Today in Korean history

June 25

1916 -- Japan, which colonized Korea from 1910-1945, begins construction on the office of the governor-general inside Gyeongbok Palace, the main royal residence of Korea's Joseon Dynasty in central Seoul. The colonial headquarters exercised supreme authority over the peninsula, with its main posts held by Japanese.

Completed in 1926, the office was demolished by the South Korean government in 1995 in an effort to clear away the remains of Japan's colonial rule and restore the royal palace to its original design.

1950 -- The Korean War breaks out with shells and gunshots pounding South Korea's northern regions at around 4 a.m.

Ideological differences on the peninsula deepened after it regained sovereignty from Japan in 1945. Koreans became divided between those in support of the Soviet Union and those who supported the United States.

North Korean communist soldiers easily advanced southward at the beginning of the war, but U.S.-led foreign forces intervened and pushed them northward toward the border with China. Chinese troops then stepped in to drive back coalition forces supporting the South.

The war ended with a cease-fire, not a peace treaty, on July 27, 1953. North Korea and China signed an armistice agreement with the United Nations, which represented South Korea.

There is no official record of how many lives were lost during the three-year war, but historians suggest about 970,000 South Koreans, 1.7 million North Koreans, 150,000 U.N. troops, mostly Americans, and 900,000 Chinese died.

2002 -- South Korea loses 1-0 to Germany in the semifinals of the World Cup. Led by Dutch coach Guus Hiddink, the South Korean team advanced further than any other Asian team in the history of the quadrennial tournament.

2013 -- The websites of South Korea's presidential office Cheong Wa Dae, another government agency and some media organizations are shut down after an attack by unidentified hackers claiming to be part of the hacktivist group Anonymous.
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