Seoul – November 21 marks several pivotal events in South Korea's history, each reflecting significant political and cultural shifts in the nation.
According to Yonhap News Agency, on this day in 1972, a national referendum in South Korea saw the adoption of the Yushin (revitalizing reform) Constitution with 91.5 percent support. Proposed by then-President Park Chung-hee, who had seized power in a 1961 coup, this constitutional revision prolonged his dictatorial rule until his assassination by his intelligence chief, Kim Jae-kyu, on October 26, 1979.
In 1997, South Korea, severely impacted by the Asian financial crisis, sought assistance from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The IMF arranged a record US$58 billion bailout package, demonstrating the country's economic vulnerability and the need for substantial financial reforms.
On November 21, 2003, executive board members of the Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization, including South Korea, the United States, Japan, and the European Union, decided to freeze a project to build two light-water reactors in North Korea. This decision, effective from December 2003, was taken amidst tensions over North Korea's nuclear weapons program. The consortium, established in 1995, aimed to provide reactors in exchange for North Korea halting and eventually dismantling its nuclear program.
In 2012, South Korea achieved a tourism milestone, with the number of foreign tourists surpassing 10 million for the first time, largely driven by an influx of Chinese and Japanese visitors.
A critical political event occurred on this day in 2016, when South Korea's main opposition Democratic Party and two minor parties decided to seek the impeachment of President Park Geun-hye over a corruption scandal. The National Assembly passed the impeachment motion on December 9, and the Constitutional Court upheld it on March 10, 2017, leading to Park's removal from office.
On November 21, 2018, the South Korean government announced the closure of a Japan-funded foundation established to support domestic victims of Japan's wartime sex slavery. This decision by the Moon Jae-in administration effectively dismissed a 2015 agreement on "comfort women" issues between South Korea and Japan, finalized under former conservative President Park Geun-hye.
Most recently, on this date in 2022, the K-pop group BTS won an American Music Award in the favorite pop duo or group category, marking their fifth consecutive year of winning a trophy at the annual American music award ceremony.