Enter the ‘Far East’: Korean culture in early South Korea–Israel relations

Abstract

Diplomatic relations between South Korea and Israel were formed only in 1962. Furthermore, as the two countries from both ends of the continent cooperated in various areas during the 1960s and 1970s, relations were becoming more complicated and even officially rather cool in light of Korea's evolving relations with the Arab world. Against this backdrop, and based on the reading of contemporaneous Israeli press, the study argues that culture mattered very much in the early stages of the relations. Cultural contacts between Koreans and Israelis started well before the establishment of full diplomatic relations, and cultural diplomacy played a significant role in maintaining them in the decades that followed. Like today, both parties often emphasized the cultural and historical affinities between the two peoples, and in the process, the Israeli public was exposed to early glimpses into Korean culture while images of Korea and its people were created as well. IntroductionSouth Korea-Israel relations can be described as warm. The two countries have good economic and diplomatic relations, they cooperate closely on security issues, and tens of thousands of South Korean tourists -many of whom are devout Christians -visit Israel annually. In the international arena, South Korea has adopted a cautious policy of abstaining on UN votes that are considered unfavorable to Israel, including, for example, abstaining on the 2012 vote to grant Palestine 'non-member observer state' status.Furthermore, lately, and like other regions in the world, Israel too has experienced the arrival and the rising popularity of Hallyu (Korean wave), the name given to the recent phenomenon of the spread of Korean culture all over the world. For example, the popularity of Korean pop music has been spreading, South Korean television dramas and films are screened regularly, the highly acclaimed Korean Nanta show performed in Israel in 2012, and vibrant and growing community of fans of Korean culture are active over the net as well as through organized meetings. It is also quite common to hear from both Israelis and South Koreans how the histories and cultures of the two peoples resemble one another. Particularly mentioned in this regard are the long histories of the two nations, the idea that both

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