More Korean universities provide halal food

Muslim students show off halal foods atSejong University's cafeteria in Gwangjin-gu, eastern Seoul, Wednesday. /Courtesy of Sejong University

By Kim Jae-heun

For years, halal food has been a realm ofindifference and ignorance for Koreans. If they know a little more, they mayrecognize it as food for Muslims and maybe dishes without pork or porkproducts.

However, in recent years, several localuniversities have begun to introduce halal food in their cafeterias, as moreMuslim students are coming here to study. This is a result of the schools'efforts to counter the decreasing numbers of domestic students, and theincreasing popularity of K-dramas and K-pop in Southeast Asia and the MiddleEast.

Sejong University introduced a halal menuin 2014 and the school is at the forefront of promoting the food.

"Sejong University, along with SunMoon University, has the most Muslim students in the country. Nearly 500 Muslimstudents attend our school and they account for 26.6 percent of the overallforeign student population," a university official said.

In 2017, the school went further from justselling food in the cafeteria to opening a halal market on campus, organized byMuslim students.

They offered various fruit, vegetables,fish, chicken and beef products, which all have been certified as halalingredients.

"We wanted to introduce halal foods toKorean friends. We aim to hold this market regularly every year and promote ourtraditional dishes," said Uzbek student Jumaboev Temurbek, who planned theevent.

The school also operates halalcertification centers to make sure Muslim students eat foods and ingredientspermitted by Islamic law. The centers offer certification for outsiderestaurants and ingredient providers.

Muslim students purchase halal food throughan electronic kiosk at Sejong University in Seoul, Wednesday. / Courtesy ofSejong University

"It is quite hard to tell what ishalal and what is not. Taking out the pork, you can't really tell thedifference between halal food and non-halal food because it is the proceduresthat distinguish them," said Lee Hee-yul, a professor at the Department ofFood Services and Franchise Management in Sejong Cyber University.

"First, chicken and beef can onlybecome halal when a butcher kills them while praying to God. Second, halalfoods cannot be cooked together or with same cooking utensils used fornon-halal foods. These are all hard to verify if you did not witness the wholeprocess of food-preparation."

Hanyang University was the first school tointroduce halal food in the country in 2013. Other schools such as Sun MoonUniversity, Ewha Womans University and Kyung Hee University followed to offerhalal options in their cafeterias or provide venues for students to cook halalfoods.

Last year, Seoul National University beganto provide halal food. On the first day of the service, the school cafeteriaprepared halal food for 150 people but was sold out in 30 minutes.

The school expected a majority of thecustomers would be Muslim students, but nearly half of the students waiting inline were Koreans. Most of them were satisfied with the quality of food andsaid they had a great experience.

Ewha Womans University does not sell halalfood but provides a kitchen for Muslim students to prepare their own meals.

Still, Lee says the number of schoolsselling halal food in the country is way too low and more universities shouldengage in introducing traditional halal dishes.

"We have students from Malaysia,Indonesia and India all coming to study in Korea. They account for a largepercentage in the international student group here. For them, eating halal foodis not a choice, but a life duty they have to follow every day. Moreuniversities have to guarantee Muslim students' fundamental dietary rights lifeif they want to host more foreign students," Lee said.

Link->https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/nation/2018/08/181_253164.html