Today marks several pivotal moments in South Korea’s historical narrative, reflecting a rich and complex heritage from the early 20th century to modern times.

According to Yonhap News Agency, In 1906, an express train journey from Busan to Seoul set a record by covering 450 kilometers in 11 hours, a stark contrast to the two hours and 40 minutes it takes today on the high-speed Korea Train Express. Decades later, in 1930, the Dong-A Ilbo newspaper was temporarily shut down by the Japanese colonial government for advocating Korean autonomy.

1958 saw the repatriation of 106 cultural artifacts from Japan, originally looted during the colonial period. The nation’s first hydroelectric power plants were completed in 1980 in Cheongpyeong, and in 2001, Lee Bong-ju clinched a victory at the Boston Marathon.

Notable political and economic treaties with Japan were contested by university students in 1965, leading to widespread protests. The early 2000s were marked by political scandals, including an investigation into illicit payments to North Korea by aides of President Kim Dae-jung before a historic 2000 summit.

The timeline reaches a somber note in 2014 with the tragic Sewol ferry disaster, which claimed 304 lives and remains one of the worst maritime tragedies in the country’s history.