KTO Halal Restaurant Week To Take Place Online This Year

KTO to hold Halal Restaurant Week online

Every year, the Korea Tourism Organisation (KTO) hosts Halal Restaurant Week in different cities across Korea around late August to September to promote the country’s halal and other Muslim-friendly eateries to tourists.

However, the current global pandemic has forced many of us to put our travel plans on hold. As such, KTO has decided to bring Halal Restaurant Week online so that Muslim tourists can easily access the event and use the information to plan their food stops for future trips to Korea when COVID subsides and leisure travel has resumed.

Halal TV on KTO’s YouTube channel

KTO plans to host the event via a set of videos, called Halal TV, exploring halal food in Korea through two different miniseries – Halal K-food Cooking Studio and Halal Restaurant Tasty Party.

KTO Halal Restaurant Week - Halal K-food Cooking Studio & Halal Restaurant Tasty Party posters
Images adapted from: Halal Restaurant Week and Halal Restaurant Week

Halal K-food Cooking Studio will showcase 2014 Masterchef Korea winner Chef Choi Kwang-ho teaching Korean food recipes – such as tteokbboki (spicy Korean rice cakes) – that have been adapted by swapping out non-halal ingredients for halal ones. Muslim fans of Korean food can then try out these adapted recipes in the comfort of their homes.

KTO Halal Restaurant Week - Chef Choi Kwon-ho
Chef Choi Kwang-ho posing for Masterchef Korea
Image adapted from: MBN

Halal Restaurant Tasty Party will feature Muslim expats in Korea introducing famous halal restaurants in Seoul so that Muslim tourists have an idea of some of the restaurants they can work into their next Korea trip itinerary.

The videos will be uploaded every Monday, from 14th September to 16th November 2020, onto KTO’s YouTube channel, WOWKOREA.

Win gift cards online

As part of their promotions for the Halal TV video series, KTO is also hosting an online giveaway event from 7th September to 10th September 2020, where 25 selected participants will win Amazon gift cards worth USD10.

To participate, viewers will need to subscribe to the WOWKOREA YouTube channel, “like” the official teaser for Halal Restaurant Week 2020, and leave a comment on the video talking about Halal TV.

KTO Halal Restaurant Week - Halal TV promotional poster & giveaway event
A promotional post for the event and giveaway
Image credit: @halal_restaurant_week

KTO’s annual Halal Restaurant Week

Halal Restaurant Week is an annual event that has been hosted by KTO since 2015. The event is meant to promote halal and Muslim-friendly restaurants in Korea to Muslim tourists.

You can usually find the accompanying restaurant guidebook in KTO branch offices around the world, located in large cities such as Jarkarta, Dubai, and New York. KTO also has coupons on their website for participating restaurants during the event period.

One of the coupons available on the event website
Image credit: Halal Restaurant Week Korea

Online KTO Halal Restaurant Week helpful for Muslim tourists

While leisure travel has been restricted due to COVID-19, events like Halal Restaurant Week by KTO are still helpful for tourists. The online event provides valuable information for Muslim tourists which can be used to plan for future trips to Korea once leisure travel resumes.