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Period: to
Timeline Activity — Korea (1590's - Present Day)
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Japan Invades Korea
In 1592, the Japanese invaded the Korean nation; the next six years from 1592 to 1598 were years of Japanese occupation. The invasions, also known as the Hidayoshi invasions (named after the leader Toyotomi Hideyoshi), were split into two separate invasions. The first (1592 - 1593) was led by Hideyoshi in order to conquer the Joseun Dynasty. The next (1594 - 1598) was led in order to fight against the allies between the Ming Dynasty of China and the Joseun Dynatsty of Korea. -
Ginseng Trade War
The Ginseng Trade War is considered to be the first recorded form of contact between Korea and North America. Ginseng roots from Canada and American colonies began to flood the Chinese markets, and prevented Korea from monopolizing the ginseng in China. Ginseng had always been one of the successful specialties of Korea, and earned around 3 tons of silver every year because of its popularity. Therefore, this war over ginseng represented one of Korea's first involvements with western powers. -
French Campaign Against Japan
The French occupied Korea's Ganghwa island due to the fact that Korea had executed French Jewish missionaries along with thousands of Jewish converts earlier. In order to retaliate against the Koreans, they took over Ganghwa Island and held a major uprising. During these campaign, french troops took away and burned thousands of Korean manuscripts. -
The Treaty of Ganghwa Signed
The Treaty of Ganghwa was officially signed on February 27 by the governor of Hokkaido, 1876 as a treaty allowing Korea to open up to Japanese trade. This specific treaty represented one of Korea's first encounters with the Japanese, and established foreign relation with Japan. Although this treaty described Korea as an independent country, equal in status with Japan, it granted Japan many more opportunities than it did for Korea. The Treaty of Ganghwa later helped Japan gain Korea's submission. -
The First Sino-Japanese War
In 1894, the Donghak uprising was caused by clashing beliefs in religion within Korea (Donghak was a religion). The Koreans, without any choice, pleaded to China for assistance. When China sent troops down to Korea in order to suppress the rebellion, Japan began to fight with China for control over Korea, because both believed that Korea should be part of their own control. -
Independence Act of the Korean Righteous Army
The righteous army consisted of around 10,000 troops that fought under the command of Yi In-Yeoung in order to rebel against the Japanese government and to liberate their capital city for Korean nationalism. When the troops arrived within 12 kilometers of the capital city (Seoul), they were faced with 20,000 troops sent by the Japanese to fight the rebellion. From this uprising, more than 17,000 Korean Righteous Army soldiers died in battle. -
Japanese Colonization
The Japanese invades Korea once again, to pursue colonial ambitions. This would expand their empire, influence them in trade, and their main goal was to assimilate the of the Koreans into Japanese states, though this never suceeded. The Japanese colonization of Korea spanned over a period of 35 years, and the Koreans were under very strict Japanese rules. The Japanese colonization of Korea finally ends in Setempber 2, 1945, due to the fact that there were bombs dropped in Hiroshima and Nagaski. -
The Creation of the Korean People's Socialist Party
The Korean People's Socialist Party was first created by a group of people who had been associated with the Bolsheviks in Russia and Siberia. The creation of this party is considered the very first sign of communism within Korea, and was what spread the idea of communism throughout the country. This pary is the earliest Communist Party of Korea. -
March First Movement
During the Japanese Invasion from 1910-1945, the Koreans finally made an attempt to go against the Japanese, nationwide — trying to change how they were treated. At the moment, they were under very harsh and strict Japanese rules, and this instigated a nationwide demonstration of independence on March 1st to protest against Japanese rule. -
The Korean Provisional Government was created
The Korean Provisional Government was created in exile within Shanghai just around one month after the March 1 movement This group was created in order to establish more solid preparations for future acts of independence against Japan. The purpose of this provisional government was also to get in contact with other independence groups that fought for the same cause. Leaders of this group included Syngman Rhee and Kim Gu. -
Japanese order to change all names
In 1939, General Jiro Minami established a policty that included changing the names of all Korean citizens so that they carry Japanese surnames. This new policy was developed because the Japanese aimed to focus on the assimilation of Japanese culture and ideology by Korean citizens. This is another example of colonialism in which Japan was taking a step further into complete control of Korea. -
Korea is Divided- North and South
Korea is divided into two parts, from agreements of the Americans and Russian. These two divisions would become North Korea, the Russian zone, and South Korea, the American zone. Supposedly, the two were supposed to unite after some time, but this never happened as the two countries no longer shared similar ideas and remained in tension. -
North Korea Communist Party Inaugurated
The communist party, lead by Kim Il Sung was established in 1946. This was from the influence of the Soviet union's version of communist ideology. -
South Korea — Government Elected
After the division of Korea, South Korea became a zone in cooperation with the Americans. The government was elected in 1948, and South Korea had become a Democratic Republic. -
Korean War Begins
After the Korea was divided into two — North and South Korea, they developed different political systems. This war started from North Korea, due to conflict between the communist and non-communist forces in Korea. It ended on 27 July, 1953, by signing an armtice. -
Dokdo Island Dispute
In 2008, the dispute between Korea and Japan over Dokdo (for Koreans) or Takeshima Islands (for Japanese) began to intensify. These islands have been fought over since the early 1900's, after Japan claimed the islands as their own back in 1905. Korea argued that the islands were theirs after the korean war, which left both countries to fight over the islands without either of them backing out.
