Quirky Asia Files: Judaism's Popularity in South Korea

Fascinating!  Here's a blurb:

The Talmud is a bestseller in South Korea - even the government insists it is good for you, and has included it on the curriculum for primary school children. 

Lee Chang-ro heads a literature research team at the Ministry for Education. He says: "The reasons why Korean children are taught Talmud are pretty obvious. Koreans and Jews both have a long history of oppression and surviving adversity with nothing but their own ingenuity to thank. There are no natural resources to speak of in Korea, so, like the Jews, all we can develop is our minds."