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.

2010 -- North Korea proposes talks on replacing the Korean War armistice with a peace treaty, saying the agenda can be discussed at an independent meeting of "armistice signatories" or even in the six-party nuclear talks. South Korea, however, reacted skeptically, believing the North may use the peace treaty issue to undermine multilateral negotiations on ending Pyongyang's nuclear ambitions.

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

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

2018 -- South Korean President Moon Jae-in and Chinese President Xi Jinping agree to continue working together to peacefully resolve the North Korean nuclear issue. The 30-minute telephone conversation between Moon and Xi took place two days after government officials from the divided Koreas held talks on the North's participation in the Winter Olympic Games in South Korea in February.

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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