Today in Korean history

May 8

1442 -- King Sejong of the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910) orders the development of a rain gauge. The king is best known in Korea for inventing the Korean alphabet, Hangeul.

1902 -- A groundbreaking ceremony is held for a railway linking Seoul, now the South Korean capital, with Kaesong, which later became part of North Korea.

1925 -- The Japanese colonial government promulgates a law aimed at suppressing and punishing Koreans fighting for their country's liberation. The Korean Peninsula was under Japanese colonial rule from 1910-45.

1956 -- The government designates May 8 as Mother's Day. In 1973, the day was redesignated as Parents' Day.

1993 -- South and North Korea trade sugar and liquor, the first trade between the two sides since the 1950-53 Korean War.

2003 -- Five North Koreans trying to enter the Japanese consulate in the Chinese city of Shenyang in an alleged defection attempt are arrested by Chinese security forces.

2004 -- The prosecution arrests Shin Il-soon, a four-star South Korean general who served as deputy chief of the Korea-U.S. Combined Forces Command, on charges of embezzlement and bribery.

2014 -- Prosecutors arrest Kim Han-sik, chief executive of Chonghaejin Marine Co., which operated the Sewol ferry that sank and left more than 300 people dead or missing in April.

2017 -- Chung Mong-gyu, head of the Korea Football Association (KFA), is elected to a FIFA Council membership with a two-year term. It was the first time since 2011 that a South Korean has taken a seat on FIFA's supervisory body.

2018 -- North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Chinese President Xi Jinping hold their second summit in the northern Chinese city of Dalian to restore ties ahead of a North Korea-United States summit held in Singapore.

2020 -- South Korea reports at least 19 COVID-19 cases tied to clubs and bars in Itaewon, Seoul's popular nightlife district, since the first case tied to the quarter was confirmed on May 6. More than 270 cases tied to Itaewon clubs were reported, becoming one of the largest COVID-19 cluster infections.
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