 But I think Islam is like a bright sun. So negative news from media can't hide this forever. Hello, this is Jae Kim. Today's topic is this. How did Islam spread to Korea? Islam and Korea. Honestly, this word doesn't match well. Yeah, because many Koreans are not familiar with Islam yet. But more than 300,000 Muslims live in Korea. And there are about 70,000 Korean Muslims. So it's more, but it's getting bigger now. So I'm curious. How has Korea historically contacted Islam? And how did Islam spread to Korea? I think it would be very interesting. So I searched. Here we go. The first period of Arab Muslims contact with Korea was the middle of the 9th century. Since the 7th century, when Islam spread to the world, Arabian and Persian Muslims had contacted China, the Silk Road. And in the 9th century, they finally reached Korea through the South Sea route. So there were culture exchanges between Korea and Muslim world since long time ago. And the person who introduced Korea to the world was also Muslim. The merchant named Shuleiman Atazir first occurred the location of Korea. He has traveled China and India several times for trade and finally found Korea. He said after China, there is a country named Sinla. They had white eyes and they do sacred ceremonies for lame. Yeah, that's tradition in Korea, Kiwuje. Geographer R. McDish also mentioned Korea in his book. There's a country called Sinla in east of China. The people who enter there don't want to leave because the air is clear, the soil is oily, and water is good. That's good, Korean. You can also find Korea in Muhammad R. Adrish's world map. This is 400 years earlier than Western. In Korea's history book, Samguk Sagi, people who are considered Arab or Persian appeared. This is very famous story in Korea. It's called Choyong. A king of Sinla was enjoying the vacation in Gaeunpo, close to Busan. But suddenly the clouds and fog appeared. So we lost the way. People said this was because of the dragon of it sea got angry. So the king built a temple for the dragon and it made him happy. So he brought his seven sons for a celebration. They danced and played music. Dancing and music, isn't it haram? Anyway, one of his sons followed the king and his name was Choyong. Look at this photo. He never looks like Korean and doesn't look like dragon either. So many history think his Persian or maybe Arab. There's a reason. In 874 in China, many Arab and Persian merchants were killed. There was kind of uprising things. It's called Hwangswe Nan. So they learned from China and some of them leached to Korea. So Choyong is maybe one of them. Later, in the 13th, 14th centuries, Islam, religion and their culture finally began to enter Korea. At this time, Korea was under the influence of the One Empire. You know, Genghis Khan. The Mongol Empire. So Turkic and Uyghurus Muslims from the Mongol Empire came to Korea. So they made Islamic communities in Korea and brought Islamic culture to Korean society. So they are called Hwe Hwein. So they made mosques and dressed their Islamic costumes and used their language to. Some of them even married Koreans and settled in Korea. Wow, international marriage. So earlier. But the situation changed because of the new dynasty, Joseon. 1427, the King Sejong strongly oppressed the Islam. So Islam and Islamic culture stopped in Korea. Actually, this is ironical. If you're interested in Korean history, you definitely know King Sejong. He made Korean alphabet and developed science and technology. So he's the most respectable person in Korean history. Even though he oppressed Islam, he has accepted Islamic science and technology a lot. Like lunar calendar or clock and astronomy, many things. And even he enjoyed Quran recitation. Actually, I didn't believe that, but it was recorded in Korean history book. So yeah, it's kind of ironical. So for hundreds years, we couldn't find Islam in Korea. But finally, Islam came to Korea again. It was 1950s, the Korean War. The Korean War is the worst tragedy in Korean history. At this time, many Turkish soldiers came to help South Korea. They fought for us and even took care of war orphans through the school named Ankara. If you see a movie named Ayla, you can know the details. If you have time, you should watch this movie. It's really good. And you should know that all the Koreans, including me, are very, very thankful to Turkey. Anyway, after the war, Turkish military imam, Abdul Gapur Kariz Mil Oulu, tried to spread Islam in Korea. And with his efforts, the first generation of modern Korean Muslim was born. Finally, he led the birth of Korean Islamic Association. It started with 70 people at the first, but now there are 70,000 Muslims in Korea. The Korean Muslims. Maybe you can tell me it's small, but I think it's really big. Sometimes in Korea, negative and false news interfere Muslims and Islam community. But I think Islam is like a bright sun. So negative news from media can't hide this forever. Someday, people in Korea will know that. How Islam is beautiful and peaceful religion. Koreans are afraid of Islam because they don't know about this well. But someday, they will know that this is beautiful and peaceful religion. That serves only one true God, Allah. So I hope this video will be helpful to you, if you're interested in Korean Islam history. And if I have any mistakes, please comment me. Okay, so I'm done. Thank you for watching my video. Ma salama.