An official from the South Korean Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said on Monday that the ministry will publish an Arabic version of its official governmental guidebook on halal restaurants this year, in an effort to attract more Muslim tourists.
An official from the ministry was quoted by the South Korean Yonhap news agency as saying, "Our current goal is to complete and publish the Arabic edition of the guidebook by May for distribution to travel agencies and offices within the Korea Tourism Organization.”
There will be other categories of eateries, according to Yonhap, that includes Self-Certified, Muslim-Friendly, Muslim-Welcome and Pork-Free. There are currently only five halal-certified restaurants in South Korea that have been confirmed by the Korean Muslim Federation. The ministry will give a rating to the halal restaurants after evaluating their performance, before the certified menus are published within tourist guidebooks for Muslim countries.
The ministry has also approved the expansion of prayer rooms for Muslims at Incheon International Airport and other tourist centers in the country.
Moreover, Seoul plans to organize sessions for tourism agencies to correct misconceptions about Muslims, as well as produce a series of documentary programs on halal food and tourism for Muslims.
The ministry also plans to support tourist agencies by encouraging them to participate in international tourism exhibitions that will be held in Riyadh in April, the Middle East in May and other exhibitions that will take place later this year in Malaysia and Indonesia.
Edited translation from MENA
