1875 — A Japanese warship attacks Ganghwa Island on the west coast of the Korean Peninsula in an attempt to expand Japan’s influence in the neighboring country.
1980 — Following a military coup, commanders of the armed forces appoint Gen. Chun Doo-hwan to serve as head of state.
1981 — The South Korean government announces its fifth five-year economic development plan.
2003 — The Summer Universiade opens at the World Cup stadium in the southeastern city of Daegu, with delegations from 169 countries participating.
2007 — Park Tae-hwan wins gold in the 400-meter freestyle at the 2007 International Swim Meet in Chiba, Japan, at age 18. Park touched the pad with a time of 3 minutes and 44.77 seconds, beating Australian Grant Hackett, who came in at 3 minutes and 45.27 seconds. Months earlier, Park won gold in the men’s 400-meter freestyle in the World Swimming Championships in Melbourne, Australia.
2012 — Foreign Minister Kim Sung-hwan dismisses a proposal by Japan to jointly refer the issue of Dokdo to the International Court of Justice, saying the proposal is “not worth consideration.” Tokyo insists that Dokdo, a group of outcroppings in the East Sea that is effectively controlled by South Korea, is its territory.
2015 — President Park Geun-hye orders South Korea’s military to thoroughly and sternly retaliate against North Korea if provoked again as the North vowed its readiness to take military action against the South over an anti-Pyongyang propaganda campaign at the heavily fortified border. A day earlier, Pyongyang fired shells into a South Korean front-line military unit.
2016 — South Korean Park In-bee cruises to the women’s golf gold medal at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics. She beat Lydia Ko of New Zealand by five strokes for the first women’s golf Olympic title awarded in 116 years.
2019 — The top diplomats of South Korea, China and Japan agree on the need for trilateral cooperation among their countries despite a spat between Seoul and Tokyo over trade and history during their three-way meeting in Beijing, the first such gathering since August 2016.
Source: Yonhap News Agency