By Kim Jae-heun
Seoul will build more prayer rooms this year for the growing number of foreign visitors from Muslim countries, the city government said Monday. The prayer rooms will be ready in May.
The city government plans to invest 200 million won to create up to three prayer rooms at popular tourist destinations by the summer to attract more tourists from Southeast Asia and the Middle East.
According to the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO), the number of visitors from Southeast Asia and the Middle East reached 985,858 in 2016, a 33 percent increase from 740,861 visitors in 2015.
The proportion of Muslim visitors to Korea has been growing steadily since 2014, when it 5.3 percent of the total that year. It increased to 5.6 percent in 2015 and 5.7 percent in 2016. The tourism body sees the influence of hallyu and K-pop playing a big role in attracting Muslims to Korea.
Despite the growing number of Muslim tourists, the prayer rooms in Korea are far from adaquates with only 78 facilities in operation across the country. They are mostly found in mosques, universities or hospitals, which makes it difficult for Muslim visitors to find prayer rooms nearby while sightseeing in the capital city.
There are only 14 religious facilities in Seoul, and apart from mosques, only three prayer rooms are available at tourist destinations, four at various universities and six at various hospitals.
"Most Muslim tourists enjoy shopping in Myeong-dong and Dongdaemun Market, but very few prayer rooms are available in those locations and many visitors express low satisfaction related to religious facilities in Korea," city official said.
Seoul plans to build prayer rooms at Tourist Information Centers in the city after gathering opinions from Muslims living in Korea and religious experts. Men's and women's prayer rooms will be separated and a Koran will be provided in each room.
Seoul will build more prayer rooms this year for the growing number of foreign visitors from Muslim countries, the city government said Monday. The prayer rooms will be ready in May.
The city government plans to invest 200 million won to create up to three prayer rooms at popular tourist destinations by the summer to attract more tourists from Southeast Asia and the Middle East.
According to the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO), the number of visitors from Southeast Asia and the Middle East reached 985,858 in 2016, a 33 percent increase from 740,861 visitors in 2015.
The proportion of Muslim visitors to Korea has been growing steadily since 2014, when it 5.3 percent of the total that year. It increased to 5.6 percent in 2015 and 5.7 percent in 2016. The tourism body sees the influence of hallyu and K-pop playing a big role in attracting Muslims to Korea.
Despite the growing number of Muslim tourists, the prayer rooms in Korea are far from adaquates with only 78 facilities in operation across the country. They are mostly found in mosques, universities or hospitals, which makes it difficult for Muslim visitors to find prayer rooms nearby while sightseeing in the capital city.
There are only 14 religious facilities in Seoul, and apart from mosques, only three prayer rooms are available at tourist destinations, four at various universities and six at various hospitals.
"Most Muslim tourists enjoy shopping in Myeong-dong and Dongdaemun Market, but very few prayer rooms are available in those locations and many visitors express low satisfaction related to religious facilities in Korea," city official said.
Seoul plans to build prayer rooms at Tourist Information Centers in the city after gathering opinions from Muslims living in Korea and religious experts. Men's and women's prayer rooms will be separated and a Koran will be provided in each room.
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