January 12–18, 1951

As the Korean War intensified, the Canadian military prepared for "Operation Killer" and conducted intensive recruitment and training throughout Ontario, including Toronto. Following North Korea’s invasion of the South in June 1950, Canada decided to deploy troops as part of the UN forces, and Toronto served as a key region for recruiting personnel for units such as the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry (PPCLI). At the same time, early Korean immigrants and descendants of missionaries settled in Ontario formed support groups for war veterans, beginning to establish roots of human solidarity that extended beyond a military alliance.

January 14, 1963

Official diplomatic relations between Korea and Canada were established in Ottawa, institutionalizing the "blood alliance" formed through participation in the Korean War into a formal diplomatic relationship. In Toronto, Korean students and missionaries had been preparing gatherings to celebrate this diplomatic milestone since late 1962, and Korean-language masses and cultural meetings became active, centered around the Catholic Information Centre. These gatherings gave birth to the Korean community that would later become the origin of the St. Andrew Kim (Han-mam) Catholic Church, engraving the history of Korea-Canada relations into daily life through the language of religion and faith.

January 14, 1971

As the Ontario provincial government adopted a new industrial strategy report to strengthen technical and trade cooperation with Asian markets, Korea was designated as "the country that will form the closest mutually complementary relationship with Ontario manufacturing within the next 10 years." This diagnosis proved accurate; by the late 1970s, Korean companies began utilizing Toronto as a platform for entering the North American market, and cooperation in the automotive, electronics, and machinery sectors gradually became structured. Research collaboration between the University of Toronto and major Korean universities also expanded rapidly around this time, deepening the history of relations across the dual axes of industry and academia.

January 15, 1951

The Canadian government decided to deploy additional troops and reservists from Ontario to the Korean War. During a discussion at the Toronto City Council, a remark was made that "peace on the Korean Peninsula is an extension of North American security." This statement came to explain the background behind why Canada sent the third-largest number of troops, following the United States and the United Kingdom. This measure elevated bilateral relations from simple diplomatic ties to a structure of cooperation at the level of a practical alliance, and the war monuments and memorials erected throughout Toronto continue to convey that memory to this day.

January 18, 1998

The Korean government announced an emergency economic conference to gather opinions from overseas Korean economic organizations and North American Korean associations, and the Korean Canadian Cultural Association of Metropolitan Toronto (Toronto Korean Association) was one of the groups that responded most actively. Growing as a center for finance, IT, and education, Toronto systematically built a network to aid the Korean economy amidst the IMF crisis, utilizing the crisis as an opportunity to design a new pattern of Korea-Canada economic cooperation. This experience became the foundation for investment agreements and expanded cultural exchange in the early 2000s, serving as a prelude to a new era in the history of relations following the crisis.