# History of the Jews in South Korea

Part of a series on :
Jews and Judaism :
Etymology
Who is a Jew? :
Religion
God in Judaism (names)
Principles of faith
Mitzvot (613)
Halakha
Shabbat
Holidays
Prayer
Tzedakah
Land of Israel
Brit
Bar and bat mitzvah
Marriage
Bereavement
Baal teshuva
Philosophy
Ethics
Kabbalah
Customs
Rites
Synagogue
Rabbi :
Texts
Tanakh
Torah
Nevi'im
Ketuvim
Talmud
Mishnah
Gemara
Rabbinic
Midrash
Tosefta
Targum
Beit Yosef
Mishneh Torah
Tur
Shulchan Aruch
Zohar :
History
General
Timeline
Land of Israel
Name "Judea"
Antisemitism
Anti-Judaism
Persecution
Leaders
Modern historiography
Historical population comparisons
Ancient Israel
Twelve Tribes of Israel
Kingdom of Judah
Kingdom of Israel
Jerusalem (in Judaism
timeline)
Temple in Jerusalem (First
Second)
Assyrian captivity
Babylonian captivity
Second Temple period
Yehud Medinata
Maccabean Revolt
Hasmonean dynasty
Sanhedrin
Schisms (Pharisees, Sadducees, Essenes, Zealots, Sicarii)
Second Temple Judaism (Hellenistic Judaism)
Jewish–Roman wars (Great Revolt, Diaspora, Bar Kokhba)
Rabbinic period and Middle Ages
Rabbinic Judaism
History of the Jews in the Byzantine Empire
Christianity and Judaism (Jews and Christmas)
Hinduism and Judaism
Islamic–Jewish relations
Middle Ages
Golden Age
Modern era
Haskalah
Sabbateans
Hasidism
Jewish atheism
Emancipation
Old Yishuv
Zionism
Soviet Union
The Holocaust
Israel
Arab–Israeli conflict :
Communities
Ashkenazim
Galician
Litvak
Mizrahim
Sephardim
Teimanim
Beta Israel
Gruzinim
Juhurim
Bukharim
Italkim
Romanyotim
Cochinim
Bene Israel
Berber
Related groups
Bnei Anusim
Lemba
Crimean Karaites
Krymchaks
Kaifeng Jews
Igbo Jews
Samaritans
Crypto-Jews
Anusim
Dönmeh
Marranos
Neofiti
Xueta
Mosaic Arabs
Subbotniks
Noahides :
Population
Judaism by country
Lists of Jews
Diaspora
Historical population by country
Genetic studies
Land of Israel
Old Yishuv
New Yishuv
Israeli Jews
Africa
Algeria
Angola
Bilad-el-Sudan
Botswana
Cameroon
Cape Verde
Benin
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Djibouti
Egypt
Ethiopia
Eritrea
Eswatini
Gabon
Gambia
Ghana
Guinea
Guinea-Bissau
Ivory Coast
Kenya
Libya
Madagascar
Malawi
Mali
Mauritius
Morocco
Mozambique
Namibia
Nigeria (Igbo)
Republic of the Congo
São Tomé and Príncipe
Sierra Leone
Somalia
South Africa
Sudan
Tanzania
Tunisia
Uganda (Abayudaya)
Zambia
Zimbabwe
Asia
Afghanistan
Bahrain
Cambodia
China
Hong Kong
India
Indonesia
Iran
Iraq
Israel
Japan
Jordan
Kazakhstan
Kurdistan
Kuwait
Kyrgyzstan
Lebanon
Malaysia
Mongolia
Myanmar
Nepal
Oman
Pakistan
Philippines
Qatar
Saudi Arabia
South Korea
Singapore
Sri Lanka
Syria
Tajikistan
Taiwan
Thailand
Turkey
United Arab Emirates
Uzbekistan
Vietnam
Yemen
Europe
Armenia
Austria
Azerbaijan
Belarus
Bulgaria
Cyprus
Czechia
Denmark
Estonia
Finland
France
Georgia
Germany
Greece
Hungary
Italy
Latvia
Lithuania
Moldova
Netherlands
Norway
Poland
Portugal
Romania
Russia
Serbia
Spain
Sweden
Ukraine
United Kingdom
Northern America
Canada
United States
Greenland
Latin America and Caribbean
Argentina
Bolivia
Brazil
Chile
Colombia
Cuba
Dominican Republic
Ecuador
El Salvador
Guyana
Haiti
Jamaica
Mexico
Paraguay
Peru
Puerto Rico
Suriname
Uruguay
Venezuela
Oceania
Australia
Fiji
Guam
New Zealand
Palau :
Denominations
Orthodox
Modern
Haredi
Hasidic
Reform
Conservative
Karaite
Reconstructionist
Renewal
Science
Haymanot
Humanistic :
Culture
Customs
Minyan
Wedding
Clothing
Niddah
Pidyon haben
Kashrut
Shidduch
Zeved habat
Conversion to Judaism
Aliyah
Hiloni
Music
Religious
Secular
Art
Ancient
Yiddish theatre
Dance
Humour
Cuisine
American
Ashkenazi
Bukharan
Ethiopian
Israeli
Israelite
Mizrahi
Sephardic
Literature
Israeli
Yiddish
Judeo-Tat
American :
Languages
Hebrew
Biblical
Yiddish
Yeshivish
Jewish Koine Greek
Yevanic
Judeo-Tat
Shassi
Judaeo-Iranian
Judaeo-Spanish
Judeo-Gascon
Ghardaïa Sign
Bukharian
Knaanic
Zarphatic
Judeo-Italian
Judaeo-Georgian
Judeo-Aramaic
Judeo-Arabic
Judeo-Berber
Judeo-Malayalam
Domari :
Politics
Jewish political movements
Autonomism
Bundism
Feminism
Leftism
Secularism
Territorialism
World Agudath Israel
Zionism
General
Green
Labor
Kahanism
Maximalism
Neo-Zionism
Religious
Revisionist
Post-Zionism :
Category
Portal :
vte :
The history of the Jews in South Korea, and in Korea as a whole, goes back to the mid 1900s. The first sizable Jewish presence in Korea was during the Korean War, in which hundreds of UN Jewish soldiers participated. After the war, Chaim Potok served in South Korea as a US Army chaplain from 1955-1957. His experiences in Korea led to the novels The Book of Lights and I am the Clay.

## 21st century

Most of the Jewish community in South Korea resides in Seoul. The community is mostly U.S. military personnel and their families, business people, English-language journalists and teachers, and tourists. The Jewish population is constantly in flux, due to the rotation of U.S. military personnel in the country. While the soldiers have a Jewish chaplain at the Yongsan Army Base, their services are restricted and off-limits to most civilians. At this time, there are no Jewish schools.
Israel has full diplomatic relations with South Korea, and the sizable Christian population in the country also keeps ties strong between the countries. In August 2005, the Jerusalem Summit promoting Christian support for Israel was held in Seoul. In contrast, neighboring North Korea has no known Jews within its borders.
In April 2008, the first Chabad House was established in Seoul under direction of Rabbi Osher Litzman, accompanied by his wife, Mussia Litzman. As there were no synagogues in the country, Jews in Korea would have to go to the U.S. Army base for Shabbat meals and holiday services. Chabad.org news service reported that the Israeli ambassador to South Korea asked three visiting Lubavitch yeshiva students to help arrange for permanent Chabad emissaries. Though very few South Koreans are interested in Judaism as a religion, philosemitism is prevalent among the South Korean population as they reportedly hope to emulate Jews' high academic standards by studying books derived from Jewish works such as the Torah and Talmud. With South Korean society's passion for education, South Koreans hold a stereotypical view of Jews as the model of academic excellence as well as Jews being very intelligent. However, journalist Dave Hazzan investigated this and found no antisemitism in South Korea. Moreover, Abe Foxman, head of the ADL, admitted that cultural norms affected the respondents' answers which has to be considered for future surveys.
In addition, South Koreans also laud Jews as a high achieving and accomplished group of people citing the disproportionate number of successful Jewish businesspeople and Nobel Prize winners as evidence and use this as inspiration for the South Korean populace to emulate Jewish success. The South Korean media often discusses the merits of "Jewish education" to the South Korean populace. South Koreans also identify with Judaism's arduous history of being oppressed peoples, surviving adversity with nothing but intellect and ingenuity to socioeconomically succeed, as well as its strong emphasis on family.
In 2014, the Anti-Defamation League reported that the average South Korean was more than twice as likely to be as anti-semitic than the global average.
In 2019, the first mikveh in South Korea was opened.
In November 2022, the first established Karaite community was founded in Pyeongtaek by a Jewish-American soldier.