Korea

Ireland

8000 BC First pottery discovered. Strongly hints to agriculture, probably in the form of Kimchi pots

6500 BC First hunter gatherers arrive in Ireland. Hunters fail to hunt up a pub.

4000 BC First agriculture in Ireland, surprisingly NOT potatoes

2333 BC Founding of Go-Joseon, Korea’s first Kingdom

3500 BC Passage graves built in Boyne Valley, any Irishman will tell you, twice, that they are older than Stonehenge

1000 BC Bronze age begins

2000 BC Bronze age begins

500 BC Iron Age begins, Celts arrive, bringing with them lots of squiggly designs

300 BC Bronze cell phones considered too heavy, Iron Age begins

500 BC Greek writer calls Ireland “Holy Island” first time Ireland is considered worthy of mention

200 BC 5 city states begin to emerge in the south of Korea, warfare common

200 BC Ireland divided into upwards of 120 tiny ‘kingdoms’ or Tuath, with 5 regional kings holding power

57-18 BC 3 Kingdoms of Korea, Baekjae, Goguryeo and Shilla founded

100 BC Gaels arrive

250 AD First attacks of the Wae (Japanese) recorded. Warfare between 3 kingdoms continues

200 AD Unification of the country under the high king at Tara

372 AD Buddhism arrives in Goguryeo

431 AD First bishop from Rome arrives..dies

392 AD Goguryeo begins to push into Manchuria

432 AD St. Patrick arrives, snakes leave to form EU high commission in Brussels

527 Buddhism official religion of all three nations

550 AD Irish monks begin to bring Christianity to ruins of Roman Empire and Europe

598 Goguryeo fighting Sui China on the east and Baekjae and Shilla to the south

688 With help from Tang China, Shilla conquers all of the penninsula

892 Shilla hegemony begins to fail, next fifty years see civil war

800 AD First Viking raid

936 Goryeo dynasty unifies peninsula

914 Vikings begin colonizing Ireland, building what will become most of Irelands major cities

993 First of three major wars between Goryeo and their northern neighbours, the Khitan

1002 Brian Boru becomes High King of Ireland after defeating the Vikings in battle

1145 The Samgak Sagi is written, the first definitive Korean history

1014 Brian Boru defeats Vikings at Clontarf, dies

1167 Normans invade, beginning of English influence

1231 Mongols begin invasions of Korea

1175 Last high king of Ireland dies

1234 First book printed on movable metal type

1272 Normans now control most of the island

1392 Goryeo general takes power, moves capital to modern day Seoul, founds Joseon dynasty

1361 All high ranking positions denied to pure blooded Irish

1446 Sejeong, the Great, a philosopher king, leads the invention of the Hangeul alphabet and many other scientific breakthroughs

1496 English pull back to ‘The Pale” the area around Dublin

1592 The horrendous Imjin war begins with Toyotomi Hideyoshi’s musket wielding armies invade and destroy Joseon

1510-50 Henry the 8^th becomes King, splits with Catholic Rome, chaos reigns in Ireland

1598 After 7 years of war Admiral Yi Sun Shin’s Navy (with Korean and Chinese armies) frees Korea from the Japanese

1598 O’Neill’s rebellion against the English wins major victories

1627-36 Manchus invade much weakened Joseon

1603 Defeat, surrender and enforcement of English laws in Ireland

1653 First Dutch ship becomes wrecked on Jeju Island

1649 Cromwell lands in Ireland, population drops by 2/3rds

1688-1691 James II deposed in England, battles William of Orange, ultimately, the Catholics of Ireland suffer most

1777 Catholicism is introduced

1798 Revolution and eventual defeat against the English

1811: Hong Gyeong-nae Rebellion in the north against Joseon dynasty

1845 Blight in the Potato Harvest, the Great Famine Begins

1866 First clash with the west, French land troops but are defeated

1849 Famine, population decreases by 2 million through death and emigration

1876 Japanese become involved in internal politics, Treaty of Gwangha forces ports to be opened

1870’s Gladstone, English Prime minister attempts and fails to solve the “Irish Question”

1894 Donghak Rebellion ignites first Sino-Japanese war, giving power to the Japanese in Korea

1879 Irish national league founded

1905 Japan declares Korea a protectorate, Japanese defeat Russians in Russo-Japanese war, proving Japan to be a rival to the Great Powers

1886 First Home Rule bill, but it is a failure

1910 Korea formally annexed as part of the Empire of Japan

1912 Third Home rule bill passed

1910-16 Rising resentment against Japanese grows, terror attacks across country

1914 Question of home rule scrapped at outset of The First World War

1916 “Righteous” rebels defeated by Japanese

1916 Easter Rising in Dublin, defeated by English

1919 Declaration of Korean Independence signed, peaceful March 3^rd movement crushed

1919-1921 War for Independence waged by IRA against the British

1920 Battles between Japanese and Korean forces move into Manchuria, Koreans win some victories

1921 Peace. Signing of the Anglo-Irish treaty, IRA forced to accept loss of the 6 northern counties

1929 Gwangju student movement becomes new national anti-Japanese movement

1922-23 Civil war between the new Free State and the die-hard IRA

1930s Various Korean nationals bomb venues with Japanese dignitaries, some attacks succeed in killing important leaders

1937 Devalera, former die-hard IRA leader becomes Taoiseach, Ireland declares to rule all 32 counties

1945 Japanese surrender to the U.S. First Americans and Russians arrive to disarm Japanese troops

1939-45 Though a member of the British Commonwealth, Ireland chooses to remain neutral in the war

1948 2 different Korean Republics are declared, in Pyeongyang and Seoul

1949 The Republic of Ireland is declared, Ireland leaves the Commonwealth

1945-50 Running battles between Communists and Republic troops across southern Korea, massacres on both sides, largest, the Jeju massacre where 30 000 demonstrators and civilians are killed by Republic troops

1950-1962 IRA campaigns in the North

1950 North Korean troops attack South, Americans intervene with Incheon landing, changing the future of the war

1951 Chinese invade, war crosses and re-crosses Seoul again and again

1953 DMZ divides country, peace never officially signed, a difficult peace begins

1961 General Park Jung Hee takes control of the country, begins massive building projects and industrial reforms. Korea’s economy starts to boom.

1960’s Lemass attempts to build the economy with massive reforms, investments in education, and housing projects

1979-80 Park assassinated, new dictator steps in, massive protests and rising in Gwangju, army attacks students. Economy continues to boom

1969 ‘The Troubles’ start in Derry with massacre of Catholic family

1988 Olympics, pressure from outside media helps force first democratic elections. Booming economy.

1972 Ireland joins the EEC as the poorest nation

1990’s Korean economy increases rapidly, car ownership becomes the norm. Nation known as an “Asian Tiger”

1990’s Ireland’s economy booms with support from the EU, called the “Celtic Tiger”

1997 Economic collapse as the interwoven ‘chaebol’ or family owned consortiums tumble during the Asian economic crisis

2002 Share World Cup with Japan, pay off debt to the IMF

2008 For the first time national income passes $20 000 US, Korea is declared a developed nation by FTSE Global Equity Index Series.

2008 Ireland is second richest country in the EU (per person income)