Islam in Korea

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It is estimated that there are up to 40,000 Muslim adherents in Korea (does not include migrant workers who live in Korea). In South Korea, the Muslim population has been steadily increasing since the introduction of the faith shortly after the Korean War. The Muslim community is centered around Seoul, where the first large 20th-century mosque was built in 1976 using the funds of the Malaysian Islamic Mission and other Islamic countries.

It is believed that there is no significant presence of Islam in North Korea, where autonomous religious activity in general is almost non-existent.

Contents 1 Early history 2 20th-Century reintroduction 3 Notes 4 References 5 See also 6 External links

[edit] Early history

The first verifiable presence of Islam in Korea dates back to the 9th century during the Unified Silla period with the arrival of Arab and Persian navigators and traders. According to numerous Arab geographers, including the 9th-century writer Ibn Khurdadhbih, many of them settled down permanently in Korea, establishing Muslim villages.^[1] Some records indicate that many of these settlers were from Iraq.^[2] Other records suggest that a large number of the Alawi Shia faction settled in Korea.^[3] Further suggesting a Middle Eastern Muslim community in Silla are figurines of royal guardians with distinctly Persian characteristics. ^[4] In turn, later many Muslims intermarried with Korean women. Some assimilation into Buddhism and Shamanism took place, owing to Korea's geographical isolation from Arabia. [5]

Small-scale contact with predominantly Muslim peoples, particularly the Uyghurs, continued on and off. One word for Islam in Korean, hoegyo (회교, 回敎) comes from huihe (回紇), an old Chinese name for the Uyghurs. During the late Goryeo period, there were mosques in the capital Gaeseong.^[6]During Mongol rule in Korea the Mongols relied heavily on Uyghurs to help them run their vast empire because of Uighur literacy and Uighur experience in managing extended trading networks. At least two of those Uyghurs settled down in Korea permanently and became the progenitors of two Korean clans.

One of those Central Asian immigrants to Korea originally came to Korea as an aide to a Mongol princess who had been sent to marry King Chungnyeol. Goryeo documents say that his original name was Samga but, after he decided to make Korea his permanent home, the king bestowed on him the Korean name of Jang Sunnyong. Jang married a Korean and became the founding ancestor of the Deoksu Jang clan.

His clan produced many high officials and respected Confucian scholars over the centuries. Twenty-five generations later, around 30,000 Koreans look back to Jang Sunnyong as the grandfather of their clan. They are aware that he was not a native of Korea. Many believe that he was an Arab Muslim. However, there is no evidence of Islamic influence on Deoksu Jang family traditions.

The same is true of the descendants of another Central Asian who settled down in Korea. A Central Asian (probably a Uyghur) named Seol Son fled to Korea when the Red Turban rebellion erupted near the end of the Mongol’s Yuan dynasty. He, too, married a Korean, originating a lineage called the Gyeongju Seol that claims at least 2,000 members in Korea today but shows no special signs of Muslim influence.

In the early Joseon period, the Islamic calendar served as a basis for calendar reform owing to its superior accuracy over the existing Chinese-based calendars.

However, due to Korea's geographic and political isolation during the Joseon period, Islam had all but disappeared in Korea by the time it was reintroduced in the 20th century. It is believed that many of the religious practices and teachings did not survive. However, in the 19th century, Korean settlers in Manchuria came into contact with Islamic teachings once again; these became the first Korean Muslims in modern times.^[7]

[edit] 20th-Century reintroduction

During the Korean War, Turkey sent the second-largest number of troops (after the United States) to aid South Korea under the United Nations command. In addition to their contributions on the battlefield, the Turks also aided in humanitarian work, helping to operate war-time schools for war orphans. Shortly after the war, some Turks who were stationed in South Korea as UN peacekeepers began teaching Koreans about Islam. Early converts established the Korea Muslim Society in 1955, at which time the first South Korean mosque was erected.^[8] The Korea Muslim Society grew large enough to become the Korea Muslim Federation in 1967.

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. The Seoul Central Mosque was finally built in Seoul's Itaewon neighborhood in 1976. Today there are also mosques in Busan, Anyang, Gwangju, Jeonju and Daegu. 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 active practitioners.^[9]

[edit] Notes

1. ↑  Lee (1991) reviews the writings of more than 15 Arabic geographers on Silla, which most refer to as al-sila or al-shila.
2. ↑  Lee (1991, pp. 27-28) cites the writings of Dimashqi, Al-Maqrisi, and Al-Nuwairi as reporting Alawi emigration to Silla in the late 7th century.
3. ↑  Lee (1991, p. 26) cites the 10th-century chronicler Mas'udi.
4. ↑  These were found in the tomb of Wonseong of Silla, d. 798 (Kwon 1991, p. 10).
5. ↑  Islam takes root and blooms. Islam Korea.
6. ↑  덕수장씨. Rootsinfo.co.kr (Korean language). Retrieved on 2006-03-20.
7. ↑  About Seoul: Way of Life. Seoul City government website. Retrieved on 2006-03-20.
8. ↑  About Seoul: Way of Life. Seoul City government website. Retrieved on 2006-03-20.
9. ↑  The article (in Korean) at http://www.arisok.com/news_view.asp?id=5821 quotes Lee Hee-Soo (Yi Hui-su), president of 한국 이슬람 학회 (Korea Islam Institute), with these figures.

[edit] References

• Kwon, Young-pil. (1991). Ancient Korean art and Central Asia: Non-Buddhist art prior to the 10th century. Korea Journal 31(2), 5-20. [10]
• Lee, Hee-Soo. (1991). Early Korea-Arabic maritime relations based on Muslim sources. Korea Journal 31(2), 21-32. [11]

[edit] See also

• List of Korea-related topics
• Religion in South Korea
• Korean culture

[edit] External links

• http://www.islamkorea.com/
• Islam and Muslims in South Korea
• Collections of Korean Muslim Sermons (Audio)
• Islam Struggles for a Toehold in Korea