Book a visit. Alon Levkowitz. The series investigates Israel's expanding relations with Asia -- the forces propelling and impeding their growth, the progress made in their development, and their as yet unrealized potential. See more A short time after the outbreak of the Korean War , the United Nations Security Council called upon member states to provide assistance to counter the North Korean attack.
Ultimately, the Israeli government decided to declare official support for South Korea and to send food and medicine but not military forces.
Despite considerable progress in the development of the relationship since then, however, its full potential has yet to be realized. In Israel established diplomatic relations with South Korea and opened an embassy in Seoul. For many years, however, Israel-South Korean relations remained very limited. For many years, Seoul was concerned about the possible implications of the Arab boycott on South Korean companies if they traded with Israel. From the Israeli perspective, South Korea in those years was neither a political nor an economic asset: trade between the two states was very limited, and Seoul was both unwilling and unable to advance diplomatic relations with Israel.
The inception of the Middle East peace process in the s improved the regional economic environment and diminished South Korean fears of the Arab boycott. The peace process projected to the world that Arab countries were willing to accept the State of Israel and would not object to other nations developing economic relations with Israel. The peace process was, in fact, one of the most important factors leading to the advancement of political and economic relations between South Korea and Israel.
Thus, a series of positive developments in Israel-South Korean relations ensued. Economic and military trade began to blossom, as concerns regarding the Arab boycott abated. Even cultural relations improved. The success of Korean TV dramas in Israel since has exposed many Israelis to Korean culture, while the penetration of Korean high-tech goods and improved branding of South Korean products have enhanced Israeli perceptions of Korea.
