SEOUL, Oct. 26 (Korea Bizwire) – The Seoul Metropolitan Government has announced plans to launch halal-safe Korean cooking classes as part of its efforts to attract Muslim tourists to the city.
According to the Seoul government on Thursday, the winner of the third season of MasterChef Korea, Choi Gwang-ho, will lead the halal-style K-food Cooking Class at South Korean food company CJ CheilJedang’s cooking studio.
With the number of Muslim visitors to the South Korean capital continuing to grow, reaching nearly 1 million last year, the lack of pork-free dishes in the city has emerged as an obstacle.
One survey conducted with Muslims tourists showed that only 46 percent were satisfied with Korean food, a significantly lower figure than that among all foreign tourists at 85.8 percent.
In accordance with statistics that show the most popular Korean dishes among Muslims are bulgogi, bibimbap, kimchi and tteokbokki, the cooking class will teach students how to make bibimbap and kimchi pancakes using ingredients that are halal-certified.
M.H.Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)