Korea, South

Republic of Korea
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Location  Asia
Capital  Seoul
Area  99,720 sq km
Population  51,418,097

"There's no fool like an old fool"
(Proverb/Quote of the Week)

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January

January 1 Approximately 80% hike in the price of cigarettes came into effect in South Korea on 1 January 2015, a move aimed at curbing consumption. Ban Ki-moon, a South Korean diplomat, started his term as the eighth Secretary-General of the United Nations from 1st January 2007. January 2 January 3 South Korea has increased its budget to fund North Korea-related projects this year, government data showed on 3 January 2013, sign of cooperation amid ongoing political crisis between the two countries. January 4 January 5 January 6 South Korean film Parasite took home the award for Best Foreign Language Film at the 77th Golden Globe Awards on 6 January 2020. January 7 January 8 South Korea once again topped for broadband speeds, with average connection speeds of 25.3Mbps, according to the Third Quarter, 2014 State of the Internet Report by Akamai Technologies published on 8 January 2015. January 9 January 10 January 11 South Korean airline Korean Air was presented with the World's Most Innovative Airline award at the grand final gala ceremony of the 18th World Travel Awards on 11 January 2012. January 12 January 13 January 14 January 15 January 16 South Korea and India on 16 January 2014 signed nine agreements on bilateral cooperation in the peaceful uses of outer space, cultural exchange programme and joint applied research and development programme in science and technology, among others, to boost bilateral ties between the two countries. January 17 January 18 January 19 South Korean film Parasite became the first non-English film to win the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture on 19 January 2020. January 20 January 21 January 22 January 23 South Korea was ranked as the most innovative country for 2014, with a total score of 92.1, according to the rankings released by Bloomberg on 23 January 2015. January 24 January 25 January 26 South Korean tennis star Hyeon Chung became the first Korean player in history - man or woman - to play at the Semi Final in a Grand Slam tournament on 26 January 2018 at the Australian Open. January 27 January 28 January 29 January 30 South Korea successfully launched its first homegrown rocket carrying a satellite into space on 30 January 2013. The satellite, called Science and Technology Satellite-2C, is designed to collect climate data. January 31

February

February 1 South Korean and American researchers have suggested that a specific group of neurons in the brain may play a crucial role in the development of Type 2 diabetes, as reported on 1 February 2021. February 2 South Korean film Parasite won the BAFTA Award for Best Film Not in the English Language on 2 February 2020. February 3 February 4 February 5 February 6 Danbi Kim, a 15-year-old South Korean ballet dancer, won the Young Hope award at the 2016 Prix de Lausanne international ballet competition in Switzerland. February 7 February 8 February 9 South Korean movie Parasite became the first non-English language film to win Best Picture award in the 92-year history of the Academy Awards on 9 February 2020. South Korean movie Parasite won the Best International Film Award at the 35th Film Independent Spirit Awards on 9 February 2020. The 2018 Winter Olympics international multi-sport event was inaugurated in Pyeongchang, South Korea. February 10 A genetically-engineered virus tested in 30 terminally-ill liver cancer patients significantly prolonged their lives, killing tumors and inhibiting the growth of new ones, South Korean scientists along with their international colleagues reported on 10 February 2013 in the journal Nature Medicine. February 11 Dr Mikyung Shin from the Sungkyunkwan University in South Korea was recognised as one of the International Rising Talents at the 2020 L'Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science Award. Sang Hwa Lee of South Korea won gold in Ladies' 500 m Race 2 of 2 at the 2014 Olympic Winter Games. February 12 February 13 February 14 Paleontologists have found an extremely rare set of dinosaur footprints in South Korea from tens of millions of years ago that still contain well-preserved skin. The tracks were left behind by a Minisauripus, which is a small theropod about the size of a blackbird, as published in the journal Scientific Reports on 14 February 2019. Kim Jiyoo of Korea won the Women’s Short Track Speed Skating gold at the Lillehammer 2016 Youth Olympic Games. February 15 February 16 South Korea’s Yun Sung-bin rocketed to the men’s skeleton gold and became the first athlete outside Europe or North America to win an Olympic sliding medal after dominating the event at the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympic Games. February 17 February 18 South Korea ranked second in the Child Flourishing Index, a ranking based on a range of measures pertaining to children’s well-being, according to a report by the World Health Organization, United Nations Children's Fund and the Lancet published on 18 February 2020. South Korean film The Handmaiden won the Best Foreign Language Film Award at the 2018 British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) awards and became the first Korean film ever to win at BAFTA Awards. Actress Kim Min Hee became the first South Korean to win the Silver Bear for Best Actress at the 67th Berlin International Film Festival on 18 February 2017 for her role in On The Beach At Night Alone. February 19 February 20 South Korea ranked as the world’s eighth safest country for the newborn with eighth lowest newborn mortality rates, according to an official report published by UNICEF on 20 February 2018. South and North Korea held highly anticipated family reunions, from 20 to 25 February 2014, since they were separated by the 1950-53 Korean War. It was the first such event since 2010. February 21 February 22 February 23 South Korea and Australia on 23 February 2014 signed a bilateral local currency swap agreement to promote trade for the economic development of the two countries. This agreement allows for the exchange of local currencies between the two countries of up to A$5 billion or KRW 5 trillion. February 24 February 25 February 26 February 27 February 28 February 29 South Korean film director Hong Sang-soo won the Silver Bear for Best Director at the 70th Berlin International Film Festival for his film The Woman Who Ran on 29 February 2020.

March

March 1 March 2 March 3 South Korea and Saudi Arabia on 3 March 2015 signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to cooperate on the development of nuclear energy in Saudi Arabia. March 4 March 5 March 6 March 7 March 8 March 9 A team of researchers from South Korea, England and Denmark has found fossilized brains of a sea creature, named Kerygmachela kierkegaardi, that lived from approximately 521 to 514 million years ago. Their study was published in the journal Nature Communications on 9 March 2018. March 10 March 11 March 12 March 13 March 14 March 15 The free trade agreement between South Korea and the United States came into effect on 15 March 2012 in order to boost exports and strengthen the decades-old alliance. It went into force as the biggest such agreement for Washington in 16 years and came as Seoul actively tried to open its markets to other trading partners. March 16 The South Korean star Kim Yu-Na won the Ladies Championship at the 2013 World Figure Skating Championships in Canada with 218.31 points in total. March 17 South Korean filmmaker Lee Chang-dong clinched the Best Director Award for his film Burning at the 13th Asian Film Awards on 17 March 2019 in Hong Kong. South Korea's Incheon International Airport ranked as the World's Second Best Airport at the World Airport Awards published by Skytrax on 17 March 2016. South Korean actor Byung-hun LEE won the Best Actor Award at the 10th Asian Film Awards on 17 March 2016 in Macau. March 18 March 19 March 20 South Korean golfer Sei Young Kim won the JTBC Founders Cup on 20 March 2016 at the Wildfire Golf Club. Kim fired a final round 10-under par, 62 to set a new 72-hole Tournament scoring record. March 21 South Korean actor Ha Jung-woo won the Best Actor award for his performance in "The Yellow Sea" at the 5th Asian Film Awards in Hong Kong on March 21, 2011. South Korean film director LEE Chang-dong won the Best Director award for his work with the film "Poetry" at the 5th Asian Film Awards in Hong Kong on March 21, 2011. March 22 South Korean film Mother won the Best Film award at the 4th Asian Film Awards in Hong Kong on 22 March 2010. South Korean actress Kim Hye-ja won the Best Actress award for her performance in Mother at the 4th Asian Film Awards in Hong Kong on March 22, 2011. March 23 March 24 March 25 South Korean actress Bae Doo-na won the Best Actress Award at the 9th Asian Film Awards on 25 March 2015 in Macau for her performance in A Girl At My Door. March 26 South Korean, Singaporean and Japanese passports jointly ranked as the world's most powerful passports at the Henley Passport Index published on 26 March 2019. The 2012 Nuclear Security Summit was held in Seoul, South Korea on March 26 and 27, 2012. It was the largest summit in the security field that discussed international cooperative measures to protect nuclear materials, with participation from more than 53 heads of state and international organizations. March 27 Shin Min-kyung of South Korea won the award for Best Editor at the 8th annual Asian Film Awards in Macau on 27 March 2014. March 28 March 29 Researchers at Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology in South Korea and Northwestern University in the USA have developed an electronic device that can be used to wirelessly measure sweat rate, sweat loss and skin temperature in real-time. Their discovery was published in the journal Nature Electronics on 29 March 2021. March 30 March 31

April

April 1 April 2 April 3 By linking the brains of a human and a rat, scientists from South Korea and the USA have helped a man wiggle a rat's tail using only the man's thoughts. Their findings were published on 3 April 2013 in the journal PLOS ONE and are the first case of a brain-to-brain interface between species, and the first example of a noninvasive brain-to-brain interface. April 4 South Korea launched the world's first nationwide 5G mobile networks, which allows users to download entire movies almost instantaneously, on 4 April 2019. April 5 April 6 April 7 April 8 April 9 South Korea on 9 April 2021 rolled out the first prototype of its next-generation indigenous fighter jet, previously referred to as the KF-X, and officially named it the KF-21 Boramae, meaning hawk in Korean. April 10 April 11 April 12 April 13 April 14 South Korea and Pakistan on 14 April 2014 signed several agreements on expanding bilateral trade, cooperation in industrial and energy sectors. April 15 South Korean and Indian archaeologists have unearthed four 5000-year-old Harappan-era human skeletons in the northern state of Haryana in India, as reported on 15 April 2015. The remains recovered are expected to shed new light on the Harappan people. April 16 April 17 For the first time, researchers from South Korea and the USA have cloned embryonic stem cells from adult cells, a breakthrough on the path towards the treatment of countless diseases. Their study was published on 17 April 2014 in the journal Cell Stem Cell. April 18 April 19 K-pop sensations BTS topped the British chart with its new album “Map of the Soul: Persona”, becoming the first South Korean artists to do so, as revealed on 19 April 2019. The UN Economic and Social Council on 19 April 2017 elected South Korea as a member of its Commission on the Status of Women for a four-year terms. Han Myung-sook became South Korea's first elected female prime minister in 2006. She was elected on April 19, 2006. April 20 April 21 Former Prime Minister of South Korea Han Seung-soo was appointed as a Special Advisor of the United Nations High-Level Panel on Water on 21 April 2016. April 22 April 23 April 24 South Korean scientists at Seoul National University's College of Veterinary Medicine produced the world's first successful dog clone. The male puppy, named Snuppy (short for Seoul National University puppy), was born on April 24, 2005. April 25 April 26 The leaders of South and North Korea on 26 April 2018 committed themselves to the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and pledged to bring a formal end to the Korean War. The declaration came following the historic summit when Kim Jong Un became the first North Korean leader to cross into South Korean territory since 1953 and met the South Korean President Moon Jae-in. South Korean footballer Ji So-Yun was named the 2015 Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA) Women’s Players' Player of the Year. April 27 April 28 April 29 April 30

May

May 1 Six traditional farming systems in South Korea, China and Iran known for their unique characteristics and approaches to sustainability have been designated Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS) by Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN, as announced on 1 May 2014. They include a 22-thousand-kilometer system of black stone walls built from volcanic rock in Jeju, South Korea; and the traditional Gudeuljang Irrigated rice terraces in Cheongsando, South Korea. Researcher from South Korea and an international team of scientists have created a digital camera that mimics the eyes of fire ants. The curved cameras capture a wide field of view with nearly infinite depth perception. Their findings were published on 1 May 2013 in the journal Nature. May 2 South Korean golfer Kim Hyo-joo won the HSBC Women's World Championship at Singapore's Sentosa Golf Club on 2 May 2021. May 3 May 4 May 5 South Korea and Vietnam officially signed a bilateral Free Trade Agreement (FTA) on 5 May 2015 in a ceremony held in Hanoi. The agreement is expected to enable their trade to reach $70 billion a year by 2020. May 6 May 7 May 8 South Korea has the best education systems in the world, according to a new global league table revealed on 8 May 2014. The rankings from education and publishing firm, Pearson, include higher education as well as international school tests. May 9 May 10 May 11 May 12 May 13 South Korea ranked third in the global school ranking published by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), as revealed on 13 May 2015. May 14 May 15 May 16 South Korean author Han Kang won the prestigious Man Booker International Prize 2016 for her novel The Vegetarian. Kang was the first South Korean to win the prize. May 17 May 18 May 19 May 20 May 21 May 22 May 23 May 24 May 25 South Korean director Bong Joon-ho won the Cannes film festival's most prestigious award The Palme d'Or for his film Parasite on 25 May 2019. The Korea Institute of Drug Safety and Risk Management (KIDS) from the Republic of Korea, works relentlessly improving health in the country through prevention and recognition of drug-related issues, was awarded the 2018 United Arab Emirates Health Foundation Prize. May 26 South Korean director Moon Byoung-gon's "Safe" won the Palme d'or for Best Short Film at the 66th Cannes Film Festival on 26 May 2013. May 27 South Korean boy band BTS became the first K-pop artists to reach number one on the US Billboard 200 albums chart, as announced on 27 May 2018. May 28 May 29 May 30 May 31 The 2002 FIFA World Cup was held in Republic of Korea and Japan from 31 May to 30 June, 2002. It was the first soccer World Cup held in Asia.

June

June 1 South Korea and China on 1 June 2015 officially signed a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) that will remove most tariffs on exports between the countries when it enters into force. June 2 June 3 Researchers at Sungkyunkwan University and Hanyang University in South Korea have created an artificial tactile sensing system that mimics the way in which humans recognize objects in their surroundings via their sense of touch. This system, presented in a paper published in Nature Electronics on 3 June 2021, uses sensors to capture data associated with the tactile properties of objects. June 4 June 5 June 6 June 7 South Korean robotics team KAIST and its DRC-Hubo robot won the 2015 Darpa Robotics Challenge and took home $2 million in prize money. June 8 June 9 South Korean professional golfer Inbee Park defeated Scotland's Catriona Matthew in a three-hole sudden death playoff to win the 2013 Wegmans LPGA Championship. South and North Korea hold their first talks in two years on 9 June 2013, confronting decades of mutual distrust in a search for some positive end to months of recent military tensions. This meeting was also aimed to lay the groundwork for a revival of stalled economic cooperation projects between the two Koreas. June 10 June 11 An international research team, including South Korean scientists, has discovered that some species of ancient crocodiles walked on their two hind legs like dinosaurs and measured over three metres in length. Their findings were published in Scientific Reports on 11 June 2020. South Korea celebrated the return of 297 copies of its ancient royal documents that were looted by French troops 145 years ago with welcome ceremonies and performances in Seoul and Ganghwa Island on June 11, 2011. June 12 South Korea and Canada on 12 June 2014 confirmed the Text of Final Agreement of the Canada-Korea Free Trade Agreement (FTA). It is Canada's first FTA with an Asia-Pacific market. June 13 June 14 South Korea was elected as a member of the prestigious Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) of the United Nations for the term 2020-2022 from the Asia-Pacific region on 14 June 2019. South Korean golfer Inbee Park won the Women's PGA Championship in Harrison, New York, for the third year in a row on 14 June 2015, returning the South Korean star to number one in the world. June 15 South Korean and American researchers have demonstrated — for the first time — a light-emitting graphene transistor that works in the same way as the filament in a light bulb, dubbed as the World's Thinnest Light Bulb. Their discovery was reported in Nature Nantechnology on 15 June 2015. June 16 A South Korean research team has developed a soft robot based on a water-driven hydrogel actuator. Their discovery was published in the Journal of Materials Chemistry A on 16 June 2021. June 17 June 18 June 19 June 20 June 21 The Bucheon City court in South Korea on 21 June 2018 ruled the killing of dogs for meat is illegal, in a landmark decision that could pave the way to outlawing eating dogs. June 22 South and North Korea received the 2018 Luxembourg Peace Prize in the Outstanding Peace Process category in recognition of the ongoing peace process between the two neighbouring countries. South Korean car maker Kia topped the U.S. New-Vehicle Quality ranking published on 22 June 2016 by J.D. Power. It is the first time that a non-premium brand has come first in the annual study. Namhansanseong park, in a mountainous site 25 kilometres south-east of Seoul, was inscribed in the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)’s World Heritage List on 22 June 2014. June 23 June 24 June 25 South Korean researchers have created a portable, thumb-sized device that diagnoses bad breath by detecting hydrogen sulfide on the breath, as reported in ACS Nano on 25 June 2021. June 26 South Korea and Saudi Arabia signed an $8.3 billion economic cooperation pact on 26 June 2019 during Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s visit to Seoul aimed at strengthening bilateral ties between the two governments. June 27 South Korean football team became the first team from Asia to beat a defending FIFA World Cup champion in a World Cup match with their 2-0 win against Germany on 27 June 2018. June 28 June 29 South Korean director Jung Young-heon won the best director award for his Le-ba-non Kam-jeong (Lebanon Emotion) at the 35th Moscow International Film Festival on 29 June 2013. June 30 South Korean Inbee Park won the U.S. Women's Open golf tournament on 30 June 2013 and became the first female golfer since 1950 to win the first three major championships in a calendar year.

July

July 1 South and North Korea reopened a maritime communication channel on 1 July 2018, with vessels from the two countries making radio contact for the first time in a decade. July 2 July 3 July 4 Baekje Historic Areas, located in the mountainous mid-western region of South Korea, was added to UNESCO’s World Heritage List on 4 July 2015. July 5 Hanwha Group from Korea on 5 July 2012 completed the donation of a solar photovoltaic (PV) plant dedicated to assist rehabilitating land degradation, combating desertification and mitigating drought effects in the Baijitan National Nature Reserve of Lingwu City, Ningxia, China. The installation was completed with support of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) and the State Forestry Administration and Forestry Department of Ningxia Hui autonomous Region. This project marks the first time the UNCCD's has worked in cooperation with a private company to combat desertification. July 6 July 7 July 8 July 9 July 10 July 11 Chang Sang was the first ever female Acting Prime Minister of South Korea. She was in the office for a short period of time from July 11, 2002 – July 31, 2002 by appointment of then South Korean President Kim Dae Jung. July 12 Incheon International Airport in Seoul is voted the world's Best Airport in 2012 at the World Airline Awards held at Farnborough Air Show. The World Airline Awards are organized by SKYTRAX a United Kingdom-based, independent, global airline rating organization. July 13 South Korean students won two gold and four silver medals in the prestigious 2014 International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) held in Cape Town, South Africa. July 14 July 15 July 16 South Korean golfer Sung Hyun Park won the 72nd U.S. Women's Open at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey on 16 July 2017. July 17 An international and South Korean team of researchers combined wireless soft scalp electronics and virtual reality in a Brain-Machine Interface (BMI) system that allows the user to imagine an action and wirelessly control a wheelchair or robotic arm. Their discovery was published in the journal Advanced Science on 17 July 2021. July 18 July 19 South Korea ranked third at the 2018 United Nations (UN) E-Government Survey, which measures countries’ use of information and communications technologies to deliver public services. July 20 SpaceX successfully launched South Korean military communications satellite ANASIS-II on 20 July 2020 from Cape Canaveral in Florida. July 21 July 22 July 23 July 24 July 25 July 26 July 27 A cease fire was issued between South Korea and North Korea on July 27, 1953 ending the Korean War. The Korean War, also known as the first military clash of the Cold War, took place between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China (PRC) and the Soviet Union. July 28 July 29 July 30 July 31 South Korean scientists have unveiled a novel robotic insect that can jump off of water’s surface, as published in the journal Science on 31 July 2015.

August

August 1 August 2 Kim Jong-ki of South Korea was named as a winner of the prestigious Ramon Magsaysay Award on 2 August 2019 for his quiet courage in transforming private grief into a mission to protect Korea’s youth from the scourge of bullying and violence. South Korean golfer Inbee Park won the 2015 Women's British Open golf tournament. It was her seventh major championship and 16th LPGA tournament win. August 3 South Korea ranked first in Asia and third in the world at the United Nations E-Government Survey 2016, indicating its ability to provide government services and information through the Internet. August 4 August 5 August 6 South Korea inaugurated world’s first road-powered electric vehicle network on 6 August 2013. The network consists of special roads that have electrical cables buried just below the surface, which wirelessly transfer energy to electric vehicles via magnetic resonance. South Korea’s Hak Seon Yang won an Olympic gold medal in Gymnastics - Artistic in Men's Vault on 6 August 2012 in London. August 7 August 8 August 9 August 10 August 11 South Korean dance crew Lock N Lol won the first place in the prestigious mega crew division of the 2015 World Hip Hop Dance Championships in the United States. August 12 August 13 August 14 August 15 August 16 August 17 August 18 August 19 August 20 August 21 August 22 August 23 South Korean Lee Daehoon won gold in men’s 68-kg Taekwondo at the 18th Asian Games in Indonesia on 23 August 2018. August 24 August 25 World number one Ko Jin-young of South Korea won the CP Womens Open golf tournament at Magna Golf Club by 5 shots on 25 August 2019. August 26 August 27 August 28 August 29 August 30 August 31

September

September 1 South Korean football team won gold at the 18th Asian Games in Indonesia on 1 September 2018 defeating Japan 2-1 in the final match. September 2 September 3 September 4 September 5 September 6 September 7 September 8 South Korean director Kim Ki-duk's drama "Pieta," the brutal story of a debt collector who cripples those who can't pay until he meets a woman who claims to be his mother, won the Golden Lion award for best film at the 69th Venice Film Festival on 8 September 2012. September 9 September 10 September 11 September 12 A new Creative Productivity Index developed by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) ranked South Korea as the second most efficient country in the Asia and Pacific region at turning creative inputs into tangible innovation, as revealed on 12 September 2014. September 13 South Korea’s Mirim Lee won her first golf major with victory at the ANA Inspiration on 13 September 2020. September 14 September 15 September 16 South and North Korea restarted operations at Kaesong industrial zone on 16 September 2013, five months after it was closed by soaring military tensions and threats of war between the two neighbors. September 17 South Korean scientists and their international colleagues have carried out the first DNA analysis of the tiger, lion and snow leopard in an effort to help critically-endangered cats to survive. The research, published on 17 September 2013 in the journal Nature Communications, gives clues to how big cats evolved to become top predators with superior muscle strength and a carnivorous diet. The 1988 Summer Olympic Games were held in Seoul, South Korea from 17 September to 2 October 1988. They were the first Summer Olympic Games to be held in South Korea. September 18 A research team at the Center for Artificial Low Dimensional Electronic Systems, within the Institute for Basic Science (IBS), South Korea has developed the first 2D electronic circuit (FET) made of a single material. Published on Nature Nanotechnology on 18 September 2017, this study shows a new method to make metal and semiconductor from the same material in order to manifacture 2D FETs. September 19 The 17th Asian Games, a multi-sport event among athletes from all over Asia, was inaugurated in Incheon, South Korea on 19 September 2014. September 20 September 21 September 22 September 23 September 24 South Korean director Hong Sang-Soo won the Silver Shell Award for Best Director for his film Yourself And Yours at the 64th San Sebastian film festival on 24 September 2016. September 25 September 26 September 27 September 28 September 29 September 30

October

October 1 October 2 South Korea defeated North Korea 1-0 for the men's football gold medal in an eagerly anticipated showdown at the 2014 Asian Games, ending a 28-year drought for the title in the regional competition. South Korea defeated China 70-64 to claim the gold medal in women's basketball at the 2014 Asian Games. October 3 October 4 October 5 October 6 Hoesung Lee of South Korea was named the new head of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the UN body tasked with assessing climate science, on 6 October 2015. October 7 October 8 South Korean researchers have sequenced an ancient African genome for the first time. The DNA was obtained from the inner ear bones of a 4,500-year-old skeleton discovered in Ethiopia and was described in the journal Science on 8 October 2015. October 9 October 10 October 11 Korean film End of Winter and Iranian film 13 jointly won the New Currents Award, the top award at the 19th Busan International Film Festival for best film, on 11 October 2014. October 12 October 13 The President of South Korea, Lee Myung-bak, addressed the joint session of the United States Congress on 13 October 2011. Mr. Lee highlighted the significance of the country's free-trade agreement with the United States and his commitment to end North Korea's nuclear programs. The Norwegian Nobel Committee awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for 2000 to Kim Dae-jung for his work for democracy and human rights in South Korea and in East Asia in general, and for peace and reconciliation with North Korea in particular. October 14 South Korea was ranked as the sixth Most Empathetic Country in the world according to a study by Michigan State University published on 14 October 2016. The study measured people’s compassion for others and their tendency to imagine others’ point of view. October 15 October 16 October 17 October 18 South Korea and Hungary signed a nuclear energy cooperation agreement on 18 October 2013. The agreement is aimed at cooperation in research and development, designing, construction and operation of nuclear reactors for peaceful purposes. South Korea was elected as a non-permanent member of the U.N. Security Council on 18 October 2012 for the years 2013-2014. October 19 October 20 Republic of Korea was picked as headquarters of new United Nations Green Climate Fund, a fund meant to manage billions of dollars to help developing nations combat climate change, on 20 October 2012. October 21 South Korea launched its first homegrown space rocket, known as Nuri, on 21 October 2021 from Goheung, about 500km (310 miles) south of Seoul. A group of neurons called the corticobasal ganglia projecting neurons are important for vocal learning in young birds, but not in adult birds, according to a study by South Korean and Japanese researchers published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) on 21 October 2019. Korean director Kim Ui-seok's teen-themed drama After My Death and Blockage from Iran's Mohsen Gharaei were announced as the two winners of the New Currents award at the 2017 Busan International Film Festival. Seong-Jin Cho of South Korea won the prestigious 17th international Frederic Chopin piano competition in Poland on 21 October 2015. October 22 Scientists from South Korea and their international colleagues have unearthed fossils in Mongolia’s Gobi Desert that have allowed them for the first time to build a complete picture of one of the most unique dinosaurs, Deinocheirus mirificus. Their study was published on 22 October 2014 in the journal Nature. October 23 October 24 October 25 October 26 October 27 October 28 South Korean manufacturer Samsung overtook Apple as the world's top Smartphone maker in the 2011 July-September period with a 44 percent jump in shipments as profits from the South Korean firm's telecoms division announced on October 28, 2011. October 29 October 30 October 31 South Korean girl group Wonder Girls entered on the Billboard Hot 100 United States music industry standard singles popularity chart with their song Nobody on October 31, 2009. Wonder Girls became the first South Korean group to enter the chart.

November

November 1 South Korea was named as the most positive country from Asia at the World’s Most Positive Countries 2019. North and South Korea were jointly named as the most positive countries from Asia at the World’s Most Positive Countries 2018. South Korea ranked ninth in the list of the World’s Most Positive Countries 2013. This is the first time South Korea made it to the list. November 2 November 3 November 4 November 5 November 6 November 7 November 8 Jae Wook Chung of South Korea was awarded the 2013 Green Talents Award in Berlin for his research focused on the development of decentralised virus removal technology in water treatment using hydrothermal carbonisation of local resources. November 9 November 10 November 11 November 12 The Republic of Korea’s InfollutionZERO - that targets the unsafe digital ‘pollutants’ which can make Internet navigation harmful for children and vulnerable to cyberbullies and cyberpredators by introducing a game-based, narrative approach to educate children about the impacts of cyber-risks, or ‘infollution’ - was announced winner of the 2011 UNESCO King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa Prize on 12 November 2012. November 13 November 14 An international scientific collaboration that includes researchers from South Korea has mapped the genome of the domestic pig in a project that could enhance the animal's use in the testing of drugs for human disease. The research findings were published on 14 November 2012 in the science journal Nature. November 15 South Korea and New Zealand on 15 November 2014 officially completed negotiations on a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) covering both goods and services traded between the two countries. November 16 November 17 South Korean golfer Inbee Park became the first South Korean to clinch the LPGA Tour's Player of the Year honors on 17 November 2013, thanks to a strong performance at the Lorena Ochoa Invitational in Mexico. November 18 Neofect from South Korea won the prestigious Thematic Award for eHealth at the 2016 International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Telecom World Awards. November 19 November 20 November 21 November 22 November 23 November 24 November 25 November 26 South Korea’s football club Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors won the Asian Champions League 3-2 on aggregate after a 1-1 draw with UAE’s Al Ain in the final's second leg on 26 November 2016. November 27 November 28 South Korea successfully test-launched a space rocket projectile on 28 November 2018 to test the country's first indigenously-developed space vehicle engine, designed and developed by the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI). November 29 South Korean and Tottenham Hotspur forward Son Heung-min was named the 2017 AFC Asian International Football Player of the Year after a spectacular year for both his country and the English Premier League club. South Korean students secured the second place at the global maths and science ranking, according to the International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) released on 29 November 2016. November 30 South Korean Kim Hong-Yeol, a.k.a. Hong10, won Red Bull world breakdancing title on 30 November 2013. The 28-year-old snatched the title in a final dance-off against the 2012 winner Mounir from France, after 14 other contenders for the global b-boy championship had been eliminated.

December

December 1 Choi Kang-hee of South Korea won the Coach of the Year accolade at the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Annual Awards 2016 for his performance with the AFC Champions League winner club Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors. December 2 December 3 December 4 December 5 South Korea and Australia on 5 December 2013 signed a Free Trade Agreement in an attempt to boost trade between two countries. December 6 South Korean star Park Tae-hwan won the 400-meter freestyle swimming gold at the 2016 FINA World Short Course Swimming Championships in Windsor, Canada with a time of 3 minutes, 34.59 seconds. December 7 December 8 December 9 December 10 South Korean researchers and their international colleagues have discovered a new class of stem cells, raising hopes of a new era of regenerative medicine in which currently incurable illnesses are conquered using patients’ own cells. Their study was published in the journal Nature on 10 December 2014. December 11 A team of South Korean and Canadian engineers developed a new way to produce electrical power that can charge handheld devices or sensors that monitor anything from pipelines to medical implants. The discovery sets a new world standard in devices called triboelectric nanogenerators by producing a high-density DC current—a vast improvement over low-quality AC currents produced by other research teams, as detailed in the journal Nature on 11 December 2017. Tongyeong of South Korea was declared as the member of the 2015 UNESCO Creative Cities Network in the Music category. People of the Himalayas: The Ice Road to School, Chaddar by Korean Broadcasting System won the Best Documentary Program award at the 2014 Asia Television Awards in Singapore. December 12 Iraq signed a US$1.1 billion deal on 12 December 2013 to buy 24 multi-role light fighter planes from South Korea. It was the biggest order to date in the history of South Korea's arms exports. December 13 December 14 South Korea's Kim A-Lim produced a stunning finish to snatch her maiden golf major victory with a one-shot win in the final of the US Women's Open on 14 December 2020. December 15 December 16 December 17 South Korean striker Son Heung-min won the FIFA Puskás Award on 17 December 2020 for the best goal of the year, a solo stunner against Burnley in the English Premier league. December 18 South Korean actress Park Shin Hye won the Most Popular Overseas Actress Award at the 2013 Anhui TV Drama Awards in China for her role in the drama The Heirs. December 19 South Korean football club Ulsan Hyundai Motors won the Asian Champions League for the second time in history after a 2-1 victory over Iran’s Persepolis on 19 December 2020. South Korea elected its first female president, Park Geun-hye, on 19 December 2012. In a hard-fought presidential race, conservative ruling party candidate Park Geun-Hye won by several percentage points against left-leaning opposition candidate Moon Jae-In. December 20 December 21 December 22 December 23 South Korea on 23 December 2015 announced the official end to the deadly outbreak of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) that killed 36 people in the country. December 24 December 25 December 26 December 27 Hankook Mirae Technology of South Korea revealed the world's first manned bipedal robot Method-2 on 27 December 2016. The four-metre-tall (13-foot), 1.5 ton robot is built to work in extreme hazardous areas where humans cannot go (unprotected). December 28 December 29 December 30 December 31

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