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Korean History: Chronological Table

Era Year Events

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Old Chosun 2333 BCE Somewhat legendary, but according to Korean records, Dahn-Goon established the first Korean kingdom, Choson, which was also the name of the last Korean dynasty (1392-1910) and the name for Korea currently used in North Korea (in South Korea, the name for Korea is Hanguk).  
320 BCE    
300 BCE    
194 BCE Wee-Mahn usurped the throne of King Joon.  
108 BCE Chosun was overrun, and annexed to Han China.  
Three Kingdoms 57 BCE Park Hyurk-Gur-Seh founded the Silla Dynasty in the South Eastern Korea. click
37 BCE Koguryo established in the Southern Manchuria.  
18 BCE The Baekje dynasty was established in today's Seoul area.  
42 The Gaya kingdom was established south of Silla.  
146 Koguryo attacked Later Han.  
246 In 242 Koguryo army attacked Wei China to encroach on Wei's eastern territory. Four years later Wei sent a force of 20,000 and took the Koguryo capital Hwahndoh (246). Koguryo soon defeated Wei army and recovered its capital, but moved the capital.  
342 The Xienpei, who became the Earlier Yen, invaded Koguryo.  
371 Baekje king Gun-Choh-Goh sent 30,000 men to attack Koguryo and beheaded their king Goh-Gook-Won.  
372 Koguryo king Soh-Soo-Rim imported Buddhism from the Tibets, and himself became a Buddhist. He also founded the National Confucian Academy.  
403 Koguryo king Gwahng-Gae-Toh moved south to subjugate Baekje and Silla. Koguryo dominated Manchuria and Korean peninsula.  
427 The Koguryo capital was moved south to Pyongyang.  
475 A Koguryo army of 30,000 captured Baekje's capital and beheaded their king Gae-Ro, revenging Koguryo king Goh-Gook-Won. Baekje moved its capital south to Ung-jin, strengthened defenses and formed a military alliance with Silla against Koguryo.  
494 Buyo kingdom ended when its aristocratic families migrated to live under Koguryo rule.  
554 After Baekje king Surng's attack on Silla failed, he was captured and killed. According to Japanese records, Buddhism was imported from Baekje to Japan two years earlier (552).  
562 Silla annexed Gaya, ending its dynasty (42-562).  
598 Koguryo encroached on Sui China by crossing the Liao River.  
612 The Koguryo - Sui War. Sui invaded Koguryo with more than one million men. Koguryo General Uljee Moon-Durk destroyed the Sui troops in retreat. An ambush killed all but 2,700 Sui troops out of 300,000 men that marched on the capital at Pyongyang. In 613, Sui invaded Koguryo but failed again.  
642 Koguryo general Yurn Gae-Soh-Moon seized power, and the same year Baekje king Ui-Jah captured forty fortresses from Silla. Baekje joined with Koguryo to take over the port of Namyang from Silla.  
645 The Koguryo - Tang War. Tang emperor Taizong led an army of 170,000 that invaded Koguryo, but two months of determined resistance, losses, and cold weather forced them to withdraw. Tang launched three more unsuccessful assaults against Koguryo in 647, 648, and 655.  
647 Churm-surng-dae which means "Star Gazing Tower" was built during the reign of Queen Surn-Durk of Silla kingdom. It is highly valuable as one of the oldest astronomical observatories of its kind in Asia. click
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660 The coalition troops of Silla and Tang China launched an attack on Baekje. The capital Sah-bee eventually fell to Silla and Tang.  
668 Koguryo's inner conflict became worse and worse, and Silla - Tang alliance toppled down Koguryo.  
Unified Silla 676 The Silla kingdom ousted Tang armies, and conquered most of the Korean peninsula. Historians often refer to the period from the Silla conquest until the end of the Silla dynasty as "Unified Silla," although the extreme north of the peninsula and a large part of Manchuria were under the control of the Bahlhae kingdom.  
682 Silla created a national Confucian college "gook-hahk" to train its young people in the Confucian classics.  
698 The Bahlhae kingdom was established in Manchuria by Dae Joh-Yurng, a former Koguryo general, generating wealth and power sufficient to cause unease both in Tang and Silla.  
828 Jang Boh-goh, who dominated international maritime trade in East Asia and battled pirates off Silla's southern coast, established his headquarters at Wahn-doh Island in 828.  
Later Three Kingdoms 900 In the late ninth century the Silla kingdom declined, and the Korean peninsula fragmented again into three rival states, calling themselves the "later three kingdoms." Gyurn Hwohn established the southern-based Later Baekjeh this year.  
901 Goong-Yeh established the northern-based Later Koguryo.  
918 Wang Gurn overthrew Goong-Yeh, establishing Koryo dynasty.  
926 Bahlhae was overrun by the Khitan.  
935 The king of Silla kingdom submitted to Koryo, ending the millennium dynasty (57 BCE -935).  
Koryo 936 The troops of Koryo destroyed Later Baekje. Korea was reunified.  
958 Koryo adopted a civil examination system whose test consisted chiefly of Confucian classics and commentaries, reinforcing the Confucian educational system and builing up the foundation of arranging solid centralization of a government system.  
1019 The 3rd Koryo - Khitan War. The Khitan army of 100,000 men was annihilated. Barely a few thousand men survived after the bitter defeat, and they never again invaded Koryo.  
1107 Koryo launched a massive campaign to suppress the Jurchen in the north.  
1126 The House Yi of Injoo married Koryo kings from the 11th king, Moon-Jong to the 17th king, In-Jong. Eventually the family gained more power than the king, and this led to the failed coup of Yi Jah-Gyurm in 1126.  
1135 An uprising led by Myohchurng, a buddhist monk and royal adviser was put down. Myohchurng suggested war against the Chinese kingdom and westward relocation of the capital based on his geomantic studies.  
1145 The first of Korea's two earliest surviving histories, Sahmgook sahkee (Histories of the Three Kingdoms), compiled under the direction of the Confucian scholar-official Kim Boosik, was presented to King In-Jong. The compilers used as their sources earlier documents that have now been lost.  
1170 The Koryo dynasty was overthrown by a military coup in 1170 and the country was ruled by the military until Choi Choong-Hurn won power in 1196. The kings became virtual puppets of military leaders. book
1196 Choi Choong-Hurn, a military officer, seized control of the royal court. Thereafter real power of the Koryo royal court was held by the Choi Family until 1258.  
1231 The Mongols invaded Koryo, as part of a general campaign to conquer China. The throne moved to Gahng-Hwah island in 1232.  
1234 The invention and use of cast-metal movable type in Korea predates by two centuries Gutenberg's invention in Europe. Sahng-jurng-goh-gum-yeh-moon (1234), which is not extant today, is the earliest book printed with metal movable type as yet. One which still exists today and the oldest in the world is Jik-jee (1377), . click
1259 Koryo resisted for decades but finally capitulated in 1259. The Koryo dynasty survived but it remained under the Mongol control until King Gong-Min began to push Mongolian forces back in the 1350's. The Mongols allowed it to continue to hold the throne, but they annexed the northern part of the peninsula, forced the Koryo kings to marry Mongol princesses.  
1274 The Mongols attempted to invade Japan. The first invasion (1274) and the second invasion (1281) by the coalition army of Mongol and Koryo failed due to bad weather condition.  
1356 Mongol Yuan Dynasty declined and Koryo recovered the northern part of the peninsula annexed to the Mongols.  
1359 From Mongol Yuan 40,000 rebelling Red Turbans fled into Koryo.  
1377 General Bureau of Gunpowder Artillery was established in 1377 on the recommendation of Choi Moo-Surn. It was charged with administering the manufacture of gunpowder and firearms. click
Chosun 1392 The Koryo court sent a military expedition to invade Manchuria, in response to a Ming government declaration that it intended to claim Koryo's northeastern territory. One of the expedition commanders, Yi Surng-Gyeh, who favors a pro-Ming policy, led his troops back to the capital and seized control of the government (1388). Having consolidated his power, he founded a new dynasty, Chosun (1392-1910).  
1433 Chosun launched active campaigns and clashed frequently with the Jurchen in the north. Chosun eventually expanded its territory to the Yalu River and Duman River.(1449)  
1446 Hangul, the Korean writing system, was promulgated by King Seh-Jong.  
1453 Dahn-Jong(1455) Sung Sahm-Moon(1456)  
1506 The king, who was later given the title of Lord Yurn-Sahn, was overthrown and replaced by his half-brother, King Joong-Jong. Lord Yurn-Sahn is known as perhaps the worst tyrant ever in Korean history.  
1592 Chosun suffered invasions by Japan (1592 - 1598). Admiral Yi Soon-Sin was instrumental in defeating the invasion.  
1623 The king, Lord Gwahng-Hae, was deposed by the Westerners faction with a coup. King In-joh was installed as the 16th king and took pro-Ming and anti-Jurchen policies, which brought two Jurchen invasions.  
1627 The Jurchens conquer Ming China(1636)  
1653 Hendrick Hamel, a Dutchman, was stranded with 38 other people on the coast of Korea this year and left the country after 13 years. He was the first Westerner to write about Korea in a book titled "Hamel’s Journal." click
1658 The coalition army of Jurchen Ching and Chosun defeated Russian army on the Amur River.  
1784 The Roman Catholic Church marks 1784 as the start of history of Christianity in Korea with the baptizement of Yi Seung-Hoon, the first Korean who had been baptized by a Jesuit priest.  
1811 In 1812, Hong Gyeong-Nae led the peasants of Gasan in the northern part of Korea into an armed rebellion and occupied the region for several months. An army was sent to quell the rebellion and only after a savage scorched-earth campaign, the revolt was put down. All over Korea, all the way to Jeju Island, peasants continued to defy the king in Seoul, the local nobility and wealthy landlords. click
1876 The Treaty of Ganghwa, also known as Korea-Japanese Treaty of Amity, was signed and three Korean ports were open to Japanese trade.  
1894 The Donghak Peasant Revolution or the 1894 Peasant War erupted. Poor farmers in large numbers rose up against the landlords and the ruling elite. The peasants demanded land distribution, tax reduction, democracy, and human rights. The Korean government requests help from the Chinese government to suppress the rebellion. Japanese army attacked Chinese army and the Sino-Japanese War broke out. click
1897 Chosun was renamed Korean Empire.  
1905 The Russo-Japanese War broke out.  
Japanese Colonial Rule 1910 Japan annexed Korea as a colony, starting its occupation of 35 years.  
1919 The March 1st Movement. The Korean Provisional Government was established in Shanghai, China.  
U.S. & Soviet Military Rule 1945 End of the World War II. Military rules began in Sourthern Korea by the U.S. army and in Northern Korea by the Soviet Union army.  
ROK

and

DPRK		 1948 The Republic of Korea(ROK) was proclaimed with its capital in Seoul. North of the 38th parallel, communists proclaimed the Democratic People's Republic of Korea(DPRK), with its capital in Pyongyang.  
1950 The Korean War (1950-1953) broke out.  
1960 April 19th Student Revolution in ROK. Students and citizens put an end to the dictatorship of President Yi Sung-Mahn in ROK.  
1961 General Park Jurng-Hee staged a military coup which overthrew the incumbent civilian government, and He ruled for the next 18 years as the president of ROK (1963-1979).  
1979 Another military coup by General Jurn Doo-Hwahn followed the assassination of ROK President Park Jurng-Hee, extending the military rule to 1992.  
1994 Following the death of Kim Il-Surng, his son Kim Jurng-Il inherited supreme power in DPRK.  
1997 Kim Dae-Joong was elected as the 15th president of ROK, and the long rule of the military government and its successor government ended.  
2000 Tension between South and North Korea eased dramatically in June 2000, when South Korea's president, Kim Dae-Joong, met with North Korea's President Kim Jurng-Il in Pyongyang. The summit marked the first-ever meeting of the two Korea' s leaders.