South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol imposed martial law claiming that others were attempting to overthrow democracy. Chaos ensued with other lawmakers opposing the action, leading to a quick end to martial law followed by a failed attempt to impeach the president. The first Jews to settle in Korea included Jewish soldiers who fought there during the Korean War in the early 1950’s. A Chabad House was established in 2008, and a mikveh was opened in 2019. What book that is connected to Judaism or Israel is a best seller in South Korea?

Korea south map-pl by Kokiri  is  licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

A. The Talmud. South Koreans admire the Jewish people for their commitment to education, so they have taken to reading the Talmud for its lessons and inspiration.

B. Moshe Dayan: Story of My Life: An Autobiography. In 1962, South Korea and Israel established official diplomatic relations. Moshe Dayan served in the embassy in Seoul, and became somewhat of a cult hero as the Koreans admired him for his bravery and service, despite having lost an eye to a sniper while he served in the pre-state Haganah.

C. The BimBam Bibimbap Cook Book by Shifrah Devorah Witt and Zipporah Malka Heller, who had previously authored the highly successful The Complete Asian Kosher Cookbook. The book focuses on Korean foods with appropriate substitutes for non-kosher ingredients such as Korean pork belly and some Korean fish sauces that include non-kosher fishes.

D. The Book of Lights, by Chaim Potok. The book is about a rabbi who served in the United States military in Korea (based on Potok’s actual military service as a chaplain in South Korea).

E. Seder Kriah. This is a series of books designed to teach children how to read Hebrew (the title translates as The Order of Reading). A Korean guest at a Passover Seder at the Chabad House in Seoul loved the dinner and ceremony. He had heard the rabbi mention the book and thought he said Seder Korea, so he misinterpreted that it was a Passover Seder booklet designed for Korean people. He told all of his friends about it and it quickly became a best seller.

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