On July 20, 1907, King Gojong of the Joseon Dynasty stepped down from the throne, handing power to his son under pressure from the Japanese colonial regime. Rhee Syngman was appointed South Korea’s first president in 1948. In 1989, the government allowed citizens to make proposals to visit North Korea. In 2005, the divided Koreas agreed to dismantle propaganda facilities along their border. In 2007, Taliban insurgents kidnapped 18 South Koreans in Afghanistan. In 2013, Incheon was named the World Book Capital for 2015. In 2018, ousted President Park Geun-hye was sentenced to 32 years in prison for embezzlement and incurring loss of state funds. That same year, a unified Korean men’s doubles ping pong team won the bronze medal at an international tournament in South Korea.