Amtaedo Tenant Dispute

Tenant farmers on Amtaedo island fought for nearly a year and forced the landlord Mun Jae-cheol to cut rents from 70–80 percent to 40 percent of the harvest.

In 1923 Seo Tae-seok and others formed a tenants’ association demanding lower rents. When the landlord and Japanese police resisted, hundreds of tenants crossed to Mokpo and went on hunger strike, drawing support nationwide. The August 1924 settlement at 40 percent made it the best-known peasant victory of the 1920s.