{"id":6988,"date":"2025-12-30T08:59:00","date_gmt":"2025-12-29T23:59:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/souqtimes.com\/?p=6988"},"modified":"2025-12-30T08:59:00","modified_gmt":"2025-12-29T23:59:00","slug":"halal-friendly-dining-drives-a-new-culinary-shift-in-south-korea","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/souqtimes.com\/ja\/uncategorized\/6988\/","title":{"rendered":"Halal-Friendly Dining Drives a New Culinary Shift in South Korea"},"content":{"rendered":"

| By ABNA<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Muslim Travel Fuels Change on Seoul\u2019s Restaurant Streets<\/b><\/h2>\n

Muslim tourists are reshaping South Korea\u2019s dining landscape as Halal-friendly food options gain prominence across major tourist districts in Seoul. From Sinchon to Myeongdong, restaurants are adjusting menus, kitchen practices, and even facilities to accommodate the dietary and religious needs of Muslim visitors\u2014whose numbers now exceed one million annually.<\/span><\/p>\n

At 6:30 p.m. on the 26th, a grilled fish restaurant near Sinchon Station in Seodaemun-gu was packed. More than 40 seats were filled by Muslim tourists wearing hijabs, confidently pointing to menu photos and ordering grilled mackerel, Spanish mackerel, and spicy stir-fried squid. When the dishes arrived, delighted reactions followed: \u201cTerbaik (the best)!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Once a student-favorite eatery, the restaurant now reports that foreign customers\u2014mostly Muslim tourists\u2014account for nearly 70 percent of sales over the past two to three years. The shift followed growing word-of-mouth recognition online as a \u201cHalal-friendly restaurant,\u201d referring to food permitted under Islamic law.<\/span><\/p>\n

From Kebabs to Korean Cuisine<\/b><\/h2>\n

As K-pop and K-beauty continue to attract Muslim travelers, their culinary preferences in Korea are evolving. Previously concentrated around kebab shops and lamb-based eateries in Itaewon, Muslim tourists are now actively seeking Korean restaurants that respect halal principles.<\/span><\/p>\n

According to the Korea Tourism Organization, Muslim visitor numbers rose from 360,000 in 2022 to 800,000 in 2023. Last year, arrivals reached 1.03 million, and by October this year, 998,000 visitors had already entered the country\u2014putting Korea on track to exceed one million Muslim tourists for a second consecutive year.<\/span><\/p>\n

Despite this surge, only around 15 restaurants nationwide hold official halal certification from the Korea Islamic Federation (KMF) Halal Committee. As a result, Muslim travelers rely heavily on social media, food platforms, and travel apps to identify \u201cHalal-friendly\u201d restaurants\u2014those that avoid pork and alcohol or focus on seafood and vegetable-based menus, even without certification.<\/span><\/p>\n

Prayer Rooms, Pork-Free Menus, Growing Demand<\/b><\/h2>\n

At 1 p.m. the same day, a Korean restaurant in Myeongdong was bustling with Muslim families, including visitors with infants in strollers. Customers ordered pork-free army stew and gimbap prepared according to halal methods. A notice on the wall read: <\/span>\u201cPrayer room available inside the restaurant.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Tourist-heavy districts such as Myeongdong, Sinchon, and Bukchon have become hotspots for Muslim-friendly dining. Restaurants now offer kimchi fried rice without fermented seafood, soy-based army stew, and other adapted dishes. Shim Mo, 59, a restaurant owner in Myeongdong, said,<\/span> \u201cWe no longer use processed meat due to the rising number of Muslim tourists.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Temple Food Gains Global Appeal<\/b><\/h2>\n

Muslim tourists are also embracing Korea\u2019s temple food culture. At a vegan temple cuisine restaurant in Insadong, women in hijabs lined up before lunchtime to order soybean bulgogi wraps, shiitake rice rolls, and plum tangsuyu made with fried mushrooms. The restaurant\u2019s vegan status aligns naturally with halal requirements.<\/span><\/p>\n

Employee Song Tae-hyun, 30, noted that the restaurant also conducts cooking classes for Muslim visitors interested in learning temple food recipes\u2014highlighting growing cultural exchange through cuisine.<\/span><\/p>\n

A Shift Toward Active Culinary Exploration<\/b><\/h2>\n

Professor Jeong Lan-su of Hanyang University\u2019s Tourism Department observed that Muslim tourists\u2019 food consumption patterns are evolving.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMuslim travelers are moving from a passive phase\u2014seeking familiar foreign foods\u2014to an active phase of exploring Korean cuisine within religious guidelines,\u201d <\/span><\/i>he said.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

As Muslim tourism continues to expand, Korea\u2019s food scene is undergoing a quiet but meaningful transformation\u2014one shaped not by certification alone, but by adaptability, inclusivity, and cultural awareness.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Source:<\/b>
\n<\/b><\/p>\n

ABNA. (2025). <\/span>Muslim tourists reshape Korea\u2019s food scene with Halal-friendly options<\/span><\/i>. https:\/\/en.abna24.com\/news\/1767293\/Muslim-tourists-reshape-Korea-s-food-scene-with-Halal-friendly<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

| By ABNA Muslim Travel Fuels Change on Seoul\u2019s Restaurant Streets Muslim tourists are reshaping South Korea\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":6990,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pmpro_default_level":"","inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,1],"tags":[4556,4554,2377,4555],"class_list":["post-6988","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture","category-uncategorized","tag-culinary-shift","tag-korea-food","tag-muslim-travellers","tag-tourism-impact","pmpro-has-access"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/souqtimes.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6988","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/souqtimes.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/souqtimes.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/souqtimes.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/souqtimes.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6988"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/souqtimes.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6988\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6991,"href":"https:\/\/souqtimes.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6988\/revisions\/6991"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/souqtimes.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6990"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/souqtimes.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6988"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/souqtimes.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6988"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/souqtimes.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6988"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}