Instruct: Given a question, retrieve documents that answer the question.
Query: When did South Korea become a republic?
This is a List of Ambassadors from Russia to South Korea. The Russian Empire established relations with the Joseon Dynasty in 1884. However Korea was deprived of its right to conduct independent foreign policy by the Japan-Korea Treaty of 1905, while the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (the eventual successor to the Russian Empire) did not formally recognise Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea in exile. In 1948, three years after the end of Japanese rule in Korea, the USSR recognised only one government on the Korean peninsula—the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, commonly North Korea. In September 1990, towards the end of its existence, the USSR established relations with the Republic of Korea (commonly known as South Korea).
In 2017 Moon Jae-in was elected President of South Korea with promises to return to the Sunshine Policy. In his New Year address for 2018, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un proposed sending a delegation to the upcoming Winter Olympics in South Korea. The Seoul–Pyongyang hotline was reopened after almost two years. North and South Korea marched together in the Olympics opening ceremony and fielded a united women's ice hockey team. North Korea sent an unprecedented high-level delegation, headed by Kim Yo-jong, sister of Kim Jong-un, and President Kim Yong-nam, as well as athletes and performers.
In May 2017 Moon Jae-in was elected President of South Korea with a promise to return to the Sunshine Policy. In his New Year address for 2018, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un proposed sending a delegation to the upcoming Winter Olympics in South Korea. The Seoul–Pyongyang hotline was reopened after almost two years. At the Winter Olympics, North and South Korea marched together in the opening ceremony and fielded a united women's ice hockey team. As well as the athletes, North Korea sent an unprecedented high-level delegation, headed by Kim Yo-jong, sister of Kim Jong-un, and President Kim Yong-nam, and including performers like the Samjiyon Orchestra. The delegation passed on an invitation to President Moon to visit North Korea. Following the Olympics, authorities of the two countries raised the possibility that they could host the 2021 Asian Winter Games together. On 1 April, South Korean K-pop stars performed a concert in Pyongyang entitled "Spring is Coming", which was attended by Kim Jong-un and his wife. Meanwhile, propaganda broadcasts stopped on both sides.
In 1971, South Korea and Singapore established consular relations by renaming the Korea Trade Centre to a consulate-general. The two countries established formal diplomatic relations in 1975. In 1979, Lee Kuan Yew became the first Prime Minister of Singapore visiting South Korea. The two countries started regular ministerial meetings in the same year. In 1981, Chun Doo-hwan, the President of South Korea paid a state visit to Singapore, making him the first President of South Korea to do so. In 2002, S. R. Nathan became the first President of Singapore visiting South Korea.
Kim Hong-il (23 September 1898 – 8 August 1980) was a Korean independence activist and a general of the Second Sino-Japanese War and the Korean War, who later became a diplomat and politician in South Korea. Born in North Pyongan, he did his early schooling in China and Korea, and had a brief career as a teacher before his connections with the nascent Korean independence movement led to his imprisonment. He fled into exile in China in 1918, and served in the Kuomintang's National Revolutionary Army from 1926 to 1948, following which he moved to the newly-independent South Korea to join the Republic of Korea Army. He commanded South Korea's I Corps during the first year of the Korean War, and was then sent to Taipei as South Korea's ambassador to the Republic of China, which by then had retreated to Taiwan. His assignment there ultimately lasted nine years. He returned to South Korea in 1960 following the April Revolution which ended the rule of Syngman Rhee, and served briefly as Minister of Foreign Affairs under the Park Chung-hee junta. He ran for the National Assembly, first unsuccessfully in 1960 and 1963, and was then elected in 1967 and became a major figure in the opposition New Democratic Party.
Kim Jong-un (officially transcribed Kim Jong Un; ; ; born 8 January 1984) is a North Korean politician serving as Supreme Leader of North Korea since 2011 and Leader of the Workers' Party of Korea since 2012. Kim is the second child of Kim Jong-il (1941–2011) and Ko Yong-hui (1952–2004). The grandson of Kim Il-sung, the first leader of North Korea from 1948 to 1994, he is the first North Korean leader to have been born after the country's founding.
In May 2017 Moon Jae-in was elected President of South Korea with a promise to return to the Sunshine Policy. In his New Year address for 2018, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un proposed sending a delegation to the upcoming Winter Olympics in South Korea. The Seoul–Pyongyang hotline was reopened after almost two years. At the Winter Olympics, North and South Korea marched together in the opening ceremony and fielded a united women's ice hockey team. As well as the athletes, North Korea sent an unprecedented high-level delegation, headed by Kim Yo-jong, sister of Kim Jong-un, and President Kim Yong-nam, and including performers like the Samjiyon Orchestra. The delegation passed on an invitation to President Moon to visit North Korea. On 1 April, South Korean K-pop stars performed a concert in Pyongyang entitled "Spring is Coming", which was attended by Kim Jong-un and his wife. 
On 27 April, a summit took place between Moon and Kim in the South Korean side of the Joint Security Area. The summit ended with both countries pledging to work towards complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. They also vowed to declare an official end to the Korean War within a year. As part of the Panmunjom Declaration which was signed by leaders of both countries, both sides also called for the end of longstanding military activities in the region of the Korean border and a reunification of Korea. Also, the leaders agreed to work together to connect and modernise their railways.
After over 50 years of military tension, the aging President Choi Kim of North Korea began to embrace the "Sunshine Policy" of South Korea, reviving hopes of peaceful reunification; however, the North Korean military became disgruntled with the turn of events, fearing a dramatic loss of their power. Their leader, the brilliant and ruthless Choi Song, believed that his father, President Kim, was losing sight of "North Korea's true destiny." Song led an army of insurgents into a ceremony celebrating a road map to the reunification of Korea. Both North and South Korean political leaders were shot and killed, and Song himself shot his father dead without hesitation.
North Korea invaded the South on June 25, 1950, and swiftly overran most of the country. In September 1950 the United Nations force, led by the United States, intervened to defend the South, and advanced into North Korea. As they neared the border with China, Chinese forces intervened on behalf of North Korea, shifting the balance of the war again. Fighting ended on July 27, 1953, with an armistice that approximately restored the original boundaries between North and South Korea. Syngman Rhee refused to sign the armistice, but reluctantly agreed to abide by it. The armistice inaugurated an official ceasefire but did not lead to a peace treaty. It established the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), a buffer zone between the two sides, that intersected the 38th parallel but did not follow it. North Korea has announced that it will no longer abide by the armistice at least six times, in the years 1994, 1996, 2003, 2006, 2009, and 2013.
The party was established in Shanghai by Kim Koo in 1928, uniting a faction of conservative members of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea headed by Kim. When Kim was able to return to Korea in 1945, the KIP began operating in the country. Kim was initially supportive of Syngman Rhee, but a dispute over holding separate elections in South Korea (Kim was opposed, Rhee was for) led to a split and the party did not participate in the 1948 parliamentary elections in South Korea. However, Kim was a candidate in the indirect presidential elections in July 1948, losing heavily to Rhee.
Park Chung-hee, president of South Korea, was assassinated on Friday, October 26, 1979 at 7:41 p.m. during a dinner at a Korean Central Intelligence Agency (KCIA) safehouse inside the Blue House presidential compound, in Gungjeong-dong, Seoul. The assassination was carried out by Kim Jae-gyu, the then director of KCIA and the president's security chief. Park was shot in the chest and head, and died almost immediately. Four bodyguards and a presidential chauffeur were also killed. The incident is often referred to as "10.26" or the "10.26 incident" in South Korea.
Following Japan's defeat in the Pacific War and the subsequent partition of Korea, the Gyeongui Line was divided at the 38th parallel between North and South Korea. On 25 August 1945, the Soviet Army began operating trains on the line north of Sariwon, whilst trains in the south terminated at Gaeseong. In 1946, the railways in both North and South were nationalised, creating the Korean National Railroad in the South and the Korean State Railway in the North. After the Korean War, the Gyeongui Line was split into three sections. In the South, the Seoul–Jangdan section became the KNR's Gyeongui Line, retaining the same name; in the North, the Bongdong–Pyeongyang section became the P'yŏngbu Line, whilst the Pyeongyang–Sinuiju section became the P'yŏngŭi Line.
The yen was the currency of Korea during the Colonial rule, from 1910 to 1945, and was issued by the Bank of Joseon It was equivalent to the Japanese yen and consisted of Japanese currency and banknotes issued specifically for Korea. It was replaced by the South Korean won at par in 1945, and by the North Korean won in 1947.
In 1902, won was introduced as the official currency unit replacing yang at 1 won = 5 yang. The bank of Korea was established 1909 but soon after in 1910, Imperial Japan annexed Korean Empire. Under Colonial rule, the country was made to use the currency unit "yen" in the name of Korean yen, which took over the Korean won at par. After the division of Korea, the state of South Korea was established and recognized in 1948, and won was again made the official currency of the new state. "jeon" was made the subunit of the currency that divided it into 100 equal parts. Bank of Joseon issued the currency for independent South Korea for the first time that too in banknotes only.
While its initial operations were merely the assembling of parts imported from foreign companies, South Korea is today among the most advanced automobile-producing countries in the world. Annual domestic output first exceeded one million units in 1988. In the 1990s, the industry manufactured numerous in-house models, demonstrating not only its capabilities in terms of design, performance, and technology, but also signalling its coming of age.
In the 1997 Asian financial crisis, the South Korean economy suffered a liquidity crisis and relied on the bailout by the IMF that restructured and modernized the South Korean economy with successive DJnomics policy by President Kim Dae Jung, including the resultant of the national development of the ICT industry. Historically, subsidies were used as means of speeding up adoption of new technology in Korea and has ultimately helped the adoption and development of faster mobile standards for the economy of South Korea. The growth of ICT industry has been far concentrated on the hardware sector, which focuses on expanding wired and wireless telecommunication network penetration rather than the software sector, which creates innovative applications and value-added services. The economy of South Korea is the global leader of consumer electronics, mobile broadband and smartphones. South Korea's LCD TV global market share also jumped to 37 percent in 2009, from 27 percent at the end of 2007, and it will soon replace Japan as the world’s number-one LCD TV supplier. The economy of South Korea ranks No.1 in the world in ICT Development Index 2015 and 2015 Bloomberg Innovation Index.
The surge of Chang Moo Kwan growth came to a violent halt as North Korea and South Korea entered a war in 1950, one which has never officially ended. When the Korean War ended in 1953 the country was divided at the 38th parallel in 1953, and Byung In Yoon was missing. The human cost of the Korean War (June 25, 1950 to June 27, 1953) was high and many prominent Korean martial artists served and were MIA or killed, often as commandos or spies. It was up to Nam Suk Lee to carry the torch forward. He did. Once again using the principles and practices of Chang Moo Kwan to help revitalize the spirit of war-torn Korea.
On 3 August 1960, the National Party government announced a referendum would be held in October of that year so that voters might weigh in on the question of whether the Union of South Africa should become a republic. The vote was restricted to white South Africans. More than 90% of eligible voters participated in the referendum, and 52.3% of those who did voted in favour of "a Republic for the Union."
The Southeastern Maritime Industrial Region, as mentioned above, is one of South Korea's chief industrial centers. Only the Capital Metropolitan Area, located around Seoul, is more advanced. This region began to grow as an international center for commerce and industrial power in the late 1970s, during which the South Korean government began to introduce national development plans to spur the South Korean industry. The results were shocking: within a decade, small fishing wharfs like Busan and Ulsan grew into densely populated cities with over two million people each. Meanwhile, industries like car manufacturing and shipbuilding, never heard of before in South Korea, progressed ahead with ferocious speed.
Kim Jong-il (officially transcribed Kim Jong Il; ; ; 16 February 1941 – 17 December 2011) was the second Supreme Leader of North Korea. He ruled from the death of his father Kim Il-sung, the first Supreme Leader of North Korea, in 1994 until his own death in 2011. He was an unelected dictator and was often accused of human rights violations.
He participated in drawing up a draft of the proclamation of the independence of Korea in 1918 while he was studying in Japan, and after 1919, worked for the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea as the secretary of the provisional government and head of the Korean Independence Party. He also organized the society of policies on current affairs with Kim Gu and Yeo Unhyeong, contributing to establish the theories on diplomacy of the provisional government. In the political scene of liberated Korea, he was one of the right politicians, who stuck to the legitimacy of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea. In 1948, he visited Pyongyang to attend the joint conference of leaders of parties and social groups in the entire nation with Kim Gu and Kim Gyusik, which was turned out to be a failure. He abandoned his direction for North-South Korea's cooperation, leading to one-sided establishment of Republic of Korea in favor.
At the end of World War II in 1945, Korea was divided into North Korea and South Korea, with North Korea (assisted by the Soviet Union) becoming a communist state after 1946, known as the Democratic People's Republic, followed by South Korea becoming the Republic of Korea (ROK). China became the communist People's Republic of China in 1949. In 1950, the Soviet Union backed North Korea while the United States backed South Korea, and China allied with the Soviet Union in what was to become the first military action of the Cold War.
South Korea–United States relations () refers to international relations between the Republic of Korea (South Korea) and the United States of America. Relations have been extensive since 1950, when the United States helped establish the modern state of South Korea, also known as the Republic of Korea, and fought on its UN-sponsored side in the Korean War (1950–1953). During the subsequent four decades, South Korea experienced tremendous economic, political and military growth, and significantly reduced U.S. dependency. From Roh Tae-woo's administration to Roh Moo-hyun's administration, South Korea sought to establish an American partnership, which has made the Seoul–Washington relationship subject to some strains, especially with the Anti-US/Korean sentiments. However, relations between the United States and South Korea have greatly strengthened under the conservative, pro-U.S. Lee Myung-bak administration. At the 2009 G20 London summit, U.S. President Barack Obama called South Korea "one of America's closest allies and greatest friends." In addition, South Korea has been designated as a Major non-NATO ally.
At the end of World War II in 1945, Korea was divided into North Korea and South Korea with North Korea (assisted by the Soviet Union), becoming a communist government after 1946, known as the Democratic People's Republic, followed by South Korea becoming the Republic of Korea. China became the communist People's Republic of China in 1949. In 1950, the Soviet Union backed North Korea while the United States backed South Korea, and China allied with the Soviet Union in what was to become the first military action of the Cold War.
Contact between Canada and the Republic of Korea date back to the 19th century when Canadians were some of the first Westerners to arrive on the Korean peninsula, a majority of whom were Christian missionaries, though they branched out into other fields of work. Rev. Canadian James S. Gale (1863-1937) created the Korean-English Dictionary which became the first and most essential tool for the scholarly study of Korea in the West; and did an independent translation of the Bible into the Korean language. Another Canadian, Dr. Oliver R. Avison, was the personal physician to King Kojong (1852-1919) and is considered the founder of modern medical knowledge in Korea. Official contact began in 1947 when Canada participated in the United Nations Commission overseeing election in Korea, and Canada formally recognized the Republic of Korea in 1949.