The viewpoints on anti-Chinese riots after Wampaoshan incident in July 1931 can be roughly divided into two a theory that Japanese empire maneuvered behind the scene, and another theory that it was a harmful consequence of Korean nationalism. However,...
The viewpoints on anti-Chinese riots after Wampaoshan incident in July 1931 can be roughly divided into two a theory that Japanese empire maneuvered behind the scene, and another theory that it was a harmful consequence of Korean nationalism. However, the present author argues that the main reason of the anti-Chinese riots was the sharp increase in influx of Chinese labor and the following conflicts between Chinese and Korean laborers. The ones who aggravated the strife between classes, and the enmity between minorities were capitalists, landowners, and manpower brokers who made a profit on the influx of Chinese labor. In terms of structure, these riots were one of the results of colonial capitalism. Also, focusing on the agent of the action and the spacial background, this anti-Chinese riot in 1931 can be read as a manifestation of the conflict between urban poors at marginal area on the basis of a long history of urbanization. Thecase that Sinsulli clique, the lower class living in urban periphery, fired the Chinese residence inside the racetrack evidently shows the characteristics of those anti-Chinese riots.