Today in Korean history

In 1901, Hansung Electric Co. celebrated the inaugural use of electric lights in Seoul. Prime Minister Jang Myun faced arrest in 1962 on accusations of anti-revolutionary conspiracy. The South Korean Journalists Association was founded in 1964. Four months prior to the reestablishment of diplomatic ties with Vietnam in 1992, Seoul established a liaison office in Hanoi.

Initially, North and South Korea had diplomatic relations since 1956, but severed them in 1975 following the capture of Saigon by the People's Army of Vietnam at the end of the Vietnam War.

In 2001, journalists Bang Sang-hoon, Kim Byung-kwan, and Cho Hee-jun were arrested for tax evasion following a special probe into their news organizations. This was seen by conservatives as a government effort to curb critical media. In 2016, North Korea's ambassador in London, Thae Yong-ho, defected to South Korea. The defection came, according to Seoul, several days after Thae's arrival in the country.

North Korea announced in 2019 that it had tested a new weapon, believed to be a version of the U.S. Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS), under leader Kim Jong-un's guidance. The details were scarce, but experts interpreted this as a demonstration of defense capabilities. In 2021, President Moon Jae-in and Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev signed an agreement to strengthen bilateral partnerships in emerging sectors such as Fourth Industrial Revolution, public health, and space exploration during their summit in Seoul.