Korea Then: Our Memories Are Still Alive
Pick any year from 1970 to 2015 and step back into Korea as it was: the headlines, the hit songs and dramas, and the trends people still talk about. Every entry links to a source you can check.
1970s
- 1970A building of the Wawoo citizens' apartment complex in Mapo…
- 1971Park Chung Hee defeated Kim Dae-jung in the 7th presidentia…
- 1972The two Koreas issued the July 4 Joint Communiqué, setting…
- 1973President Park issued the June 23 Declaration on peaceful u…
- 1974Emergency Decree No. 1, banning any call to amend the Yusin…
- 1975Eight defendants in the People's Revolutionary Party Recons…
- 1976Prominent figures issued the March 1 Declaration for Democr…
- 1977A value-added tax on goods and services took effect.
- 1978Kori Nuclear Power Plant Unit 1 began commercial operation.
- 1979Female workers of YH Trading protesting their factory's clo…
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1980s
- 1980On May 17, the new military leadership extended martial law…
- 1981Chun Doo-hwan was elected the 12th president by an electora…
- 1982The nighttime curfew in force since liberation was lifted n…
- 1983North Korean air force pilot Lee Ung-pyong defected to the…
- 1984Pope John Paul II visited Korea and canonized 103 Korean ma…
- 1985In the 12th National Assembly elections, the New Korea Demo…
- 1986It emerged that a female student had been sexually tortured…
- 1987Seoul National University student Park Jong-chul died under…
- 1988Roh Tae-woo was inaugurated as president, launching the Six…
- 1989Under Nordpolitik, South Korea established diplomatic relat…
1990s
- 1990Three parties merged to form the Democratic Liberal Party.
- 1991Elections for basic-level local councils were held, revivin…
- 1992Elections for the 14th National Assembly were held.
- 1993Kim Young-sam was sworn in as president, launching an admin…
- 1994North Korean leader Kim Il-sung died, and the first inter-K…
- 1995Cable television service launched in South Korea on March 1.
- 1996The 15th National Assembly elections were held.
- 1997Hanbo Group, one of Korea’s largest conglomerates, went ban…
- 1998A nationwide gold-collection campaign spread as citizens do…
- 1999South and North Korean naval vessels clashed near Yeonpyeon…
2000s
- 2000The 16th National Assembly elections were held.
- 2001Hyundai founder Chung Ju-yung died.
- 2002South Korea’s national team reached the semifinals of the W…
- 2003A worm attack crippled internet service nationwide in what…
- 2004The National Assembly passed a motion to impeach President…
- 2005The National Assembly revised the Civil Code to abolish the…
- 2006The fourth nationwide simultaneous local elections were hel…
- 2007South Korea and the United States concluded negotiations on…
- 2008Sungnyemun, then designated National Treasure No. 1, was de…
- 2009A fire broke out during a police operation to clear a prote…
2010s
- 2010The navy corvette Cheonan sank near Baengnyeong Island in t…
- 2011Navy special forces rescued the crew of the Samho Jewelry,…
- 2012The 19th National Assembly elections were held.
- 2013On its third attempt, the Naro rocket successfully placed a…
- 2014The roof of a gymnasium at the Mauna Ocean Resort in Gyeong…
- 2015The National Assembly passed the so-called Kim Young-ran Ac…
Retro photo archive
- Cassettes & Walkmans18 photos
- Pagers (beepers)14 photos
- Rotary phones & phone booths6 photos
- Flip phones & feature phones9 photos
- Old TV sets7 photos
- Vinyl records & turntables17 photos
- Transistor radios7 photos
- Retro computers & floppy disks17 photos
- Arcades & handheld games10 photos
- Film & instant cameras1 photos
- Typewriters5 photos
- Dosirak lunch boxes8 photos
- Street snacks: tteokbokki, dalgona & more10 photos
- Traditional games: yut, jegi, ttakji26 photos
- Korean school uniforms6 photos
- Old Seoul streets1 photos
- Seoul 1988 Olympics2 photos
- 2002 World Cup4 photos
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