The South Korean Embassy in Cairo and the Korean Cultural Center launched the Halal Food Festival in Egypt, on Monday, which will last for two weeks.
Ambassador Hong Jin-wook said, in a press conference, that the embassy will provide a variety of artistic content, in cooperation with the Korean Cultural Center.
This includes performances of K-pop and traditional music, as well as film screenings, in order to promote Korean culture to the Egyptian people. Monday’s event, however, was designed to present a different and distinct aspect of Korean culture.
“Today’s event offers Korean foods to the Egyptian people, especially the famous Korean foods that are certified as halal,” Ambassador Hong said.
He added, “Recently, the interest in the Korean culture in Egypt has increased thanks to K-pop and Korean drama, and with this increase, the popularity of Korean food is also increasing, so the demand for the popularity of Korean food increases.”
The Ambassador said that the demand for Korean cooking courses, which are offered by the Cultural Center, is also increasing.
He mentioned that it was difficult for those in Egypt who love Korean food to cook it at home, because it is difficult to buy the ingredients used in Korean cuisine.
According to a survey conducted by the Embassy, 84% of respondents outlined their desire for shops in the country to sell Korean food, with 74% saying that those products they could find were expensive. A further 41% noted that the products they could find in local shops are not halal, and therefore not possible to consume.
“Through the survey, we discovered that if a lot of halal Korean food is provided in Egypt, the distribution structure is improved and sold at cheaper prices in more stores, more consumers will be able to use Korean food more and more easily,” Ambassador Hong said.
He added, “Therefore, as a first step today, we are working together with the introduction of Halal Korean products by providing opportunities for Korean manufacturers and Egyptian authorities to cooperate with each other to facilitate the distribution of more diversified products in the future.”
Ashraf Afifi, Chairperson of the Egyptian Organization for Standardization and Quality, said that 173 Egyptian companies providing 5,000 halal products have obtained the Halal Food Standards Certificate.
“The expected trade volume in the market for halal products will reach $200tr, whether in the food field or the cosmetic field, as there are Muslim and non-Muslim consumers, and there are countries that refuse to receive any products without being certified with halal certification,” he said.
