Park in Seoul on March 1st, 1919. The movement develops into nation-wide peaceful demonstrations that are eventually crushed by Japanese military and police forces after two months.
- 1919: The establishment of The Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea in Shanghai.
- 1919: Admiral Viscount Makoto Saito (Governer General) escapes bombing by Korean Nationalist, Kang Wu Gyu, at Seoul Railway Station.
- 1929: Gwangju Student Movement. A clash between Korean and Japanese students in Gwangju develops into a nation-wide anti-Japanese demonstration by Korean students.
- 1932: Korean Nationalist Lee Bong Chang fails in his attempt to assassinate Emperor Hirohito in Tokyo.
- 1932: Korean Nationalist Yun Bong Gil bombs Japanese Military gathering in Shanghai killing Shirikawa (commander-in-chief of the Japanese Army in China), blowing off both legs of Shigemitsu (Japanese ambassador to China), and knocking out an eye of Nomura (Japanese commanding admiral on the Chinese waters).
[edit] Korea Divided (The Two Koreas)
- 1945: After the surrender of Japan, the Korean peninsula is divided between Soviet and American occupation forces at the 38th parallel.
- 1946: US-USSR Joint-Commission on the formation of a Korean Government reaches an impasse. The Joint-commission is dissolved as the Cold War begins.
- 1947: The United Nations establishes the UN Temporary Commission on Korea
- 1948: May 10. UN sponsored elections are held in South Korea.
- 1948: August 15. Establishment of the Republic of Korea with Syngman Rhee as President.
- 1948: August 25. Establishment of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea with Kim Il Sung as Premier.
- 1949: The murder of Kim Gu. Kim Gu was a Korean Nationalist who believed in, and fought for, a unified Korea. He strongly objected to the formation of a separate South Korean state. He was shot in his home by a South Korean Army lieutenant.
- 1950: June 25. North Korean troops open fire and cross the 38th parallel. Seoul is captured within three days. The Korean War begins.
- 1950: July. UN Forces are formed with General Douglass MacArthur as Commander.
- 1950: August. UN Forces are driven back to South-east corner of the Korean Peninsula (The Pusan Perimeter).
- 1950: September. UN Troops make an Amphibious Landing at Incheon.
- 1950: October. UN Forces cross the 38th Parallel and soon reach the Manchurian border.
- 1950: November. Chinese Forces enter the war
- 1953: The Korean War is halted in a ceasefire that has remained in force until now.
- 1960: A student uprising begins the April Revolution which overthrows the autocratic First Republic of South Korea. Syngman Rhee resigns and goes into exile.
- 1961: Military forces, headed by General Park Chung Hee, overthrow the Second Republic of South Korea in what is known as the Glorious Revolution
- 1970: Gyeongbu Expressway (Seoul - Busan) is completed and opened to traffic.
- 1972: The first Red Cross talks between North and South Korea are held.
- 1979: President Park Chung Hee is assassinated by his intelligence chief.
- 1980: The Gwangju Uprising. Martial Law is declared throughout the nation. The city of Gwangju becomes a battleground between dissenters and the Armed Forces (May 18-27). Some reports claim over 1200 casualties.
- 1988: Democratic elections usher in the Sixth Republic of South Korea.
- 1988: 24th Olympic Games held in Seoul
- 1994: Kim Jong Il takes control of North Korea upon the death of his father Kim Il Sung.
- 2000: The first summit between North and South Korean leaders is held, with Kim Dae Jung representing the south and Kim Jong Il the north. Kim Dae Jung is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
- 2002: 17th World Cup Games jointly held by Korea & Japan. The Korean National Team makes it to the semi-finals.
[edit] References
Korean Cultural Series Vol.1; Ha, Tae Heung, KOREA - Forty Three Centuries, (Yonsei University Press:Seoul, 1962)
365일 연표로 보는 한국사, 청솔역사연구회;(도서출판 청솔:파주시,2006)
