A History of Korea (117 page)

11 July 1894

Japan demands that Chos
ŏ
n carry out internal reforms

15 July 1894

Chos
ŏ
n refuses to yield to Japanese pressure and demands the withdrawal of Japanese forces

23 July 1894

Japanese troops drive the pro-Chinese faction out of the government

25 July 1894

Japanese warships attack Chinese forces at Asan Bay, initiating the Sino-Japanese War

27 July 1894

The new pro-Japanese government undertakes the Kabo ky
ŏ
ngjang

15 September 1894

Japanese forces rout Chinese forces at Pyongyang, winning the Sino-Japanese War

16 November 1894

Tonghak forces again take up arms

22 January l895

The Tonghak peasant war ends

17 April 1895

Japan and China conclude Treaty of Simonoseki, ending the Sino-Japanese War

8 October 1895

Queen Min assassinated by the Japanese

26 October 1895

Chos
ŏ
n government formally adopts the solar calendar

30 December 1895

Compulsory order issued for Korean males to cut their traditional Korean topknot

11 February 1896

Kojong and the crown prince make their way to the Russian legation in Seoul; Russia supplants Japan as the dominant power in Chos
ŏ
n; new pro-Russian cabinet formed

7 April 1896

S
ŏ
Chae-p’il (Philip Jaisohn) founds daily newspaper
Tongnip sinmun

2 July 1896

S
ŏ
Chae-p’il establishes Independence Club

20 February 1897

Kojong moves out of Russian legation

12 August 1897

Chos
ŏ
n government repeals order to cut the Korean males’ topknot

11 October 1897

Kojong proclaims establishment of Great Han Empire

29 October 1898

Independence Club convenes mass meeting of officials and citizenry at Chongno intersection

4 November 1898

Kojong orders dissolution of Independence Club

10 February 1904

Japan launches surprise attack on Russian naval forces at Port Arthur in Manchuria, initiating Russo-Japanese War.

23 February 1904

Japan forces Chos
ŏ
n to sign a protocol permitting it to intervene in its internal affairs and occupy strategic points throughout the country

18 May 1904

Chos
ŏ
n forced to declare all agreements with Russia void

21 August 1904

Chos
ŏ
n forced to accept foreign advisers in all important government ministries

22 February 1905

Japan forcibly incorporates Korean island of Tok-to into its territory, renames it Takeshima

29 July 1905

Taft-Katsura Memorandum provides for secret understanding of U.S. recognition of Japan’s paramount interests in Chos
ŏ
n in return for Japanese recognition of U.S special interests in the Philippines

12 August 1905

Great Britain recognizes Japan’s special interests in Chos
ŏ
n

5 September 1905

Treaty of Portsmouth officially ends Russo-Japanese War

17 November 1905

Chos
ŏ
n signs Treaty of 1905, putting Japan in charge of Chos
ŏ
n’s foreign affairs

2 March 1906

Ito Hirobumi, chief mastermind of Japan’s imperialism in Chos
ŏ
n, becomes first resident-general

29 January 1907

Koreans launch campaign to repay national debt incurred by Chos
ŏ
n government’s borrowing from Japan

22 April 1907

Kojong dispatches secret envoys to Second World Peace Conference, scheduled to be held in The Hague in June

20 July 1907

Kojong abdicates throne to his son, Sunjong

24 July 1907

Chos
ŏ
n cedes to Japanese resident-general full authority over all internal matters

31 July 1907

Japan disbands Chos
ŏ
n army; widespread rioting and fighting erupts in Chos
ŏ
n against Japanese rule

26 October 1909

An Chung-gun assassinates Ito Hirobumi at the Harbin railroad station in Manchuria

22 August 1910

Japan and Chos
ŏ
n sign Treaty of Annexation

29 August 1910

Chos
ŏ
n becomes a Japanese colony

13 August 1912

Japanese Government-General launches land survey of Korean-owned farmlands

5 November 1918

Japanese Government-General completes land survey

8 February 1919

Some 600 Korean students gather at
YMCA
Hall in Tokyo demanding Korea’s independence

1 March 1919

Declaration of Independence proclaimed, initiating March First Movement

13 April 1919

Korean nationalists establish Korean Provisional Government in Shanghai

10 September 1919

Saito Makoto, new governor-general, proclaims “Cultural Policy”

4-7 June 1920

Korean Independence Army, led by Hong Pom-do, defeats a Japanese army contingent in a battle at Fengwu-dong, southeastern Manchuria

21-26 October 1920

A Japanese force suffers crushing defeat by Korean independence fighters, led by Kim Chwa-jin, in a battle at Qingshan-li, southeastern Manchuria

17 April 1925

Korean Communist Party established.

10 June l926

State funeral of the last Chos
ŏ
n king Sunjong; Korean students stage massive anti-Japanese demonstrations, initiating the “10 June Manse Movement”

15 February 1927

Right- and left-wing Korean nationalists form a united nationalist organization, the Sin’ganhoe

27 December 1928

Korean Communist Party dissolved

3 November 1929

Kwangju Student Movement erupts

15 May 1931

Sin’ganhoe dissolved

29 April 1932

Yun Pong-gil hurls bomb at high-ranking Japanese military officials at Hungkou Park, Shanghai, killing or wounding more than ten

1 April 1938

National General Mobilization Law promulgated, imposing mandatory Japanese war conditions on Koreans

11 February 1940

Name Order, requiring Koreans to adopt Japanese names, goes into effect

1 December 1943

Cairo Declaration, issued by the United States, Great Britain, and China, proclaims that Korea should become free and independent “in due course”

8 February 1945

At Yalta Conference, United States calls for a trusteeship for Korea of 20 to 30 years

26 July 1945

At Potsdam Conference, United States and Great Britain issue Potsdam Declaration, threatening Japan with “prompt and utter destruction” if it does not surrender

6 August 1945

United States drops atomic bomb on Hiroshima

8 August 1945

Soviet Union declares war on Japan; Soviet armies invade Manchuria

9 August 1945

United States drops atomic bomb on Nagasaki

15 August 1945 (Korea time)

Japan surrenders unconditionally to Allied powers; Korea is liberated; Yo Un-hyong organizes Committee for the Preparation of Korean Independence in Seoul

17 August 1945

Cho Man-sik establishes South P’y
ŏ
ngan Province branch of Committee for the Preparation of Korean Independence

22 August 1945

Soviet forces march into Pyongyang and arrange merger of South P’y
ŏ
ngan and Pyongyang branches of Committee for the Preparation of Korean Independence, forming the People’s Political Committee, with Cho Man-sik as chairman

25 August 1945

Local branches of the Committee for the Preparation of Korean Independence authorized to take over administrative powers of Japanese Government-General by the Soviet command in Pyongyang

2 September 1945

Formal Japanese surrender signed

6 September 1945

Yo Un-hy
ŏ
ng proclaims the establishment of Korean People’s Republic in Seoul

7 September 1945

General Douglas MacArthur formally establishes U.S. control in Korea south of 38th parallel

8 September 1945

U.S. 24th Corps, commanded by Lieutenant General John R. Hodge, arrives in Korea

9 September 1945

Lieutenant General Hodge accepts formal surrender of Japanese forces in Seoul

11 September 1945

United States announces the creation of the United States Army Military Government in Korea; Pak H
ŏ
n-y
ŏ
ng reestablishes Korean Communist Party

16 September 1945

Rightists form Korean Democratic Party in Seoul

25 September 1945

Kim Il-sung arrives in W
ŏ
nsan

10 October 1945

Governor-General Archibald Arnold denies legitimacy of Korean People’s Republic, declaring that U.S. Military Government is the only lawful government south of the 38th parallel

16 October 1945

Syngman Rhee returns to Korea

25 October 1945

Syngman Rhee founds Central Council for the Rapid Realization of Korean Independence

17 December 1945

Kim Il-sung named first secretary of North Korean Branch Bureau of Korean Communist Party.

16-26 December 1945

Foreign ministers of United States, Great Britain, and Soviet Union meet in Moscow and agree to implement a five-year trusteeship by the three states, plus China; United States and Soviet Union establish joint commission to form an interim Korean administration, in consultation with the Korean people

29 December 1945

News of the Moscow agreement reaches Korea

31 December 1945

Anti-trusteeship strikes and demonstrations staged throughout Korea

2 January 1946

Korean Communist Party alters its stand and supports trusteeship

15 January 1946

South Korean Constabulary established

8 February 1946

North Korean Interim People’s Committee established as governing body under the Soviet occupation, with Kim Il-sung as chairman

14 February 1946

U.S. Military Government creates South Korean Representative Democratic Council as advisory body

15 February 1946

Democratic People’s Front formed in the U.S. zone

5 March 1946

North Korean Interim People’s Committee initiates social and economic reforms, including land reform

20 March 1946

U.S.-Soviet Joint Commission has first meeting in Seoul

8 May 1946

U.S.–Soviet Joint Commission adjourns indefinitely

28 August 1946

North Korean Workers Party established

25 September 1946

South Korean railroad workers strike, initiating the “October People’s Resistance”

1 October 1946

Serious rioting in Taegu

7 October 1946

Left-Right Coalition Committee, a moderate coalition, established by Kim Kyu-sik and Y
ŏ
Un-hy
ŏ
ng in Seoul

23 November 1946

South Korean Workers Party established

12 December 1946

South Korean Interim Legislative Assembly convenes

20 February 1947

North Korean People’s Committee, highest executive governing body, created under Kim Il-sung

22 March 1947

Leftist labor union calls for general workers’ strike throughout southern Korea

21 May 1947

The U.S.–Soviet Joint Commission reconvenes in Seoul