Seeds have been planted and a new Jewish community has been grown. The countries of South Korea and Israel have much in common. They both achieved independence in 1948, with Israel first on 15 May 1948 and South Korea following shortly after on 15 August 1948. From there both nations faced challenges and battles for international recognition and also were forced to defend themselves in wars against hostile neighbours.
In 1962, Israel and South Korea established full diplomatic relations and Israel opened a residential embassy in Seoul in 1964. It was in 1969 that a Korean ambassador, who resided in Rome, fi rst presented his Letter of Credentials to the President of Israel. In 1978, due to reported budgetary constraints, Israel closed its embassy in Seoul. In 1992, Israel reopened its residential embassy in Seoul and in 1993 Korea opened its residential embassy in Tel Aviv.