KUALA LUMPUR: South Korea is taking steps to upgrade its level of understanding about halal products, says Korean Halal Association managing director, Kim Jin Woo.
Jin Woo said this was not only in preparation towards receiving Muslim athletes at the upcoming 2018 Winter Olympics, but also due to the country being among the famous holiday destinations for Muslims.
“We were hoping that come 2018, 50 per cent of Koreans would know the concept of halal,” he told Bernama in a working trip to Malaysia.
He also said that currently, the number of Muslim Koreans stood at 130,000 versus the total populations of 50 million and the number keep on increasing.
Jin Woo said the association had sent a networking team to Malaysia to learn about halal consulting, halal training and halal services.
Meanwhile, Gangwon Provincial Government Investment Promotion Action director, An Gwon-Yong, said the most visited place by the Muslims especially Malaysians in South Korea, was Nami island.
“Currently there are at least eight halal restaurants on Nami Island and we hope to see more soon,” he said.
Gwon-Yong said that the knowledge on preparing halal food is important as the country wants tourists to enjoy authentic Korean food, and not Pakistani biryani.
Meanwhile, World Islamic Economic Forum (WIEF) Foundation’s Secretary-General, Tan Sri Ahmad Fuzi Abdul Razak said the foundation would do their best to assist the Korean delegation.
“We will also approach the Halal Development Corp and the Department of Islamic Development Malaysia as these two organisations are the main leaders in the Malaysian halal industry,” he said. — Bernama