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Comment by ogogmad | Hacker News Reader

Regarding religion, I've heard that the Talmud is a popular book in South Korea. I'm surprised by this. Is it appreciated for being analytical? For its tradition and lore? I'm Jewish, so I'm really curious about this.

[edit] Some Koreans are interested in extending the method of Chavruta (friendly debate) into general education: https://www.timesofisrael.com/talmud-inspired-learning-craze...

More on Chavruta: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chavrusa

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As far as I understand, Talmud was sold as a distillation of "Jewish wisdom" that raises smart kids, and Koreans are really crazy about raising smart kids, and somehow the marketing stuck. There may be other aspects to it but I think this is the biggest factor.

But then again, books purporting to teach you how to live your own life have always enjoyed a steady demand in Korea, and Talmud (at least as seen in Korea) fits the mold very well.

A common perception of Jews in Korea is that they're a formerly oppressed minority who are now rich and powerful. I think some Koreans see a parallel there given the history of their own country and its recent ascension to the world stage. I believe the Talmud and "Jewish education" is touted as one of the reasons that Jewish people have been so successful and people in Korea are seeking to emulate it.

it's stereotypes about jews being rich, i'm afraid.

I'm less sure about this as I ponder. So there is definitely such a stereotype, and there is also a long-running meme of "be a rich" (부자되세요), originated from a 2002 credit card advertisement, which cemented a notion of money being a virtue to the general public since then. The problem is that the Talmud craze definitely predates this meme, probably dating back to 1980s. But I can't conclusively say that this was nothing to do with that stereotype at that time---it might be just that jews are seen as a model minority.

Something like gleaning ancient Chinese wisdom from the Tao Te Ching?

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