Today in Korean history

Today in Korean history



June 2

1592 -- Joseon Dynasty Admiral Yi Sun-shin and his combined fleet destroy 20
Japanese ships off the southeastern region of Dangpo. Yi's naval victory was
partly thanks to his "Turtle Boats," constructed in the previous year to
effectively protect Korean soldiers from Japanese attacks and easily advance. The
Japanese forces, under Toyotomi Hideyoshi, tried repeatedly to invade the
peninsula.

1950 -- South Korea and Japan sign a trade treaty, five years after Korea's
recovery of its sovereignty from Japan.

1970 -- Kim Ji-ha, a poet and democracy activist during the military
dictatorship, is arrested by the police after writing "Five Enemies." The
satirical poem used figurative language to denounce conglomerates, lawmakers,
high-level civil servants, military generals and ministers who sought wealth and
power at the expense of ordinary people. Kim was charged with violating the
anti-communist law.

1986 -- An association of 265 professors from 23 universities nationwide
announces a political statement in Hanshin University in Seoul, calling for the
election of a democratic government. The country was under a military
administration, led by general-turned-president Chun Doo-hwan.

1989 -- Kim Young-sam, head of the opposition New Democratic Party, visits Russia
for the first time as a politician.

1993 -- The United States and North Korea open a high-level officials' meeting in
New York to discuss North Korea's nuclear arms development project.

1994 -- A painting of the Buddha from the Goryeo Dynasty (918-1392), one of
Korea's ancient kingdoms, is sold for US$332,500 at Sotheby's in New York.

2001 -- Three commercial North Korean ships illegally enter South Korean
territorial waters off the` southern island of Jeju.
(END)