Experiencing Eid Al-Fitr in South Korea

Celebrating Eid Al-Fitr with Indonesian Ambassador for South Korea

In 2017, I spent Eid Al-Fitr in South Korea and that would be one of the best memories I had in life. At first, considering that South Korea is not Muslim-majority country like my home country, Indonesia, I thought that the Eid Al-Fitr celebration in South Korea would be very much different form the celebration in Indonesia. However, I felt so grateful that I experiences such a festive and warm celebration of Eid Al-Fitr in South Korea.

The night before Eid Al-Fitr, me and my friends had our last Iftar (dinner) of Ramadhan at one of halal restaurants in Itaewon, near the Seoul Central Mosque. It was one of the best halal meals that I ate during I was living in Korea. Moreover, because there are many muslims ate in that restaurant, the atmosphere reminds me as if I was at home.

The next day, it was finally Eid Al-Fitr. I and my friends first prepared to do our Eid Al-Fitr prayer. At that time, we did the prayer with other Indonesian communities at one of the outdoor fields in Seoul. I grateful that Korean people gave us the freedom to perform our prayer at such an outdoor place like that. I didn’t feel like a minority because they respected us to perform our religion.  

After performed Eid Al-Fitr prayer, me and my friends from Indonesia, Turkey, and Azerbaijan, went to Indonesian Embassy in Seoul to celebrate Eid Al-Fitr together with other Indonesian people. At that place, I also had an opportunity to meet with Indonesian Ambassador for South Korea, Mr. Umar Hadi. There were many activities held in Indonesian Embassy to celebrate Eid Mubarak. We ate Indonesian traditional foods which are usually served on Eid Al-Fitr, such as Rendang, Ketupat, Opor Ayam, and other foods. We were also able to see such great performances from various performers, such as Marawis performers, singers, and etc. The best thing is we were able to meet with other Indonesian friends, talked together, and had a great Eid Al-Fitr like in our homeland. 

After several days, I also had Eid Al-Fitr Celebration in my school, KDI School of Public Policy and Management, which is located in Sejong City. The school is well-known for its diversity and I really appreciated my school to let us celebrate Eid Al-Fitr in school, and even supported us by providing the school hall to be used for celebration. In that celebration event, not only muslim friends, but non-muslim friends also came to join us and celebrate together. The school staff and professor also came by to the event. It was really meaningful Eid Al-Fitr Celebration and left a precious memory in my life. 

However, this year, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, I felt that Ramadhan and Eid Al-Fitr is quite different. Not only in Indonesia and South Korea, but in many other parts of the world, we all now struggle to fight this pandemic. That’s why I hope all of us can be strong to end this pandemic. I also hope that the spirit of Eid Al-Fitr remains in each of our hearts. Happy Eid Mubarak for all Muslims around the world!