Today in Korean history

Jan. 11

1881 -- The royal authorities of Korea's Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910) designate nine young officials for a mission to examine Japan's modernized social system and technology. The delegation stayed four months in the neighboring country, where a Western-style administration and advanced technology were beginning to take root.

1896 -- Authorities announce in-depth regulations regarding an edict requiring short hair that was issued a year earlier. The edict encountered fierce resistance from the public since Confucian traditions considered cutting one's hair a negation of their ancestors' inheritance.

2011 -- A 120-man South Korean troop named the Akh unit arrives in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates, to help train soldiers there.

2017 -- Volkswagen's Korea unit executives are indicted in an emissions scandal.

2017 -- South Korea's defense white paper says North Korea has 50 kg of weapons-grade plutonium.

2019 -- Former Supreme Court Chief Justice Yang Sung-tae undergoes prosecution questioning over a power abuse scandal, becoming the country's first former head of the Supreme Court to come under such a probe as a criminal suspect. Yang was indicted the following month on 47 counts related to his alleged abuse of leadership and has been facing trial.
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