Islam in Korea - Today

Today

In 1962, the Malaysian government offered a grant of US$ 33,000 for a mosque to be built in Seoul. However, the plan was derailed due to inflation. It was not until the 1970s, when South Korea's economic ties with many Middle Eastern countries became prominent, that interest in Islam began to rise again. Some Koreans working in Saudi Arabia converted to Islam; when they completed their term of labour and returned to Korea, they bolstered the number of indigenous Muslims. The Seoul Central Mosque was finally built in Seoul's Itaewon neighborhood in 1976. Today there are also mosques in Busan, Anyang, Gwangju, Jeonju, Daegu and Kaesong. According to Lee Hee-Soo (Yi Hui-su), president of the Korea Islam Institute, there are about 40,000 listed Muslims in South Korea, and about 10,000 are estimated to be highly active practitioners.

The Korean Muslim Foundation said that it would open the first Islamic primary school named Prince Sultan Bin Abdul Aziz Elementary School in March 2009 with the objective of helping Muslims in Korea learn about their religion through an official school curriculum. Plans are underway to open a cultural center, secondary schools and even university. Abdullah Al-Aifan, Ambassador of Saudi Arabia to Seoul, delivered $ 500,000 to KMF on behalf of the Saudi Arabian government.

Before this formal establishment of an Elementary School, a madrasa named Sultan Bin Abdul Aziz Madrassa, has been functional since 1990's where children were given opportunity to learn Arabic, Islamic culture, and English.

Many Korean Muslims say their different lifestyle makes them stand out more than others in society. However, their biggest concern is prejudice they feel after the 9/11 terrorist attack in 2001. In Arirang TV, a Korean station also did a 9 minute report on Imam Hak Ap-du and Islam in Korea.