Korea was known in Czechoslovakia since the return of legionaries from the Far East after the First World War, however, awareness grew substantially from the end of WWII. Korean archaeologist Han Hŭngsu (1909–?), active on Czechoslovak soil from 1943, greatly contributed to raising awareness. His book Korea včera a dnes (Korea Yesterday and Today, 1952) and numerous articles published in periodicals introduced Korea, its history, and culture in understandable contexts. In 1950, Korean studies were established at Charles University’s Faculty of Arts. Its lecturers and graduates were mainly deployed for state service as NNSC members, in roles as diplomats or interpreters at the Pyongyang embassy, for the hospital in Ch’ŏngjin, and of course for interpreting at all levels. The motif of a battling Korea spread across varied cultural domains, from film, eg. Bojující Korea (Fighting Korea, 1953), and literature, eg, anthology Čeští spisovatelé korejským dětem (Czech Writers to Korean Children, 1952) to various artistic works.

Among them stood out the sculpture by Tibor Bartfay, which appeared on a 1953 stamp. The Náprstek Museum of Asian, African, and American Cultures, founded in 1951, received a substantial gift from the DPRK in 1956, which formed the basis for an exhibition in 1958. Translations of Korean literature (Cho Kich’ŏn’s collections Mt. Paektu, 1951, and Street in Flames, 1952) and Korean-themed works (spy novel by Roman Kim Notebook Found in Sunch’ŏn, 1953) became required reading for schools and the army.

North Korea sent its film production to Czechoslovakia, and by 1989 a total of 43 films had been screened with very mixed reception. Visits by artistic ensembles formed a special chapter, among which the performance of the world-famous dancer Ch’oe Sŭnghŭi in 1956 retrospectively stands out, which was given great attention in the contemporary press. Similarly structured exchanges were frequent in the following decade. They took place at the level of book exchanges (academic), exchanges of individuals (ensembles, artistic bodies, puppeteers, filmmakers), and exhibitions.