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Korean farmers are known for a long history of organized militant action. It was the Donghak Rebellion of 1864, otherwise known as the Nongmin Bonggi ("farmer's uprising"), that set the stage for Japan to invade Korea and occupy it for the next 50 years, which some historians say set the stage for all of the other wars of the 20th century. It is noteworthy that the Donghak Rebellion of 1864 was over high taxes on rice, since the recent protests by the farmers at the 2005 WTO Conference is also over globalizing the rice market, which Korean farmers fear will drive the price of rice down further. At the previous WTO conference, one Korean farmer even went so far as to kill himself to bring international attention to the plight of the farmers. Even at home there have been incidents of farmers committing suicide in protests.

The main issue is and always has been over rice, whether they had to give up too much of it to pay taxes, or its price being driven down by the international market. Although the Korean government has long advised farmers to diversify their crops and switch to types that will bring in more cash, many still produce rice because it is still a staple and Korean consumers take more pride in "Made in Korea" brands, especially when it comes to foods. But since the price of rice has remained the same as it was in the 1980's, many farmers do not make a sufficient income and find it hard to make ends meet. For this reason there is a huge cultural prejudice against farmers, so much so that Korean women refuse to marry them. Korean farmers have had to import wives from the Philippines or Vietnam and other lesser-developed countries, and seeing signs that advertise companies that provide this wife-importing service can be seen on highways near farms in Korea. In many respects, many of them have become outcasts of the society at large, which may be one of the reasons for the acts of militantism and desperation that they have committed.