South Korean President Lee Myung-bak on Sunday will award Dr. Ya'akov Cohen of the Hebrew University's East Asian Studies Department a top award for his work in advancing relations between Israel and his country. The award, called the Order of Civil Merit - Order of Magnolia, will be present to Cohen for “his contributions in advancing knowledge of Korea among students and his strengthening ties between Israel and Korea – as a Holocaust survivor, as former Israeli ambassador to Korea, and as a senior lecturer at Hebrew University.”
Cohen is the first and only Israeli so far to receive this award.