Creating a Home for Everyone; Muslim Tourism in Korea
Tourism is a big part of a country’s income. It is a way to make the most out of what your country is naturally gifted with and to show the world what it is all about. But nowadays with the rising use of the internet and many other social platforms, promoting a country and its culture is much easier. Your country could be in one part of the world but spread its cultural influence to every other nation that may or may not have heard of it. And Korea is one perfect example of this.
With the Hallyu wave spreading throughout the globe and the Korean culture receiving much love and support, people’s interest in the country is only growing. In fact, it is so much that regardless of which part of the world you might be in or what religion you follow, you’ll find yourself connecting with people who share this same love and a common dream of visiting Korea someday.
But for a Muslim, travelling to Korea is much easier said than done.
Muslims account to over 24% of the world population and Islam is the number 2 religion followed globally. In Korea, this population is over 150,000 along with the native Korean Muslims. With the Hallyu wave also reaching the middle eastern seas and every other Muslim nation, now more and more Muslims are becoming interested in visiting Korea. BTS’s performance in Saudi Arabia as one of the first K-pop idol groups to perform is also evidence of this. Last year the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) in fact speculated a count of over 1 million Muslims visiting the country. Although the statistics have drastically changed because of the COVID-19 situation, still the country’s inability to truly accommodate this community is an area that it is losing out a lot on.
Korea’s drinking lifestyle, the cultural bond shared through the samgyeopsal gatherings and the limitations in places of prayer, makes Korea in the eye of an outsider — one of the hardest places to adjust to. In fact, this sometimes goes to an extent where those who are unaware of the country speculate they’ll have to live on seafood and vegetarian diet only or have to face racism and discrimination or have to always travel to Itaewon to pray.
Improving the Facilitation of Muslim Tourism in Korea
· Food
Pork and Alcohol are two of the things that Korea is very famous for. In fact, they are almost the icons of identifying the country (i.e. in addition to the Hallyu content) like China is, for its unique and limitless cuisine. Yet, they are also two of the things that are absolutely prohibited for Muslims. With pork being easily available in Korea, every part of the animal is used in different forms when making food. This includes lard and other preservatives available in the convenience store snacks and confectionaries. Even if a person were to try out the street food, they may have to hold back because of the uncertainties in the ingredients used. Sometimes, Muslims are also victims of false advertising of ‘halal’ food in these street shops. Since they are unable to consume food that has been made using the same cutleries and pans used to make pork-based products, there is even more of a limitation in trying to experience the Korean culture in an acceptable way.
To overcome this, the consumer protection based laws could be revised in a way where a product’s ingredient list on the packaging is printed in English as well. Including false advertising of food as a punishable offence by law and improving the availability of halal food throughout the country are some other actions that could be put into place. Regular checkups by consumer protection authorities who are familiar with the Islamic laws could also be carried out now and then.
On the other hand, to encourage Muslim international students in joining Korean universities, setting up a separate kitchen to cook their own halal food (like Enhwa University) or making halal food available more commonly in the university, are some other measures that could be put into place to overcome this image.
· Prayer
Praying 5 times a day is a compulsory practice that Muslims have to adhere to according to Islam. As such, Muslims pray at dawn, noon, evening, dusk and night. They follow a special ritual of cleansing the body with water and using a special mat to make prayers. In Muslim nations and multicultural countries like mine, mosques to make prayers are available in abundance in every city. But in Korea this is different.
Other than the usual mosques you see in main cities like Seoul, Busan, Daegu etc. finding a place to pray is quite difficult. There might be certain malls and hotels that have facilitated a praying space, yet on a large scale, these places are still limited or unknown. Some of them are even farther away from tourist locations, making it difficult to travel. Because of this, many Muslims choose to pray in places with little human movements. These are usually by the staircase, a corner in a park, etc.
To overcome this and increase the convenience in prayer, establishing more places to pray is necessary. This could be done by setting up at least 1 or 2 prayer spaces in every city. It would also be great to create an app under the KTO that would direct Muslim tourists to the closest areas available to pray using GPS.
· Work and discrimination
Korea is a country where religious freedom is emphasized largely. Although it may be known as a Buddhist nation to a certain extent, many identify themselves as atheists or do not mention anything at all. However, as a Muslim — especially for women — the attire in itself is a symbol of that person’s religion. The hijab is a compulsory requirement that should be followed by Muslim women who have come of age. It is a form of protection bestowed upon women by god himself. However, those who dream of continuing to live in Korea permanently are commonly faced with the hijab dilemma.
Back in the 7th century, Muslims were a big part of the Korean community. But, with the restrictions imposed in 1427 by King Sejong on wearing headscarves and ordering mosques to shut, the records of the community disappeared little by little. Later, with the Turkish coming in to fight alongside the locals during the Korean War, Muslims found a place once again in society. However, the negative view of the headscarf remained even today.
Many have been asked to take off their hijab if they wished to be employed or are dismissed from the interview altogether. This is especially because of how the hijab is negatively reviewed by the employers, despite how capable and fit a person is for the job. Many of these views have been shared by YouTubers in Korea who have gone to an extent of not revealing their face to share their experience. Due to this those travellers who also dream of settling in Korea permanently end up with having second thoughts.
To control this, labour laws on recruitment could be revised to also cover discrimination in the form of a person’s attire. This revision could be publicly announced so that employees’ rights aren’t violated and employment opportunities are freely available.
Besides the above, it is necessary that information about the community is available openly for the locals. Thus overcoming the false fears of Islamophobia and eliminating any form of discrimination and racism.
Another strategy that could be used is signing up with local Korean Muslims who are also famous YouTubers in the promotion of I Seoul U campaigns. Similar to the many I Seoul U ambassadors, YouTubers like Yongsworld, Rasheed Oh etc. could be used in creating a sense of relatability and improving Korea’s image as one that is not only homely but also Muslim friendly.
Korea is certainly a beautiful country that everyone wishes they could visit. So facilitating such changes will be beneficial not only for the economy but also in making everyone’s Korean dream come true!
