Today in Korean history

March 13

1946 -- A group of students stages protests against communism, which was
spreading in the northern part of the Korean Peninsula, in Hamheung, a
northeastern city now part of North Korea. After Korea regained its sovereignty
from Japan in 1945, fierce clashes between capitalists and communists continued
until the country was divided by the 1950-53 Korean War.

1956 -- South Korea signs a treaty with Norway, Sweden and Finland to build a
medical center in Seoul. South Korea also inks a treaty with the United States to
buy surplus agricultural products.

1976 -- Choi Kyu-hah is sworn in as the 12th prime minister of the country.

1986 -- Movie director Shin Sang-ok and his wife, actress Choi Eun-hee, who were
abducted by North Korea in 1978, escape the North by taking refuge in the U.S.
Embassy during a visit to Vienna, Austria.

1998 -- The Kim Dae-jung administration announces a special amnesty for 5.5
million people in commemoration of the launch of his government in February.

2004 -- SK Telecom launches a digital multimedia broadcasting satellite, intended
for the world's first satellite-based broadcasting service, from the John F.
Kennedy Space Center in the U.S. state of Florida. The launch of the satellite,
dubbed "Hanbyul" and code-named MBSat, signaled the advent of the era of mobile
satellite-based broadcasting in South Korea.
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