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.

1950 -- The Korean War breaks out after North Korea invades the South. Three years later, the war ended in a truce rather than a peace treaty, leaving the two Koreas technically at war.

1952 -- South Korean President Rhee Syng-man survives an assassination attempt by a gunman in Busan.

1962 -- South Korea establishes diplomatic relations with Sierra Leone.

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.

2004 -- Ha Seung-jin is selected 46th overall by the Portland Trail Blazers in the National Basketball Association draft in New York, becoming the first South Korean to be chosen in the annual draft for the top U.S. professional basketball league.

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.
(END)