May 19
1442 -- King Sejong of Korea's Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910) announces that his commissioned scholars have invented a rain gauge. The device, which measured the amount of rainfall using a rectangular vessel, was distributed across the country to help farmers forecast how much rain would fall in certain periods. The gauge is believed to be the world's first; the first pluviometer in the West was created in 1639 by Italian hydrologist Benedetto Castelli.
1879 -- The Joseon Dynasty opens the port of Wonsan to foreign countries for trade. The city later became part of southeastern North Korea.
1957 -- South Korea holds the Miss Korea pageant, its first beauty contest ever, in Seoul. The annual competition has since been the target of fierce criticism from a number of civic groups and women's organizations that have claimed it encourages an appearance-first mindset and degrades women by subjecting them to sexual exploitation.
1976 -- South Korea forms diplomatic ties with Papua New Guinea.
1992 -- Kim Young-sam is chosen as the then ruling Democratic Liberal Party's presidential candidate for the December elections. Kim won the election and took office in February 1993 for a five-year term.
1997 -- The head of the then opposition National Congress for New Politics, Kim Dae-jung, is named as the party's candidate for the presidential election in December. Kim, who assumed the presidency in February 1998, received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2000 for his "sunshine policy" of engagement with North Korea.
2001 -- The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) designates Korea's traditional royal ritual honoring deceased kings and queens as a world cultural heritage. The ritual's music was also named a heritage.
2003 -- Chung Mong-hun, chairman of Hyundai Asan, is summoned by prosecutors for questioning over his alleged involvement in illicit payments to North Korea. The prosecution said Hyundai provided millions of dollars to the North before its leader agreed to hold a summit meeting with South Korean President Kim Dae-jung in June 2000.
In return for the secret payment, Hyundai received permits to promote business projects in the North, prosecutors said. Chung committed suicide in August of that year.
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