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60 of 60 events · showing 41–60

The Story of

South Korea

660 – 2025

Country in East Asia

  1. Coup d'état of December Twelfth

    12 December 1979

    The coup d'état of December Twelfth or the 12·12 Military Insurrection (Korean: 12·12 군사 반란; Hanja: 十二十二軍事反亂) was a mutiny which took place on 12 December 1979, in South Korea, where a secret society of military officers known as Hanahoe led by Major General Chun Doo-hwan mutinied against the Chief of Staff of the Republic of Korea Army General Jeong Seung-hwa. The coup led to Chun strengthening his military and political position in South Korea, leading to his outright seizure of power as president in 1980.

  2. Gwangju Uprising

    18 May 1980 – 27 May 1980

    The Gwangju Uprising, also known in South Korea as the May 18 Democratization Movement (Korean: 5·18 민주화 운동), was a series of student-led demonstrations that took place in Gwangju, South Korea, in May 1980, against the coup d'état of May Seventeenth by Chun Doo-hwan that strengthened his power. Chun had previously taken power and become military dictator through the coup d'état of December Twelfth at the end of 1979.

  3. Korean Air Lines Flight 015

    19 November 1980

    Korean Air Lines Flight 015 was a Boeing 747-200 operating a scheduled passenger flight from Los Angeles International Airport, in Los Angeles, California, to Gimpo International Airport in Seoul, South Korea with an intermediate stop in Anchorage, Alaska, that crashed while attempting to land on 19 November 1980. Of the 226 passengers and crew on board, 15 were killed in the accident.

  4. June Struggle

    10 June 1987 – 29 June 1987

    The June Democratic Struggle (Korean: 6월 민주 항쟁), also known as the June Democracy Movement and the June Uprising, was a nationwide pro-democracy movement in South Korea that generated mass protests from 10 to 29 June 1987. The demonstrations forced the ruling authoritarian government to hold direct presidential elections and institute other democratic reforms, which led to the establishment of the Sixth Republic, the present-day government of the Republic of Korea (South Korea).

  5. Korean Air Flight 858

    29 November 1987

    Korean Air Flight 858 was a scheduled international passenger flight between Baghdad, Iraq, and Seoul, South Korea. On 29 November 1987, the Boeing 707 flying the route exploded in mid-air upon the detonation of a bomb planted inside an overhead storage bin in the airplane's passenger cabin by two North Korean agents.

  6. Asiana Airlines Flight 733

    26 July 1993

    Asiana Airlines Flight 733 was a domestic Asiana Airlines passenger flight from Seoul-Gimpo International Airport to Mokpo Airport, South Korea. The Boeing 737-500 operating the flight crashed on 26 July 1993, in the Hwawon area of Haenam County, South Jeolla Province.

  7. 1996 Gangneung submarine infiltration incident

    17 September 1996

    The 1996 Gangneung submarine infiltration incident began on 18 September 1996 near the South Korean city of Gangneung when North Koreans abandoned their grounded submarine and hid within the city, resulting in a 49-day manhunt for the belligerents. The incident was one of the more serious instances of North Korean espionage involving the Reconnaissance Bureau (reconnaissance team and 22nd Squadron of the Maritime Department of the Reconnaissance Bureau).

  8. 1998 Sokcho submarine incident

    22 June 1998

    The 1998 Sokcho submarine incident occurred on 22 June 1998, offshore of the South Korean city of Sokcho.

  9. 2002 FIFA World Cup

    2002

    The 2002 FIFA World Cup (Korean: 2002 FIFA 월드컵 한국/일본; Japanese: 2002 FIFAワールドカップ 韓国/日本) also branded as Korea Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial football world championship for men's national teams organized by FIFA. It was held from 31 May to 30 June 2002 at sites in South Korea and Japan, with its final match hosted by Japan at International Stadium in Yokohama. A field of 32 teams qualified for this World Cup, which was the first to be held in Asia, the first to be held outside of the Americas or Europe, as well as the first to be hosted by more than one nation.

  10. Air China Flight 129

    15 April 2002

    Air China Flight 129 (CCA129/CA129) was a scheduled international passenger flight, operated by Air China, from Beijing Capital International Airport to Gimhae International Airport in Busan. On 15 April 2002, the aircraft on this route, a Boeing 767, crashed into a hill named Mount Dotdae near Gimhae Airport, killing 129 of the 166 people on board.

  11. Second Battle of Yeonpyeong

    29 June 2002

    The Battle of Yeonpyeong, also known as the Second Battle of Yeonpyeong (South Korean: 제2연평해전; RR: Je I Yeonpyeong Haejeon), was a confrontation at sea between North Korean and South Korean patrol boats along a disputed maritime boundary near Yeonpyeong Island in the Yellow Sea in 2002. This followed a similar confrontation in 1999.

  12. ROKS Cheonan sinking

    26 March 2010

    The Sinking of ROKS Cheonan occurred on 26 March 2010, when Cheonan, a Pohang-class corvette of South Korea, carrying 104 personnel, sank off the country's west coast near Baengnyeong Island in the Yellow Sea, killing 46 seamen. The cause of the sinking is disputed.

  13. sinking of the MV Sewol

    16 April 2014

    On the morning of Wednesday, 16 April 2014, the ferry MV Sewol sank while en route from Incheon towards Jeju City in South Korea. The 6,825-ton vessel sent a distress signal from about 2.7 kilometres (1.7 mi; 1.5 nmi) north of Byeongpungdo at 08:58 KST (23:58 UTC, 15 April 2014).

  14. 2015 South Korea respiratory syndrome coronavirus outbreak

    2015

    An outbreak of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus occurred in South Korea from May 2015 to July 2015. The virus, which causes Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS), was a newly emerged betacoronavirus that was first identified in a patient from Saudi Arabia in April 2012.

  15. 2017 Pohang earthquake

    15 November 2017

    The 2017 Pohang earthquake, measuring magnitude 5.4 on the local magnitude scale (5.5 Mw), struck Heunghae, Pohang, South Korea on November 15, 2017, and the hypocenter was 7 km below the surface. It is tied with the 2016 Gyeongju earthquake as the country's strongest earthquake in modern history since seismological observations started in Korea in 1978, and the most destructive ever recorded with "an estimated 300 billion won (US$290 million) in damage.".

  16. COVID-19 pandemic

    1 December 2019

    The global COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an outbreak in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. It spread to other parts of Asia and then worldwide in early 2020.

  17. 2022 Central Korean floods

    8 August 2022

    On 8 August 2022, large scale floods hit the capital of South Korea, Seoul, especially affecting Gangnam District and its surrounding areas. It was preceded by the highest rainfall in 80 years.

  18. 2023 South Korea floods

    8 June 2023

    Heavy rainfall during the 2023 East Asian rainy season resulted in severe flooding and landslides across South Korea, primarily affecting residents in the provinces of North Chungcheong and North Gyeongsang. At least 47 people were killed and three are still missing as of 22 July 2023.

  19. Jeju Air Flight 2216

    29 December 2024

    Jeju Air Flight 2216 was a scheduled international passenger flight operated by Jeju Air from Suvarnabhumi Airport near Bangkok, Thailand, to Muan International Airport in Muan County, South Korea. On 29 December 2024, when the Boeing 737-800 operating the flight was approaching Muan, a bird strike occurred, with both of the engines ingesting birds, causing an apparent loss of thrust in the right engine.

  20. Air Busan Flight 391

    28 January 2025

    Air Busan Flight 391 was a scheduled international passenger flight operated by Air Busan from Gimhae International Airport in Busan, South Korea, to Hong Kong International Airport in Hong Kong. On 28 January 2025, the Airbus A321 caught fire while preparing to taxi for takeoff.