Christian Zionists in South Korea are preparing to open a Holocaust museum on Monday in response to the global surge in antisemitism and the uptick of anti-Israel agitation in their country, their leader told JNS.
The space of about 180 square meters (some 1,940 sq. ft.), which the Korea Israel Bible Institute (KIBI) is scheduled to inaugurate on May 19 at a ceremony attended by local and foreign dignitaries in the city of Paju near Seoul, features an exhibition on the Genocide, Jewish People and the State of Israel, said Mansuk Song, a leader of the KIBI community.
The museum will open 12 years after the inauguration of an earlier Holocaust museum, which has since become inactive, at the National Memorial Museum of Forced Mobilization under Japanese Occupation in Busan, South Korea.
“Our community saw with shock the resurgence of antisemitism worldwide after Oct. 7,” 2023, Song said, referencing the outbreak of war between Israel and Hamas after thousands of Gazan terrorists invaded Israel and murdered some 1,200 people and abducted another 251.
Additionally, anti-Israel protesters took unprecedented actions in Korea against Israel, including when Israel’s Ambassador to Seoul Rafael Harpaz was harassed at a restaurant while he was dining with his family on April 22. Activists encircled the dinner table and accused him of being complicit in genocide.
Such incidents “convinced us we need to educate people in Korea about Jews, Israel, what genocide means. But it’s also important for us to send a message of support and solidarity to the Jewish people,” Song added.
The space in Paju is rented with money raised from community members for the project, he said. Paju, just south of Panmunjeom on the 38th parallel frontier with North Korea, is an artistic hub with a vibrant cultural scene and many museums, which attract many local and foreign tourists.
“So we hope it’s a good location to open a Holocaust museum because it will engage audiences who otherwise may not have gone,” Song said.
