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

2013; Routledge; Volume: 20; Issue: 5 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/10286632.2013.865728

1477-2833

Guy Podoler,

Asian Culture and Media Studies

AbstractDiplomatic 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.Keywords: South KoreaIsraelKorean culturecultural diplomacypublic diplomacy Notes1. For expressions of such views see, for example, interviews with Israel’s ambassador to South Korea at Witter (Citation2013) and South Korea’s ambassador to Israel at Kempinski and Ronen (Citation2012). See also the report by a participant at a youth exchange delegation to South Korea at Yaar (Citation2012).2. Wherever ‘Korea’ is used in this study, it refers to South Korea.3. Works on Korea–Israel relations include Levkowitz (Citation2003, chap. 5) (Hebrew), Yegar (Citation2004, chap. 17) (Hebrew), Abadi (Citation2004, chap. 5), Cohen (Citation2006), and Ma (Citation2010).4. For recent representative Korean-language works see Chang (Citation2012), Hyeon (Citation2012), and The Asan Institute for Policy Studies (Citation2012). In English, a recent work among the particularly scarce literature is Levkowitz (Citation2012).5. All translations from Hebrew in this paper are mine.6. ‘Eretz Yisrael’ has several meanings in Hebrew. Among others, and in this context, it refers to Mandatory Palestine.7. See radio schedules in Al ha-Mishmar, 8 and 25 May 1949.8. Sometimes dubbed ‘the builder of modern Korea’, Park Chung-hee ruled South Korea with an iron fist. At the one hand, he led the country to an impressive economic and industrial development. On the other hand, his regime was usually authoritarian and oppressive.9. See Davar and Ma’ariv editions from the period of 20–22 October 1961.10. See Davar, 31 December 1962, p. 6, Davar, 22 September 1968, p. 13, and Ma’ariv, 13 March 1969, p. 28, respectively.11. See the reports in Ma’ariv from 7 June 1964, p. 13, and 8 June 1964, p. 18.12. The Six-Day War was fought between Israel and the three Arab states of Egypt, Syria, and Jordan. Israel’s decisive victory against its powerful neighbors came as a shock to the Arab nations, and drew attention all over the world to its military capabilities.13. Between 1910 and 1945 Korea was subjected to Japanese colonial rule.14. See, for example, the radio schedules in Davar from 8 October 1971, 27 June 1977, 17 October 1977, 7 November 1977, 2 February 1979, and 9 March 1979. As mentioned, Yun Isang was one of the greatest Korean composers in the twentieth century. Kim Hwi-jo (1920–2001) and Kim Seong-tae (1910–2012) too were well-known prolific composers. Finally, sanjo is a style of traditional music that emerged and crystallized in the latter part of the nineteenth century and the early twentieth century. It is performed on a solo melody instrument accompanied by a drum (Howard Citation2006, p. 67–68).15. See radio schedule in Davar, 27 June 1977. It is difficult to conclude from the Hebrew wording, yet it is most likely that the Korean network under discussion was Korean Broadcasting System.16. See the ad in Davar, 17 May 1978, p. 13.17. For a critical analysis of this folktale see Grayson (Citation2006).18. See related reports from the newspaper editions of May 1973, April 1976, and February–March 1977. One of the most colorful issues in that regard was the creation of the ‘Cha Bum-kun nightmare’. Cha, perhaps the greatest footballer in Korean football history, was not only a superb striker, but he also scored decisive goals in the matches against Israel. For Israeli recollections of Cha, see Goldberg (Citation2002).