Factbook
Histoire de Corée du Sud — Chronologie
Dates clés de l'histoire de Corée du Sud, d'après le Factbook Magna et l'Encyclopédie universelle.
1894After the Sino-Japanese War (1894-95) and the Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905), Korea was occupied by Imperial Japan.
1910Following the collapse of Silla in the 9th century, Korea was unified under the Koryo (Goryeo; 918-1392) and the Chosen (Joseon; 1392-1910) dynasties.
1910In 1910, Japan formally annexed the entire Peninsula.
1945Independence: 15 August 1945 (from Japan).
1945Korea regained its independence after Japan's surrender to the US and its allies in 1945.
1948Syngman RHEE led the country as its first president from 1948 to 1960.
1950During the Korean War (1950-53), US troops and UN forces fought alongside ROK soldiers to defend South Korea from a North Korean invasion supported by communist China and the Soviet Union.
1953After the 1953 armistice, the two Koreas were separated by a demilitarized zone.
1961During his controversial rule (1961-79), South Korea achieved rapid economic growth, with per capita income rising to roughly 17 times the level of North Korea by 1979.
1961PARK Chung-hee took over leadership of the country in a 1961 coup.
1979PARK was assassinated in 1979, and subsequent years were marked by political turmoil and continued military rule as the country's pro-democracy movement grew.
1987South Korea held its first free presidential election under a revised democratic constitution in 1987, with former South Korean Army general ROH Tae-woo winning a close race.
1993In 1993, KIM Young-sam became the first civilian president of South Korea's new democratic era.
1998President KIM Dae-jung (1998-2003) won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2000 for his contributions to South Korean democracy and his "Sunshine Policy" of engagement with North Korea.
2013President PARK Geun-hye, daughter of former South Korean President PARK Chung-hee, took office in 2013 as South Korea's first female leader.
2016In 2016, the National Assembly passed an impeachment motion against PARK over her alleged involvement in a corruption and influence-peddling scandal, triggering an early presidential election in 2017 won by MOON Jae-in.
2018Relations remained strained, despite a period of respite in 2018-2019 ushered in by North Korea's participation in the 2018 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games in South Korea and high-level diplomatic meetings, including historic US-North Korea summits.
2021Languages: Korean, English Religions: Protestant 17%, Buddhist 16%, Catholic 6%, none 60% (2021 est.) Urban population: 81.5% of total population (2023).
2022In 2022, longtime prosecutor and political newcomer YOON Suk Yeol won the presidency by the slimmest margin in South Korean history.
2023Generation mix — fossil fuels: 61.5% of total installed capacity (2023 est.); nuclear: 30.3% of total installed capacity (2023 est.); solar: 5.3% of total installed capacity (2023 est.); wind: 0.6% of total installed capacity (2023 est.); hydroelectricity: 0.4% of total instal Energy use: 234.668 million Btu/person (2023 est.).
2023Industries: electronics, telecommunications, automobile production, chemicals, shipbuilding, steel Agriculture: rice, vegetables, cabbages, milk, onions, pork, chicken, eggs, tangerines/mandarins, potatoes (2023) Electricity access: 100% (2022 est.).
2023Major urban areas: 9.988 million SEOUL (capital), 3.472 million Busan, 2.849 million Incheon, 2.181 million Daegu (Taegu), 1.577 million Daejon (Taejon), 1.529 million Gwangju (Kwangju) (2023) high-income, export- and technology-oriented East Asian economy; manufacturing led by semiconductor and automotive industries; slow growth amid declining construction investment, export risks, and recent political instability; aging workforce; increased restraint in fiscal policy while maintaining industry support initiatives Inflation: 2.3% (2024 est.).
2024In 2024, Pyongyang announced it was ending all economic cooperation with South Korea, a move that followed earlier proclamations that it was scrapping a 2018 military pact to de-escalate tensions along their militarized border, abandoning the country’s decades-long pursuit of peaceful unification with South Korea, and designating the South as North Korea’s “principal enemy.” South Korea is a presidential republic in Eastern Asia, southern half of the Korean Peninsula bordering the Sea of Japan and the Yellow Sea.
2025Military spending: 2.3% of GDP (2025 est.).
2025Population: 51.5 million (2025 estimate).
