Today in Korean history

May 23

1985 -- South Korean university students storm into a U.S. cultural center in Seoul and launch a sit-in. The protesters demanded the U.S. apologize for allegedly overlooking a bloody crackdown by South Korea's then military-backed regime on anti-government protests in the southern city of Gwangju in 1980.

1995 -- South Korea's second-largest city of Busan is selected to host the 2002 Asian Games.

1996 -- A North Korean military pilot flying a MiG-19 jet defects to South Korea.

2002 -- A group of five North Korean family members arrives in South Korea after fleeing their hunger-stricken homeland.

2009 -- Former President Roh Moo-hyun dies after falling from a mountainside behind his residence, leaving behind a brief suicide note. Roh's death came amid a widening prosecution probe into his alleged involvement in a corruption scandal that implicated his family members. Roh and his wife, Kwon Yang-sook, were summoned by prosecutors and questioned about their monetary transactions with Park Yeon-cha, a businessman arrested for evading taxes and bribing influential political figures. The investigation ended following Roh's death.

2014 -- North Korea announces it will participate in the 2014 Asian Games in South Korea.

2017 -- The Seoul Central District Court begins the historic trial of former President Park Geun-hye over a string of corruption allegations involving a longtime friend and her former aides.

2018 -- South Korean President Moon Jae-in and U.S. President Donald Trump hold bilateral talks in Washington. The meeting came ahead of the summit between the United States and North Korea slated for June 12 in Singapore.

-- Eight South Korean journalists arrive in North Korea by government plane to cover the dismantlement of its nuclear test facilities.
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