Today in Korean history

March 4

1866 -- Bishop Simeon Francois Berneux, who arrived in Korea in 1851 to become its fourth bishop, is executed as part of a larger persecution of Western missionaries and their converts by Korea's rulers. The persecution, which lasted until 1871 and claimed the lives of some 8,000 Korean Catholics and nine foreign missionaries, was aimed at keeping Western influence out of the country. The first Catholic Church in Korea was established in 1784.

1885 -- China and Japan sign a treaty in the northeastern Chinese city of Tianjin to withdraw their military forces from Korea. Chinese forces had been in Korea since putting down a progressive movement by young Korean radicals in 1884; Japan had stationed troops in Korea to counter the Chinese presence. With a military clash looming, the two countries agreed to pull their forces out of the peninsula.

1993 -- The Korean Medical Association officially recognizes "brain death," defined as the irreversible end of all brain functions.

1994 -- The National Assembly passes three bills related to the supervision of elections, fundraising and municipal governance, all aimed at increasing transparency in national politics.

2011 -- The websites of South Korea's presidential office Cheong Wa Dae, some 40 other government agencies and financial institutions come under a cyberattack, paralyzing the websites from the morning to the evening. About one month later, police confirm that North Korea was behind the distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack.

2017 -- Malaysia decides to expel North Korean Ambassador Kang Chol, giving him 48 hours to leave the country. The move comes more than a week after Malaysia recalled its ambassador from Pyongyang over the killing of Kim Jong-nam in Kuala Lumpur. The North is widely believed to have been behind the death of its leader Kim Jong-un's estranged half-brother.
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