South Korea
History Timeline
Travel through our timeline of major events in South Korea's history.
3000 B.C.:
Early Korean civilization grows with waves of settlers from central Asia.
700 B.C.
Immigrants from eastern China bring new rice-growing techniques.
200 A.D.:
Korea's emerging states develop laws and a new writing system that uses Chinese characters.
668:
The Silla Dynasty brings together three existing kingdoms, and the arts flourish.
1285:
The Buddhist monk Ilyon writes Samguk Yusa, a classic piece of Korean literature.
1392:
The Yi Dynasty begins and the country is renamed Choson. The Yi Dynasty lasts more than 500 years.
1592-1598:
The Japanese military ruler Hideyoshi Toyotomi leads invasions of Korea.
1895:
Japan defeats China in the Sino-Japanese War, ending China's influence over Korea.
1905:
The Russo-Japanese War ends, and Japan gains control of Korea from Russia.
1945:
After Japan's surrender at the end of World War II, Korea is divided into north and south zones at the 38th parallel.
1948:
The Republic of Korea is established in the south, and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea is established in the north.
1950-1953:
North Korea invades South Korea. The United Nations sends a multinational force to aid the South. After heavy fighting, a truce is declared.
1988:
Seoul hosts the Summer Olympics.
1998:
President Kim Dae Jung begins the Sunshine Policy to encourage open relations with North Korea.
2000:
President Kim Dae Jung meets with North Korean President Kim Jong-il in P'yongyang, the capital of North Korea. This is the first meeting between the two countries in fifty years.
2000:
President Kim Dae-jung becomes the first South Korean to win the Nobel Peace Prize.
