By July 1931, tensions between Japanese-run Korea and China were growing. These hostilities eventually led to a land dispute in the Manchurian village of Wanpaoshan. The simple issue of farmers' land use would be sensationalized by Korean and Japanese media to incite anti-Chinese violence that lasted for weeks and left many Chinese citizens dead. deaths and even more businesses destroyed. Although the incident itself was relatively minor, it unleashed a wave of violence and hatred across Korea. Wanpaoshan is a small village in Manchuria and the Itung River flows through it. The area is particularly suitable for rice cultivation due to the extremely humid climate. 140 Korean farmers had moved to Wanpaoshan with their families to start rice cultivation. In April 1931, these 370 Koreans rented a plot of land from local Chinese landowners for a period of ten years. The cost was a crop rental fee totaling $3,500 per year. After completing the land deed, Korean farmers proceeded with a plan to build an irrigation canal several kilometers long. This ditch would cut off several parcels of land not owned by Korean farmers. Chinese landowners knew of Korean intentions to build a ditch as well as its location. These intermediaries led farmers to believe that Chinese residents would have no objection to building an irrigation canal across their land. However, the signed lease contained no mention of the construction project. Furthermore, the intermediary never informed the Chinese inhabitants of the Koreans' plan. Chinese hostilities began almost immediately after the Koreans moved into their leased lands. When the construction of the dam began......middle of paper......able to rebuild their lives. Homelessness has become a big problem. Japan's governing body claimed to pay reparations to Chinese families, but the evidence for this was dubious at best. Many Japanese simply claimed that the Chinese were exaggerating the extent of the damage while the Chinese accused the Japanese of orchestrating the entire tragedy. Only in September would the situation be completely resolved. Although the incident in Wanpaoshan, Manchuria was small and no one was seriously injured, it caused mass unrest. Sensational media coverage had inflamed the population against China, and in the riots that followed, thousands of people were injured and many were killed by angry mobs. As entire Chinese districts in Korea were razed, most of Seoul's Chinese population fled. This incident alone will sour Sino-Japanese relations for years to come.