24 April 1980: Sabuk miners win strike

24 April 1980: Sabuk miners win strike

From On This Day in Working Class History by Working Class History

April 24, 2026 · 1 min

About this episode

This episode discusses the successful strike of coalminers in Sabuk, South Korea, on April 24, 1980, and the subsequent betrayal by the government.

On this day, 24 April 1980, coalminers in Sabuk, South Korea, won all 11 of their demands from employers and authorities after a four-day insurrection. They had been demanding a 40% pay increase, and an amnesty for all protesters after miners, housewives and other local workers had risen up and expelled a column of armed police from the city. However the following month they were betrayed as the US-backed dictatorship tore up the amnesty and arrested and tortured 70 people, later jailing 30. More information, sources and map: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/9623/sabuk-coal-strike-wins Our work is only possible because of support from you, our listeners on patreon . If you appreciate our work, please join us and access exclusive content and benefits at patreon.com/workingclasshistory . See all of our anniversaries each day, alongside sources and maps on the On This Day section of our Stories app: stories.workingclasshistory.com/date/today Browse all Stories by Date here on the Date index: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/date Check out our Map of historical Stories: https://map.workingclasshistory.com Check out books, posters, clothing and more in our online…

People in this episode

Host: Working Class History

Topics covered

  • labor history
  • strikes
  • South Korea
  • workers' rights
  • insurrection

Keywords

  • Sabuk
  • miners
  • strike
  • South Korea
  • labor rights
  • insurrection
  • 1980

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: US-backed dictatorship

Places: South Korea

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