Counting Down History’s Most Ridiculous War Triggers – Crazier Than Modern Jokes

The War of the Wrong Letter

In 1875, a Korean court official mistranslated a diplomatic letter from Japan as highly insulting. In reality, it was polite — but due to a botched character rendering, it read like a threat. The Korean king was furious, tensions rose, and warships were sent.

Though eventually corrected, the damage was done. A single miswritten character almost sparked full-scale war. It’s now taught in diplomacy classes as a classic “don’t trust autocorrect” moment — 19th-century edition.

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