Today in Korean history

Aug. 1

1943 -- Japan begins conscripting Koreans into the military during its colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula. Japan's leaders had long hesitated to implement a conscription system in Korea after the annexation of the country in 1910 due to fears that Koreans, once armed as part of the Japanese military, could revolt at any time. But with an expanding war in China and the start of the Pacific War, Japan had no choice but to introduce the system as it needed to secure sufficient manpower.

1972 -- At least 25 people are killed when a bus falls off a cliff in Gangwon Province, northern South Korea.

1976 -- Gimpo International Airport opens. The facility served as the country's biggest gateway until Incheon International Airport opened in 2001.

1983 -- South Korea and 24 countries agree to full automation of international calls.

2000 -- A new medical system takes effect in South Korea with the aim of preventing drug abuse by drawing a clear line between the roles of doctors and pharmacists. The measure prohibits doctors from selling medicine and pharmacists from writing prescriptions.

2008 -- The government disapproves a request by disgraced cloning expert Hwang Woo-suk to resume his work on human stem cell research.

2010 -- Two South Korean folk villages of Hahoe and Yangdong, located in the southern part of the country, are added to UNESCO's World Heritage List in recognition of their Confucian cultural characteristics.

2012 -- South Korea and Turkey sign a bilateral free trade deal in the Turkish capital of Ankara. South Korea's trade minister says the trade volume between the two countries is expected to grow to US$10 billion in two to three years and up to $20 billion in the future.

2018 -- The U.N. Command holds a ceremony at Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, 70 kilometers south of Seoul, to mark the return of 55 sets of remains of American troops killed during the 1950-53 Korean War.

2019 -- A North Korean soldier crosses the inter-Korean land border and expresses a desire to defect to South Korea. The man was spotted moving southward along the Imjin River after crossing the Military Demarcation Line inside the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ).
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