Today in Korean history

On this day in Korean history, 1945 marked the end of Japan's colonial rule over the Korean Peninsula, which had lasted for over 30 years since 1910. The same day saw the establishment of a committee to prepare for a unified Korea, led by Yeo Un-hyung, a fervent nationalist.

The following year, 1948, saw the formal establishment of the Republic of Korea, commonly known as South Korea. The country's capital was later moved back to Seoul from Busan in 1953, following the outbreak of the Korean War.

In 1974, a young Korean-Japanese man named Moon Se-kwang attempted to assassinate President Park Chung-hee during a ceremony commemorating Korea's liberation from Japanese rule. Though President Park survived, his wife Yook Young-soo was fatally shot during the incident. Moon was apprehended, tried, and executed for his actions.

The demolition of a building that once served as the Japanese governor-general's office in 1995 marked a step towards acknowledging the painful legacy of Japanese colonization. In 2000, historic reunions of families separated by the division of Korea in 1948 took place in Seoul and Pyongyang, facilitated by an agreement reached at the inter-Korean summit in Pyongyang that same year.

In 2005, South and North Korea held their first video reunion of 40 separated families. President Lee Myung-bak proposed a three-stage reunification plan with North Korea in 2010, introducing a "unification tax" to financially prepare for the potential reunification of the two nations.

In 2012, South Korea expressed regret over Japan's resumption of paying homage at a Tokyo shrine, seen as a symbol of Japan's imperialistic past. In 2014, Pope Francis prayed for the victims of the Sewol ferry disaster and met with survivors and bereaved families during his visit to South Korea.

In 2024, South Korea voiced deep regret over Japanese political leaders, including Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who had sent offerings or visited the Yasukuni Shrine, a site that honors Japanese war dead, including convicted war criminals from World War II.