Among the problems Muslims face when traveling to non-Islamic countries in East Asia such as Korea, Japan, China, and Taiwan, the most common ones are eating halal food and finding a place to pray. In these countries, it is not easy to find a restaurant that serves halal food and use a mosque or musallah.
Restaurants that serve only halal food are either halal-certified restaurants or restaurants owned by Muslims. Since East Asian countries have an extremely small Muslim population, there are bound to be few facilities for Muslims. However, these countries have a common trend of increasing Muslim tourists recently, and responding to Muslim tourists is becoming an important issue.
The concept of "Muslim-friendly," which is a more inclusive concept than "halal," is being used. For example, Muslim-friendly restaurants include restaurants that are not halal-only but provide halal menus using halal meat upon customer request, vegetarian-only restaurants, and seafood-only restaurants. Muslim-friendly hotels include hotels that provide prayer facilities or halal menus for Muslims.
In the case of Seoul, Korea, there are many Middle Eastern, Indonesian, and Malaysian restaurants that are believed to be run by Muslim owners. However, there are currently only five Halal-certified restaurants that serve Korean food. In order to help Muslims experience various culinary experiences, the Seoul Tourism Association surveys Muslim-friendly restaurants in Seoul every year and announces them under the name of "Salam Seoul Restaurant." In the 2024 data, 172 restaurants are introduced. Information about Salam Seoul Restaurant can be found on the Instagram link: https://www.instagram.com/salam_seoul_restaurant/ The Seoul Tourism Association plans to release new data in 2025 as well.
The number of Muslim-friendly hotels in Seoul is still very limited. Therefore, it is necessary to check whether Muslim-friendly services are provided before making a reservation. It may be a good idea to book a hotel that has a Halal-certified restaurant or Muslim-friendly restaurant nearby.
KIHI (Korea Institute of Halal Industry) recently launched a Muslim-friendly hotel certification project. This project is to raise awareness of Muslim-friendly services in hotels and to ensure that they meet the requirements to be recognized as Muslim-friendly hotels.
Muslim travelers in East Asia, particularly in Seoul, often face challenges finding halal food and prayer facilities. While the Muslim population is small, the number of Muslim tourists is increasing, leading to a focus on "Muslim-friendly" services. This concept is broader than "halal," including restaurants that offer halal, vegetarian, or seafood options, and hotels that provide prayer facilities. In Seoul, there are many restaurants run by Muslim owners, but only five Halal-certified Korean restaurants exist. To assist travelers, the Seoul Tourism Association publishes a "Salam Seoul Restaurant" guide, which listed 172 Muslim-friendly restaurants in 2024. The guide is updated annually. The number of Muslim-friendly hotels in Seoul is still very low, prompting the Korea Institute of Halal Industry (KIHI) to launch a certification project to standardize and promote such services.
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