Today in Korean history

March 18

1912 -- The Japanese government establishes a judiciary system in Korea, which
was a Japanese colony from 1910 to 1945. Under the system, defendants could
appeal three times as in Japan and European countries.

1935 -- The first telephone switchboard in Korea begins operation at a post
office in North Hamgyong Province, the northernmost region of the peninsula. The
area later became part of North Korea.

1937 -- The Japanese governor-general orders government agencies in Korea to use
Japanese as their official language. The announcement was part of the Japanese
policy to eradicate Korean culture and language.

1949 -- North Korea and China sign a mutual defense treaty.

1982 -- A group of civic activists carries out an arson attack against the
American Cultural Center in Busan, some 450 kilometers southeast of Seoul, to
protest the alleged involvement of the United States in the Gwangju massacre.
Hundreds were killed in the 1980 massacre when forces of the then military
government cracked down on citizens of Gwangju, 330 kilometers southwest of the
capital, who launched protests against the military regime.

1993 -- The International Atomic Energy Agency adopts a resolution calling for
the inspection of North Korean nuclear facilities.

1995 -- An American company ships 54,000 tons of corn to North Korea,
representing the first shipment of its kind from the United States to the North.
(END)