Detail View

The period from 1876 to 1946 in Korea marked a turbulent time when the country opened its market to foreign powers, became subject to Japanese colonialism, and was swept into agricultural commercialization, industrialization, and eventually postcolonial revolutionary movements. Gi-Wook Shin examines how peasants responded to these events, and to their own economic and political circumstances, with protests that shaped the course of postwar revolution in the north and reform in the south. Utilizing interviews, documentary research, and statistical analysis, Shin analyzes variation in peasant activism and its historical, political, and socioeconomic roots, and offers a major revisionist interpretation. The study contributes to an understanding of Korea's rural political economy during the colonial era, Japanese agricultual policy, and the historical legacy of colonialism for post war social and political change in Korea."This is an excellent book, the particular strength of which is its concise and coherent analysis, bringing together a fine grasp of sociological theory and extensive knowledge of the Korean land system and peasant protest. It is simply one of the best books yet on Korean society." - Bruce Cumings, Northwestern University

Information Provided By: :

CONTENTS

Preface = ⅶ

Chronology = xi

Note on Romanization = xiii

Introduction = 3

1. Explaining Peasant Protest : An Integrated View = 9

2. Social Change and Land Tenure in Traditional Korea = 22

3. Colonialism and Korean Agriculture : Growth without Development = 39

4. Tenant-Landlord Conflict, 1920-32 : Ideology or Interest? = 54

5. The Red Peasant Union Movement, 1930-39, Part Ⅰ : An Overview and Critique = 75

6. The Red Peasant Union Movement, 1930-39, Part Ⅱ : History from Below = 92

7. Tenant-Landlord Conflict, 1933-39 : Class and Nation = 114

8. Japanese Militarism and Everyday Forms of Resistance, 1940-44 = 133

9. Historical Origins of Peasant Radicalism in Liberated Korea = 144

Conclusion : Toward Reform and Revolution = 174

Appendix 1. Main Activities of Red Peasant Unions = 181

Appendix 2. Peasant Radicalism Index in Relation to Number of Red Peasant Unions and Socioeconomic, Demographic, and Religious Variables = 185

Appendix 3. Leadership Characteristics in Selected Red Peasant Unions = 188

Appendix 4. List of Counties Analyzed = 191

Notes = 193

Bibliography = 209

Index = 231