Korea in the 1950s: War and Armistice

On 25 June 1950 North Korean forces invaded across the entire 38th parallel, starting the Korean War, which grew into an international conflict as UN forces and the Chinese People's Volunteers joined in. Fighting stopped with the Armistice Agreement of 27 July 1953, though tensions between North and South continued afterward. Syngman Rhee's government tightened its grip in the name of anti-communism and drew criticism as authoritarian, as in the 1952 Busan political crisis held in the wartime capital. In 1960 the Liberal Party rigged the 15 March election to secure the vice presidency for Lee Ki-poong.

Year by year

Korea in 1950

North Korea's invasion on June 25 started the Korean War; Seoul fell within three days and the government fled to Daegu and Busan. The Incheon landing in September led to Seoul's recapture and an advance north, but Chin…

• Jan 12U.S. Secretary of State Dean Acheson announced a Far East defense perimeter that excluded the Korean peninsula.
• May 30Elections for the second National Assembly were held.
• Jun 25North Korean forces launched a surprise invasion across the 38th parallel, starting the Korean War.

Korea in 1951

A Chinese offensive forced the January 4 retreat and Seoul was lost again, then retaken in March, after which the front stalled near the 38th parallel. Armistice talks began in July while fighting continued, and wartime…

• Jan 4Under a Chinese offensive, UN and South Korean forces abandoned Seoul and withdrew (the January 4 retreat).
• FebIn Sinwon-myeon, Geochang County, South Korean troops massacred villagers in the name of anti-guerrilla operations (the Geochang massacre).
• Mar 15South Korean and UN forces retook Seoul once again.

Korea in 1952

As the war continued, the Rhee government declared martial law in the wartime capital Busan and forced through a direct-presidential-election amendment in the Busan political crisis. Rhee was re-elected in August in the…

• Jan 18President Syngman Rhee proclaimed the Peace Line, asserting sovereignty over the seas around the peninsula.
• Apr 25The first local elections were held for city, town and township councils.
• MayThe government declared martial law in Busan and other areas and arrested opposition lawmakers, setting off the Busan political crisis.

Korea in 1953

The armistice signed on July 27 silenced the guns after more than three years of war, though Korea remained divided along a military demarcation line. Beforehand the Rhee government had released anti-communist POWs in p…

• Jan 9The passenger ship Changgyeong, sailing from Yeosu to Busan, sank off Dadaepo, with around 300 people believed drowned.
• Feb 17A currency reform replaced the won with the hwan at a rate of 100 to 1.
• May 10The Labor Standards Act, setting minimum working conditions, was enacted.

Korea in 1954

In the year after the armistice, refugees returned home and postwar recovery continued. The Liberal Party, which won a majority in the May election, pushed through the so-called rounding-off amendment in November, lifti…

• May 20Elections for the third National Assembly were held, and the Liberal Party won a majority.
• Jun 9The Hankook Ilbo was launched after Chang Key-young took over an existing paper and renamed it.
• AugA lighthouse was installed on Dokdo for the first time.

Korea in 1955

Anti-Rhee forces angered by the rounding-off amendment founded the Democratic Party, and a two-party structure began to take shape. The government kept a hard line toward Japan, restricting Japanese imports, and the Han…

• Jun 20The government banned preferential imports of Japanese goods.
• SepAfter an editorial by chief editor Choi Seok-chae urging that students not be used as political tools, Liberal Party officials and others attacked the Daegu Maeil Shinmun.
• Sep 18Anti-Rhee forces opposed to the Sasaoip amendment founded the Democratic Party.

Korea in 1956

Ahead of the May presidential election, opposition candidate Shin Ik-hee died suddenly while campaigning; Rhee won a third term, but the Democratic Party's Chang Myon was elected vice president. Political tension contin…

• May 5Democratic Party presidential candidate Shin Ik-hee died aboard a train on his way to campaign in the Honam region.
• May 15In the third presidential election Syngman Rhee was re-elected, while the Democratic Party's Chang Myon won the vice presidency.
• Aug 15Chang Myon took office as the fourth vice president.

Korea in 1957

A relatively stable year amid the postwar aid economy, but conflict between the Liberal Party government and the opposition continued, and an opposition rally at Jangchungdan Park was broken up by political thugs. The C…

• Mar 9The Hambaek Line, a coal railway linking Yeongwol and Hambaek in Gangwon Province, was completed.
• May 5The Children's Charter, setting out what the state and society owe to children, was proclaimed.
• May 25An opposition rally at Jangchungdan Park was broken up by thugs while police stood by.

Korea in 1958

In the late years of the Syngman Rhee government, the arrest of Progressive Party leaders, the fourth National Assembly election and the forced passage of a revised National Security Act at year's end sharpened the conf…

• Jan 12Police began rounding up leaders of the Progressive Party on National Security Act charges, launching the Progressive Party incident.
• Feb 16The Korean National Airlines airliner Changnang, flying from Busan to Seoul, was hijacked by North Korean agents—the first aircraft hijacking in South Korean history.
• May 2Elections for the fourth House of Representatives (Minuiwon) were held.

Korea in 1959

Political tension rose as the Liberal Party government shut down the Kyunghyang Shinmun and executed Cho Bong-am of the Progressive Party case. Typhoon Sarah, which struck on Chuseok, became the worst natural disaster s…

• Apr 30The government ordered the closure of the Kyunghyang Shinmun, a newspaper critical of the Rhee administration.
• Jul 31Cho Bong-am, sentenced to death in the Progressive Party case, was executed; the Supreme Court acquitted him on retrial in 2011.
• Sep 17Typhoon Sarah passed near Busan on Chuseok, leaving 849 people dead or missing.

Historical photo archive

• 1950sThe Korean War (1950–53)100 photos
• 1950sPostwar Korea in the 1950s175 photos