On August 22, 1910, Korea is officially colonialized by Japan. The treaty consisted of 8 articles, the first being: "His Majesty the Emperor of Korea makes the complete and permanent cession to His Majesty the Emperor of Japan of all rights of sovereignty over the whole of Korea". Japan built many heavy industries in Korea to supply Japan with chemicals, iron and steel, machinery etc. Koreans were forced to take on Japanese names, convert to the Shinto (native Japanese) religion, and were banned from using the Korean language in public.
On March 1, 1919, Koreans start a Japanese resistance movement lead by 33 nationalists. Mansae Demonstrations and the public reading of the Korean Declaration of Independence occured.
During WWII, Japan took advantage of the resources in Korea more than ever to fuel their Imperial war machines. Korean men were forced to fight for Japan and some women were forced into prostitution for the Japanese armed forces. Many of the forced laborers were never repatriated to Korea.
The U.S. drop the atomic bomb on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945. Three days later, Nagasaki is also bombed.
With the surrender of Japan at the end of WWII, Korea was liberated and regained independence from Japan on August 15th, 1945
After the Japanese were defeated, the Soviet Union occupied the northern half of the Korean Peninsula and the U.S. occupied the southern half. They could not reach an agreement on how to reunite Korea. The U.S. brought the issue to the UN and the UN General Assembly declared that elections should be held to choose one government for Korea. But the Soviet Union refused to allow UN representatives into the North, so there was no UN supervision of elections in the north.
Syngman Rhee is elected president and The Republic of Korea is formed on August 15, 1948. (Exactly three years after Korea regained independence)
The Democratic People's Republic of Korea is formed on September 9, 1948 with Kim Il Sung in power.
On the dawn of June 25, 1950, North Korea (with about 135,000 soldiers, airplanes, artillery, tanks) invades South Korea by surprise with hopes of taking over the Korean Peninsula. At the time, South Korea was politically unstable and the American troops they relied on for military power had all withdrawn (they had an army of about 95,000 soldiers, few planes or heavy guns, no tanks), making South Korea totally unprepared for war. On the other hand, North Korea had military aid from the Soviet Union.
In the morning of June 27, 1950, President Syngman Rhee evacuated himself with a few government officials out of Seoul, the capital of South Korea. At 11:00pm, the South Korean Army headquarters decided to bomb the Hangang Bridge in an attempt to stop the North Korean army from proceeding into the South. At 11:30pm, the bombing warning order was issued, but it never reached the Seoul citizens. The next day, on June 28, 1950 at 2:30am, the Hangang Bridge was bombed without warning. 4000 refugees were on the bridge when it was bombed, and 800 of them were killed. On September 21, 1950, Colonel Choi Changsik was executed as the person responsible for the bombing. But in 1964, Choi's wife pleaded his innocence and Choi was found not guilty as his superiors ordered him to carry out the bombing of the Hangang Bridge.
After the news of the invasion of South Korea, 16 UN countries sent troops to South Korea, and 41 countries sent military equipment, food, or other supplies. Canada sent more than 25,000 soldiers and three naval destroyers. Canadian troops participated in fighting at the front lines, but also engaged in patrolling and ambush. However, the Korean War is often referred to as "Canada's forgotten war". The U.S. provided about 90% of the troops, military equipment, and supplies. American General Douglas MacArthur was named commander in chief of the United Nations Command. Lieutenant General Walton H. Walker became field commander of the Allied ground forces in Korea.
On July 1, 1950, Task Force Smith, a small forward element of the 24th Infantry Division of the U.S. army arrived in South Korea. On July 5, they fought the North Korean army at Osan, 30 miles south of the capital Seoul, which the North Koreans had already captured. The U.S. Army were outnumbered and poorly equipped, resulting in the loss of the battle with heavy casualties.
The Battle of Taejon lasted from July 14 to 16, 1950. It was one of the earlier battles of the war, between the U.S. forces and the North Korean army. The 24th Infantry Division's regiments were tired from fighting earlier battles, and the entire division gathered to make a final stand around Taejon. But the Americans were outnumbered, ill-equiped, and untrained and had to retreat after 3 days. However, the Battle of Taejon bought time for other American and UN troops to arrive, allowing them to establish a defensive perimeter around Pusan further south.
After the loss of the Americans at Taejon, the North Koreans kept pushing south. The Pusan Perimeter was a 140 mile (230 km) defensive line at the southeastern tip of the Korean Peninsula. The North Korean army succeeded in crossing the Naktong River on August 6, 1950. But they had already lost about 58,000 soldiers and a lot of equipment advancing to that area. Although the North Koreans advanced until shelling distance of Taegu, they were forced to retreat due to major losses of troops and equipment. This was the furthest south the North Korean Army got during the war.
The Inchon landing was a major turning point of the Korean War for the UN forces. The Battle of Inchon, which started on September, 15, 1950, was a surprise amphibious invasion, directed personally by General MacArthur. The North Koreans did not expect an attack from Inchon, since the region was not the best suited for it and the allies had leaked false information that the attack would happen at Gunsan. As a result, the North Korean defence in Inchon was weak. The Inchon Landing contributed to South Korea regaining the original capital city, Seoul, in within 2 weeks, on September 26, 1950.
After their success at Incheon, the UN forces kept on pushing North and reached the 38th parallel on October 1, 1950.
On October 19, 1950, the UN forces continue north from the 38th parallel and successfully capture Pyongyang, the capital city of North Korea.
The U.S. army and the Chinese army first clash at the Changjin (Chosin) Reservoir and at Onjoong, near Pukchin on October 25, 1950. Underestimating the size of the Chinese army, General MacArthur orders another advance on November 24. China sent a huge force against the allies on November 26-27, forcing the allies to retreat.
On December 27, 1950, General Walton H. Walker, head of the U.S. Eighth Army and field commander of the Allied ground forces is killed in a jeep accident. He is replaced by General Matthew B. Ridgway.
On January 4, 1951, North Korea with the aid from the Chinese army move south, as the allies continue retreating, and recapture Seoul.
Soon after North Korea captured Seoul, the allies stoped their retreat on January 16, 1951, and began to move north. Under the command of General Ridgway and his new tactic, South Korea regained Seoul on March 14, 1951 without a fight.
On April 11, 1951, U.S. president Turman removes General MacArthur from command and replaces him with General Ridgway. This was due to the constant disagreement of MacArthur and defense leaders in Washington as to how to conduct the war.
After South Korea regained Seoul, all the fighting happened slightly above the 38th parallel with neither side making significant advances. However, they still fought for strategic positions and it was called the "Battle for the Hills". This included Bloody Ridge, Finger Ridge, Heartbreak Ridge, Old Baldy, and Pork Chop Hill. Truce talks began in July 1951, but the issue of voluntary repatriation of prisoners could not be solved. Captives from China and North Korea refused to return home under a communist regime, but the communist countries did not want to admit that communism had failed to secure the loyalty of all its citizens. The truce talks were deadlocked until March 5, 1953, when Joseph Stalin died. After the death of Stalin, the Soviet leaders began talking about settling the dispute peacefully, and eventually accepted voluntary repatriation.
On July 27, 1953, an armistice agreement is signed to end the fighting. The Demilitarized Zone, which is a buffer zone (250km long and 4km wide) dividing the North and South Korea was established. This was not a peace treaty.
On March 26, 2010, Cheonan, a Republic of Korea Navy ship carrying 104 personnel, sank off the west coast of South Korea, near Baengnyeong Island in the Yellow Sea, killing 46 of the South Korean Navy. An official investigation concluded that the ship was sunk by a North Korean torpedo fired from a submarine.
On November 23, 2010, the South Korean island of Yeonpyeong was bombarded. It was an artillery engagement between the North Korean military and South Korean forces stationed on Yeonpyeong Island. It was one of the most serious military incidents between North and South Korea after the Korean War. Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper "strongly condemned" the attack, reaffirming Canada's support for South Korea, and urged North Korea to not commit "further reckless and belligerent actions."
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