Today in Korean history

April 1

1895 -- Yu Kil-jun, a government official of the Joseon Dynasty, publishes an essay titled "Seo-yoo-gyeon-mun" (A Traveler's Journal on the West), in which he gave his impressions of the United States and Europe.

1920 -- The Dong-A Ilbo, now one of the oldest and largest dailies in the country, is founded with the aim of expressing Korean opinions, restoring Korean culture and promoting democracy in the face of Japanese colonial rule over Korea.

1963 -- South Korea establishes diplomatic relations with Peru.

1968 -- The South Korean government creates a national army reserve corps, citing North Korean military preparations to invade the South.

1970 -- The government establishes Pohang Iron and Steel Company (POSCO), which later becomes South Korea's largest steelmaker.

1981 -- The earliest known manuscript of the lyrics to the South Korean national anthem, which historians estimate dates to before 1904, is discovered.

1991 -- The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific holds its general meeting in Seoul.

1998 -- Taiwan sends a delegation to Seoul to discuss trade issues. It was the first group of Taiwanese officials to visit South Korea since Taipei severed diplomatic ties with Seoul in 1992 because of the latter's establishment of relations with communist China.

2004 -- A free trade agreement (FTA) between South Korea and Chile is implemented, a year and five months after it was signed. It was Korea's first FTA and the first for Chile with an Asian partner.

2018 -- North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and his wife, Ri Sol-ju, attend a performance in Pyongyang by a South Korean art troupe, making Kim the first North Korean leader to attend a performance by a South Korean artistic group.
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