Jewish Traces in Unexpected Places: A Hava Nagila Encore From Korea

In October we posted a performance of Hevenu Shalom Aleichem by the Busan Harmony Choir of South Korea. That post received more "like" comments than any other this year. With so many readers asking for more, we're bringing them back for an encore, this time singing Hava Nagila.

Since the first post we received a comment from Y. S. Chang, chief of the choir, and we'd like to share it with you. Here's what he wrote:

What a surprise!! It is our pleasure to have one of our concert songs posted in this blog. I'm Y.S.Chang, Chief of Busan Harmony Choir.(www.bsharmony.com) We are an amateur choir in Busan, South Korea that includes  teachers, doctors, professors, businessmen, salarymen, housekeepers, and students. The concert was held on June 25 as our 8th regular concert in the 60th year since the Korean War. The theme of the concert was 'PEACE'. By reading this blog, I learned about Jewish history in Korea.

As you may know, Korean history shares some similarity with Jewish history. A lot of countries invaded Korea continuously for more than 1,000 years.  Many Korean (Chosun Dynasty) young men and women were dragged to China (Qing Dynasty) 450 years ago after the war with Qing (China). Also, Japan invaded Korea many times. Finally, the Korean War broke out in 1950 and separated South and North Korea. Because of the Korean War, a lot of people died and their families were broken up.

Now, Koreans know the value of 'Peace' as much as Jews. So, I think both peoples have a common understanding of 'Peace'. When we sing 'Hevenu Shalom Aleichem', we feel the Jewish wish for peace.

Anyway, it is a good opportunity for me to understand more about Jews, and thanks for your posting our concert.

Now, sit back and enjoy the Busan Harmony Choir in a concert performance of Hava Nagila.

(A SPECIAL NOTE FOR NEW EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS:  THE VIDEO IS NOT VIEWABLE DIRECTLY FROM THE EMAIL THAT YOU GET EACH DAY.  YOU MUST CLICK ON THE TITLE AT THE TOP OF THE EMAIL TO REACH THE JEWISH HUMOR CENTRAL WEBSITE, FROM WHICH YOU CLICK ON THE PLAY BUTTON IN THE VIDEO IMAGE TO START THE VIDEO.)