Visual Timeline: South Korea (1945 – present)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_Korean_history

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-pacific-15292674

 

1945:
(Aug 6) US drops first atomic bomb ‘Little Boy’ on Hiroshima (by B-29 Superfortress)
(Aug 8) Soviet Union declares war on Japan; invades Manchuria and Korea
(Aug 9) US drops second atomic bomb ‘Fat Man’ on Nagasaki
(Aug 10-15) Korea divided at 38th parallel; US-controlled South, Soviet-controlled North
(Aug 14) Japanese unconditional surrender; WW2 end
(Sep 2) Victory over Japan day; Japan formally surrenders onboard USS Missouri

1950:
(Jun 25) Korean War (1950-1953) commences with invasion from Soviet-supported North
(Sep 15-19) MacArthur led US troops land in Incheon, cuts North Korean supply line, turns tide of war

Source

1953:
Armistice ends Korean War (1950-1953)

Source

 

1960:
(Apr) President Lee Seungman (Syngman Rhee) steps down after student protest

1961:
(May 16) General Park Chung Hee coup

May 16 coup, 1961

1972:
South Korea declares martial law

1979:
(Oct 26) South Korean president Park Jung Hee assassinated by by KCIA director Kim Jae Kyu
(Dec) general Chun Doo Hwan becomes de facto leader (official term Aug80-Feb88)

Reenactment of dinner party where assassination took place. Source

1980:
(May) Gwangju massacre in South Korea

1986:
South Korean constitution changed allowing direct presidential elections

1987:
President Chun Doo Hwan outsted by pressure

1988:
(Feb) Roh Tae Woo democratically elected president of South Korea, ending decades of dictatorship

Inauguration, 25th Feb. Source

(Sep-Oct) Seoul hosts 1988 Summer Olympics

Source

1996:
South Korea admitted into OECD

1992:
1st Hallyu wave (international export of Korean pop culture) 

1997:
(Dec) Asian Financial Crisis hits South Korea. Koreans remember it as IMF Crisis, and protest the austerity measures imposed by the IMF for its bailout.

South Koreans protest the IMF bailout in Dec97. Source

1998:
Newly elected president Kim Dae Jung advocates “sunshine policy” aid to North Korea

2000:
(Jun) North and South Korea summit

2001:
Incheon international airport opens

2002:
(Jun) South Korea’s historic run to 2002 World Cup semifinals ignites national pride (but attracts plenty of controversy over rigged referees).

Source

2010:
(Nov) North-South tensions escalate amid naval encounters

2012:
(Dec) First female president Park Geun-hye elected

2017:
(Feb) North Korean assasinates Kim Jong Un brother in Malaysia
(Mar) President Park Geun-Hye impeached; later sentenced to 20 years for abuse of power

Source
Source

2018:
(Apr) Kim Jong-un becomes first North Korean leader to enter South Korea
(Jun) Trump and North Korean Kim Jong-un meet in Singapore

Revenue contribution to 2018 GDP. Source

2019:
(Feb) US-North Korea talks break down over pace of nuclear disarmament