Key Historical Events in Korea on July 20
Quick Look
July 20 marks key moments in Korean history: King Gojong's 1907 abdication, Rhee Syng-man's 1948 election as South Korea's first president, inter-Korean tension easing, the 2007 Taliban kidnapping in Afghanistan, and former President Park Geun-hye's 2018 conviction.
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Why It Matters
The text presents a chronological list of significant historical events related to Korea that occurred on July 20 across different years, covering political, diplomatic, and social aspects.
July 20
1907 -- King Gojong of the Joseon Dynasty abdicates in favor of his son under pressure from the Japanese colonial regime. The king was a thorn in Japan's side, as he made several diplomatic efforts to counter its colonial policies.
1948 -- The National Assembly of South Korea names Rhee Syng-man as the nation's first president.
1989 -- The government begins to allow citizens to make proposals to visit North Korea under the Inter-Korean Cooperation and Exchange Act.
2005 -- The divided Koreas agree to resume dismantling propaganda facilities along their heavily fortified border as part of tension-easing measures following the historic inter-Korean summit in 2000.
2007 -- Taliban insurgents kidnap 18 South Koreans, including 15 women, in Afghanistan, threatening to kill them if Seoul doesn't withdraw its troops from the war-torn country.
2013 -- South Korea's western port city of Incheon is chosen to be the World Book Capital for 2015 by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.
2018 -- A Seoul court convicts ousted President Park Geun-hye of additional charges and sentences her to eight more years in prison, raising her total jail term to 32 years. She was found guilty on charges of embezzlement and incurring loss of state funds for illegally accepting billions of won from Seoul's spy agency.
