Ex-Korean Singer Recounts Story of Conversion to Islam

Date: 16 March 2024 - 22:34

News ID: ۱۲۵۷۳۲

TEHRAN -- Daud Kim, a famous South Korean pop singer and YouTuber, has shared the story of his conversion to Islam in a Ramadan-special TV show.
Speaking on Mahfel TV, Kim said mainstream media in South Korea talks about Islam in a “bad way”.
“When I was young I also thought Islam is kind of dangerous thing,” he said.
Practicing music and K-Pop gave him a chance to perform in other countries and his trip to Indonesia was his first “real” encounter with Muslims, he said.
His growing interest in Islam made him study more about the religion upon his arrival at home. “So I read the Qur’an. I tried to pray and fast.”
“When I read the Qur’an, I found something that really impressed me,” he said, pointing to the concept of monotheism that is highlighted in the Holy Quran.
“There is a thing that makes us happy and peaceful, and the purpose of your life is obeying Allah, and through obeying Allah it gives you true happiness and true peace in your mind,” Kim noted.
This was the thing “that I really needed,” he reminded. “The thing that makes me happy and peaceful.”
That was when he said Shahada and became a Muslim. Kim, who used to go by the name Jay Kim, embraced Islam in September 2019 and announced his conversion in a YouTube video.
Muslims are a minority in South Korea, making up less than 1 percent of the population. Most of them are foreigners, such as migrant workers and international students.
The first mosque in South Korea, the Seoul Central Mosque, was built in 1976. Since then, 15 more mosques have been officially registered across the country, along with 150 to 200 musalla, or smaller places of worship.