1910
Japan formally colonizes Korea with the Japan-Korea Treaty of 1910, also known a the beginning of the Japanese occupation in Korea.
1920
After the March 1st Movement, the local Koreans' passion and efforts for the anti-Japanese armed struggle grew rapidly.
1940
Japan made sweeping changes in Korea. It began a process of Japanization, eventually banning the use of Korean names and the Korean language altogether in the 1940s.
1945
The Empire of Japan surrendered in WWII in 1945, but not without committing numerous war crimes.
1961
Politician and army general Park Chung Hee seized power in the May 16 coup, where he was then elected as the 3rd president in 1963 and ruled the country as an authoritarian dictator.
1979
After the 1979 assassination of president Park Chung Hee, Chun Doo-hwan usurped power and rules as an unelected strongman.
1980
On 17 May 1980, Chun expanded martial law to the entire country. Troops were dispatched to various parts of the nation, universities were closed, political activities banned and the press suppressed.
1985
Kidnap and torture of democracy activist Kim Geun-tae for 22 days during the Chun Doo-hwan regime
1997
The 1997 Asian financial crisis hits East and Southeast Asia, with South Korea being one of the countries most affected by the crisis.
2001
South Korea repays the IMF in full on 23 August, marking the rapidity in which they recovered from the crisis.
