History by Numbers

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If you’ve read some of the Snowdrop character profile notes, you may have noticed the way events in Korean history are sometimes referred to simply by the month and day on which they occurred (or began): 5.16, 6.25, 12.12... If you’re Korean, you immediately know which incidents these refer to and (if you paid attention in history class) the years in which they took place. But for the rest of us, these dates can be a bit opaque.

If you’re unfamiliar with the history leading up to the (fictional) events in Snowdrop, this quick-quotes list of major events in Korean history leading up to the 18 December 1987 South Korean presidential election may help you orient yourself a bit and understand how we got to where we are when the drama opens.

1910 – Imperial Japan annexes Korea, ending the rule of the House of Yi

1910-1945 – The Japanese Occupation of Korea

1919-1948 – Korean Provisional Government (government-in-exile based in Shanghai)

1945 – Japan relinquishes control of Korea; the US & Russia divide Korea along the 38th parallel

15 August 1945 – Korean Independence Day

1945-1946 – People’s Republic of Korea (provisional government)

1945-1948 – Russia & the US occupy North & South Korea

1948 – Korea is divided along the 38th parallel; the occupation zones are made sovereign states

[n.b. Neither recognises the legitimacy of the other and both insist they are the sole sovereign government of all Korea.]

25 June 1950 – The Korean War (6.25 전쟁) – North & South Korea go to war for the Korean Peninsula

27 July 1953 – the Korean Armistice Agreement is signed, establishing the DMZ

19 April 1960 – The April Revolution (4.19 혁명) – President Syngman Rhee is deposed; the Second Republic is founded

16 May 1961 – The May 16th Coup (5.16 정변) – Park Chung-hee’s military coup; President Yun Posun is forced to resign

13 June 1961 – The Korean Central Intelligence Agency is founded

17 December 1963 – the Third Republic is founded under Park Chung-hee

October 1972 – The October Restoration (10월 유신) – Park Chung-hee declares martial law, suspends the constitution, and dissolves the National Assembly (temporarily)

12 November 1972 – The Yushin Constitution is instated, ushering in the Fourth Republic

26 October 1979 – The ‘10.26 Incident’ (10.26 사태) – Park Chung-hee is assassinated by the KCIA

12 December 1979 – The December 12th Military Insurrection (12.12 군사반란) – Chun Doo-hwan and members of the Hanahoe lead a military insurrection, invading Seoul

17 May 1980 – The Coup d’état of May Seventeenth (5.17 쿠데타) – Chun Doo-hwan declares martial law and sets up a concentration camp for “purificatory education”

18-27 May 1980 – The Gwangju Uprising (5.18 광주민중항쟁) – Beginning at Chonnam University, local citizens take up arms against the police and military; also known as the Gwangju Massacre

4 August 1980 – Chun establishes the Samcheong Re-education Camp (三淸敎育隊), essentially a military-style political prison camp

3 March 1981 – The highly authoritarian Fifth Republic is founded under Chun Doo-hwan

4 April 1981 – The South Korean Central Intelligence Agency is restructured into the ANSP

1 August 1985 – The White Skull Corps (백골단・白骨團・Baekgoldan) is established to suppress and arrest student protestors

10-29 June 1987 – The June Struggle (6월 민주항쟁) – Mass protests force the ruling government to hold a direct election and institute other democratic reforms

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18 December 1987 – The first truly democratic South Korean Presidential Election takes place

December 1987 – The Sixth Republic is founded under Roh Tae-woo, a close ally of Chun’s

1994 – The ANSP charter is revised

1999 – The ANSP is restructured into the South Korean National Intelligence Service

The Six Republics of South Korea:

The First Republic (August 1948 – April 1960)

The Second Republic (April 1960 – November 1963)

  • 13 August 1960 – 24 March 1962: President Yun Posun (forced to resign in the 16 May Coup)
  • 16 May 1961 – 16 December 1963: Park Chung-hee rules as an unelected military dictator
  • 16 May 1961- December 1963: The Supreme Council for National Reconstruction (ruling military junta)

The Third Republic (December 1963 – November 1972)

  • 17 December 1963 – 11 November 1972: President Park Chung-hee (elected by the SCNR)

The Fourth Republic (November 1972 – March 1981)

  • 12 November 1972 – 26 October 1979: President Park Chung-hee (assassinated)
  • 26 October 1979 – 16 August 1980: President Choi Kyu-hah (largely a figurehead)
  • December 1979 – September 1980: Chun Doo-hwan rules as an unelected military dictator

The Fifth Republic (March 1981 – February 1988)

  • 1 Sept 1980 – 24 February 1988: Chun Doo-hwan (non-elected leader)

The Sixth Republic (February 1988 – Present)

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