it is precisely the weirdness of Meon Nara that proves the stubbornness and ubiquity of the ugly ideological weed we call anti-Semitism. It is a weed most commonly found among those desperate for scapegoats — such as failed Muslim societies and impoverished communist dictatorships. But South Korea ranks among the most dynamic, successful and well educated nations on Earth. The fact that Rhie’s comic could become a best-seller in this sort of locale provides bizarre but convincing proof of Ruth Wisse’s famous description of anti-Semitism as “the most successful ideology of the 20th century.”
Why won’t anti-Semitism die? The Muslim world’s bloodthirsty demonization of Israel and the Jews who inhabit it obviously plays a major role. But another factor — which is more relevant in capitalist, secular nations such as Korea — is that Rhie’s caricature of the all-powerful Jew, like all stereotypes and prejudices, has a tiny grain of truth behind it.