<p>Prof. Hoffman</p>
<p>Thank you very much for translating that article. I found the information very interesting. There was at least one Jew who worked for the Korean Government in the 1880s....German I believe but I will have to go back and check my notes as I am using my phone to write this note.</p>
<p>Robert Neff</p>
<div class="gmail_quote">On Jul 28, 2013 4:42 AM, "Frank Hoffmann" <<a href="mailto:hoffmann@koreanstudies.com">hoffmann@koreanstudies.com</a>> wrote:<br type="attribution"><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">
<br>
Some Hints, Some Clues, Some Sources:<br>
======================================<br>
<br>
It seems Dr. Levkowitz' notes are summing the topic up. Still, Korea is<br>
always good for surprises, and so is the vitality of Jewish culture<br>
around the globe.<br>
<br>
Those from on the list from Germany sure know Professor Choi Chong-ko 崔<br>
鍾庫, now retired, before a professor of Law at SNU who had once<br>
studied in Germany and who wrote a thick book on the history of<br>
Korean-German Relations (in the early 1980s), and in general wrote many<br>
articles on European-Korean relations (law and otherwise). In any case,<br>
he seems now to be working on the history of Jews in Korea:<br>
<a href="http://www.khdi.or.kr/ver2/system/bbs/board.php?bo_table=review&wr_id=293" target="_blank">http://www.khdi.or.kr/ver2/system/bbs/board.php?bo_table=review&wr_id=293</a><br>
On the other hand, some of those early assumptions may be taken with a<br>
grain of salt, and maybe also by considering the specific hype about<br>
Jewish culture in Korea--see the May 12th article in the online _Jewish<br>
Chronicle_ to see what I refer to:<br>
<a href="http://www.thejc.com/lifestyle/lifestyle-features/48771/why-south-koreans-are-love-judaism" target="_blank">http://www.thejc.com/lifestyle/lifestyle-features/48771/why-south-koreans-are-love-judaism</a><br>
<br>
As for Jews in Korea during the colonial period and more specifically<br>
WW II:<br>
<br>
We all know Jewish communities have a long history in CHINA. By the<br>
late 19th century these Jewish communities had dwindled in size and<br>
most synagogues had disappeared. With the Nazis taking over much of<br>
Europe those communities, in Shanghai and some other key cities,<br>
started again to grow through the influx of Jewish emigrants. Some of<br>
those emigrants had direct and active contacts to the Korean resistance<br>
there. Those were contacts on a personal level, no institutional<br>
coalitions. And JAPAN, although one of the Berlin-Rome-Tokyo Axis<br>
powers--as a young Japanese student once confidently told me in<br>
Beijing, "next time without the Italians"--well, JAPAN was for obvious<br>
reasons not so interested in a superiority of the Nordic-Aryan race. So<br>
there was a sizable number of European Jews coming through Japan, and<br>
some of them stayed for longer. The famous architect Bruno Taut<br>
immediately comes to mind, who fall in love with Japanese culture,<br>
influenced Japanese modernism while at the same time being influenced<br>
by traditional Japanese culture (a very complex story). There were many<br>
others. In most cases, though, Japan was just the gate to the U.S.,<br>
Canada, or South America. As for KOREA I am not aware of even a single<br>
case of a Jewish émigré to have stayed on there.<br>
<br>
Typically, Jewish and also some political émigré from European<br>
countries just traveled through Korea to get to Japan. Here they may<br>
have stayed on for a week or two or in some cases longer, before<br>
boarding a ship to their final destination.<br>
Professor Alexander Chajes (of Amherst, USA), in a short typescript<br>
with handwritten frontispice, written in 1991, describes his family's<br>
emigration in June/July 1940 from Vienna via Berlin, Moscow, Manchuria,<br>
Korea, Japan, to Seattle. Only his maternal grandmother was left behind<br>
in Vienna and was later murdered in the Theresienstadt concentration<br>
camp. I quote:<br>
"Because World War II had already started, we could not take the<br>
obvious route from Europe to America via the Atlantic Ocean. (...)<br>
through Russia (...) This route was open to us only because of the<br>
infamous nonaggression pact that existed between Russia and Germany.<br>
(...) 12,000 miles and last approximately two months. Without the help<br>
of the Joint Distribution Committee we could not have made it. This<br>
American philanthropic organization, dedicated to providing relief for<br>
Jews in distress, gathered together a group of about twenty refugees<br>
and made all the arrangements for the entire journey." (pp. 1-2) And on<br>
the handwritten frontispice he summarizes: "Transsiberian Train 5-6<br>
days - Lake Baikal - Manchuria (occupied by Japan) - Harbin - Korea<br>
(under Japan) (...) Yokohama - ship to USA via Pacific." In Harbin they<br>
took the train to Korea through Dandong [Antung]-Sinŭiju, via Seoul,<br>
and then directly to Pusan, where they took a ferry going to<br>
Shimonoseki. [The Chajes typescript is in the collection of the Leo<br>
Baeck Institute.]<br>
<br>
In another, far more detailed description of that basic same journey<br>
(route)--there must have been many such groups--that a Jewish emigrant<br>
to Ecuador describes, Elisabeth Bamberger, the author states the 1940<br>
train journey from the Korean border to Pusan took "one day and one<br>
night" (p. 13), passing through Seoul during the night, being in Pusan<br>
at lunch. In spite of this pass-through experience the writer is<br>
completely taken by the beauty of the Korean landscape! [The Bamberger<br>
manuscript is also at the Leo Baeck Institute.]<br>
<br>
It might be interesting to look into the history of *possible* Jewish<br>
communities before the times of Japanese occupation. Paul Georg von<br>
Möllendorff (1847-1901), advisor to King Kojong with various important<br>
offices in Korea, a man who had studied Hebrew and who had written an<br>
article on "Die Juden in China" [The Jews in China], a man with his<br>
interests, I think, would have mentioned it somewhere if there was a<br>
Jewish community in Korea. He did not, as far as I know. Maybe Prof.<br>
Ingeborg Göthel who has gone through all his published and unpublished<br>
papers would know for sure if he did?<br>
<br>
Yet, around 1900 the situation *may* have changed. This seems a pretty<br>
important article, actually, if the content is verifiable! I am<br>
therefore translating it for you. It is from _Die ✡ Welt_ (of October<br>
1902), the original follows beneath the translation:<br>
<br>
-----------------------<br>
The Jews in Korea.<br>
Even the uttermost tip of the farthest Far East, a peninsular shrouded<br>
by ice-cold winds and mist, has a Jewish community. The Jews of Korea,<br>
of course, were not born here but come from faraway countries. Their<br>
birthplaces are in the ghettos of Russia, Galicia, and Romania, and<br>
only because of the persecution of Jews did they end up in the Far<br>
East. Most of them came through London and India to Korea, others<br>
through New York, San Francisco, or Japan, and some even through rough<br>
Siberian landscapes. Highly interesting is the fate of some Jews who<br>
have come to the country via Shanghai after having experienced plenty<br>
of failures and calamities in China, Sumatra, Borneo, and Java, before<br>
finally finding refuge in Korea. Korea now has presumedly around 300<br>
Jewish families who live among the "wicked heathens" ["gottlose<br>
Heiden"] far more trouble-free than before in the "countries of<br>
religion and love." This is because the Koreans soon enough understood<br>
what a valuable asset they had gotten with the Jews, since they<br>
stimulated trade and caused unprecedented growth of activities around<br>
their establishments, importing Russian sugar to Korea, alcohol and<br>
kerosene, and also introduced to Korea products from the Lodz (Łódź)<br>
industrial complex. Furthermore, the Jews introduced a large number of<br>
crafts that had till then been entirely unknown in Korea; thus, culture<br>
was brought to East Asia in the most noble sense. It is hardly<br>
surprising therefore, that the people and the government of Korea are<br>
cordially welcoming the Jews and the continuing growth of two<br>
communities in Seoul and Masampo through new immigrants. A lot of<br>
promotion [Propaganda] about the immigration of Jews to Korea is done<br>
by the head of the Jewish community in Seoul, a Jew from Austria who<br>
came 12 years ago via Hongkong to Seoul, and who worked so hard that he<br>
succeeded in now having a regular Jewish community with a synagogue, a<br>
shohet, and chasan. A similar organization should soon be materialized<br>
in Masampo, so that Korea can pride itself of having well organized<br>
Jewish communities.<br>
<br>
SOURCE:<br>
"Die Juden in Korea" [The Jews in Korea], _Die ✡ Welt: Zentralorgan der<br>
Zionistischen Bewegung_ 43 (October 24, 1902): 8.<br>
-----------------------<br>
<br><br>
<br>
<br>
The reference to Masampo (today Masanhapp'o-gu, Kyŏngsangnam-do) and to<br>
products from Lodz and Russia are interesting, as these references show<br>
a clear connection to Russia, thereby at least indicating how Russian<br>
trade interests were willingly or unwillingly represented in Korea.<br>
Masampo istelf was before the Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905) an<br>
important subject for the quarrels between Japan and Russia, both being<br>
interested in managing that port with its new railroad to trade its own<br>
products. Might well be that Russian pre-revolution archives would have<br>
some surprising documents in this regard … might well be that the<br>
Japanese after the Russo-Japanese War saw the Jews as representing<br>
Russian interests (-- just speculating, have no facts, didn't look into<br>
it).<br>
<br>
Best,<br>
Frank<br>
<br>
--------------------------------------<br>
Frank Hoffmann<br>
<a href="http://koreanstudies.com" target="_blank">http://koreanstudies.com</a><br>
<br></blockquote></div>