January 26, 1951

Canada dispatched its first air force ground personnel to Korea, a date now commemorated as the symbol of Canada’s "full-scale participation" in the Korean War. Ontario operated the largest recruitment and training bases in the country; Camp Borden (near Toronto) and naval training centers along the Ontario coast supplied a significant portion of the initial troops. Following the Navy and Army, a total of approximately 2,000 Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) personnel were deployed. They carried out transport, reconnaissance, and bombing missions, accounting for roughly 22% of the total 26,791 Canadian personnel who served. Additionally, between 1951 and 1953, approximately 200 to 300 South Korean Air Force personnel received training at Camp Borden before returning home to operate fighter jets in combat. This is regarded as the starting point of the security cooperation between the two nations that continues today. The Korea Veterans Association of Canada honors this day as "Air Force Participation Day" and holds a memorial ceremony in Toronto every late January to remember the military roots of Korea-Canada relations.

January 26, 2023

Running from January 26 to March 31, 2023, the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) in Toronto hosted an exhibition highlighting the encounter between James Gale and Gisan Kim Jun-geun, reuniting the late 19th-century records of a Canadian missionary with Korean genre paintings. This exhibition served as the starting point for research linked to the planning of "Korea Heritage Month" (October) for 2025. During January, the ROM and the Korean Canadian Cultural Association reaffirmed their economic and cultural partnership through planning meetings for the heritage month.

January 29, 1999

As South Korea entered a recovery phase following the IMF foreign exchange crisis, Canadian financial institutions—including Ontario-based pension funds and financial firms—began a phased re-entry into investments in Korean bonds and corporations. A trend of renewed focus on emerging Asian markets formed around the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX), and South Korea was evaluated as a top priority for resuming investment. This served as a practical foundation for strengthening Korea-Canada economic cooperation and discussing FTAs and investment agreements in the early 2000s.

January 30, 1968

The Canadian government made a key announcement regarding a shift in immigration policy, abolishing restrictions based on race and country of origin and officially adopting a points-based system. This measure sparked full-scale immigration from Korea to Canada, leading to a steady influx of technicians, nurses, and international students into Toronto and Ontario. By the mid-1970s, small businesses established around Bloor Street became the roots of the area known today as "Koreatown."

January 31, 1990

The governments of South Korea and Canada began working-level discussions to expand their bilateral aviation agreement. This laid the policy foundation for Korean Air’s direct flights to Toronto (1994) and Air Canada’s service to Seoul (1995). The opening of direct routes went beyond transportation convenience to promote increased trade volume and expanded educational and cultural exchanges; notably, the number of Korean international students heading to major universities in Ontario increased steadily from the late 1990s onward. The sky route between Toronto and Seoul established itself as a vital passage opening a chapter of "modern relations" between the two countries.