Today in Korean history

April 6

1887 -- The Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910) sets up a government agency in charge of telegraph services.

1984 -- The Seoul Olympic Organizing Committee selects a tiger, named Hodori, as the official mascot of the 1988 Olympic Games.

2015 -- South Korea criticizes Japan for intensifying its claim to Dokdo, a set of rocky islets in the East Sea, in new school textbooks. The foreign ministry in Seoul called on Tokyo to make better efforts to improve bilateral ties. In 2015, 13 of 18 textbooks for Japanese middle schools contained Japan's claim that South Korea is illegally occupying Dokdo, up from four in 2011.

2018 -- Former President Park Geun-hye is sentenced to 24 years in prison and a 18 billion-won fine in a massive corruption scandal that toppled her from power early last year. The Seoul Central District Court meted out the guilty verdict for the former leader, about a year after her arrest in late March 2017.
(END)