By Lee Kyung-min
The government plans to issue “halal” certificates to at least 140 restaurants nationwide, where Muslims can eat food without worrying about the ingredients.
The measure aims to attract more Muslim travelers who prioritize halal food as one of the most important factors in deciding a travel destination, according to the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism and the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO), Monday.
The 140 halal restaurants will be selected as early as next year on a trial basis, and depending on response from Muslim visitors, the number may increase, they said.
While pork and alcohol are major ingredients in Korean food, under Islamic law, better known as the Sharia Law, such items are haram (sinful) for Muslims. The word halal means “allowed” in Arab.
“For travelers, food usually is the most important part of a happy and memorable trip. If they have problems with what they eat, they cannot fully enjoy the time overseas. The measure was introduced to prevent such unfortunate cases and to better meet the demands from visitors with diverse needs, including religious ones,” a KTO official said.
The ministry plans to publish a booklet and distribute it to Arabic countries.
The ministry will categorize the restaurants into five groups. First will be “Halal Certified,” those which are certified by the Korea Muslim Federation (KMF). The second will be “Self-Certified,” those which use halal ingredients and are self-certified by Muslim owners. The third will be termed “Muslim Friendly” because they are run by Muslims and offer some halal menus, while selling liquor. The fourth category will be “Muslim Welcome,” Korean restaurants that offer vegetarian menus or seafood or temple cuisine. And, finally, the last will be “Pork-Free,” restaurants that do not offer pork, but have halal meat.
Meanwhile, the KTO published a booklet last year in a similar attempt to provide Muslim visitors with easier access to try Korean cuisine.
In the booklet, 36 famous Korean menus are categorized into four categories ― vegetables only; seafood; combination of vegetables and seafood; and meat, except pork.
“Muslims have no problem eating seafood, including sushi. So they would not have a problem visiting coastal cities such as Busan or Mokpo in Gyeongsang Province. The move is broadly for restaurants selling pork, which is almost the most popular food in Korea,” the official said.
“Korea is becoming ever-more popular as a travel destination. And I hope this move will be considered a welcoming gesture to the viable travelers from Islamic countries,” the official said.
According to KTO statistics, as of last year, out of the 14 million travelers that visited here, 750,000 were Muslims, who accounted for 5 percent of the total.
They were from Malaysia, Indonesia, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar.