Today in Korean History

October 26

1895 -- The Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910) introduces the Gregorian calendar,
replacing the lunar calendar.

1950 -- South Korean and U.S.-led U.N. troops advance to the border with China
during the 1950-53 Korean War. About one million Chinese soldiers later
intervened, temporarily turning the tide of the war in North Korea's favor. The
war ended with an armistice.

1979 -- President Park Chung-hee is assassinated by his intelligence chief Kim
Jae-kyu, ending the president's 18-year rule. Park's presidency featured rapid
economic development but also an authoritarian rule that delayed the development
of the nation's democracy.

1996 -- North Korean Kim Kyeong-ho's family defects to South Korea.

2004 -- Two square-shaped holes in a two-layer wire fence, which forms the
southern boundary of the 4-kilometer-wide Demilitarized Zone bisecting the two
Koreas, are found near Cheorwon, a town near the center of the 248 kilometer-long
border running roughly along the 38th parallel.