A strictly kosher restaurant is about to open soon in Seoul, the capital of Korea. In addition, Korean Air will add a fourth weekly direct flight to Israel. This was learned at a tourism seminar held last night at the Lighthouse Hotel in Tel Aviv. The seminar was organized by the Korean Ministry of Tourism through their tourism office in Turkey, which is also responsible for the Israeli market, and the airline company Korean Air in the production of Fischler Markets from Maman Aviation.
The seminar began with personal B2B meetings between Israeli and Korean tourists. Representatives and owners of 7 large travel agencies that provide ground services for groups and individual travelers came from Korea to the seminar. They opened small booths in the hall, where they offered their wares individually to about 30 Israeli travel agents who send Israeli travelers to Korea, or are preparing to work on this new destination as well. It is hoped that some of these B2B meetings will also generate business.
Among them we saw Yaniv Kasten, CEO of Hadsim, Itamar Nir, CEO of Pegasus, Adam Shmois, Vice President of Playist, Moore Sanders, Director of the Diesenhuis Business Department, and others. The group of Israeli agents was headed by Tali Laufer, CEO of the Association of Travel Agents in Israel.
Among the agents from Korea, we met Jane Han, owner of DMC Darling Jane, who previously won the title of “the most powerful tourism business leader in Korea”. She offers the Israeli agents to market her daily trips in Korea, organized trips for companies, health trips, and more. In her prospectus it is written that she also operates a Muslim, Indian & Jewish tour.
Mr. Dooyoun Wang Dooyoun HWANG owns the company US TRAVEL KOREA which he founded in the USA 3 decades ago, and returned to Seoul years ago. He built 12 itineraries in Korea, from 3 days to 2 weeks. His itineraries according to topics such as historical sites, islands, UNESCO heritage sites , palaces and temples, agriculture, etc. In addition, he also tailors special itineraries according to the travelers’ areas of interest. He offers Israeli agents to market his comprehensive tours.
Chris Kim of KIM’S M&T offers land services and hotels at different price levels, from simple hotels to luxury hotels in all the many tourist areas throughout Korea.
The eTour company also offers its customers the option of “kosher food”. When I found out what kind of kosher and who made the device, they explained to me that it was vegetarian food. There are many vegetarian restaurants in Korea, where kosher-observant travelers will be fed. (I wouldn’t trust such kosher, because of the sauces and the dishes that may have also been served with vermin).
The most interesting of all is the Soul Trip tourism company owned by Hyong Che Park (left). The Soul Trip company also specializes in sending groups of Korean pilgrims to Israel. About three months ago, he met an Israeli girl, Noa Khalil Horesh, during the rescue operations of Israeli tourists whose bus overturned south of Seoul. Noah lives and knits in Israel and Korea, and she also has a good command of the Korean language. The cooperation to save lives also created a business partnership in a culinary project and other tourism projects. The Soul Trip company also handled religious Israeli groups that came to Korea, and Noah recognized the need for kosher solutions. Noah, who keeps kosher herself, went with Mr. Park to ask for Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu’s blessing to open a kosher restaurant. Rabbi Eliyahu blessed them, and suggested that they think and act “with greatness” according to Rabbi Kook’s method. also try to establish catering services for airplane food. Nowa is also working to arrange kosher certificates for food factories in Korea.
Seol Trip representatives, Hyung Cha Park and his assistants (from left) with Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu after receiving his blessing
Actually, in Seoul there is already a kosher restaurant in Beit Chaved, but the nature of the two kosher restaurants will be different. In Chabad they mainly offer Jewish and Israeli food. The new Seol Trip restaurant (whose name is still confidential) will serve authentic Korean food, cooked in Korean style. In the first half of the year it will be a dairy and fur restaurant only, serving vegetarian food, cheese dishes, pastries and pastas. The serving will be in fancy local dishes. According to the demand, they will decide at a later stage whether to include meat dishes in the menu as well.
After about two hours of individual B2B meetings between the Israelis and their Korean counterparts, the theoretical part of the seminar began.
It was opened by the guest of honor, the Korean ambassador to Israel, Kim Jin Han, who said: “Korea’s friendly relationship with the State of Israel is very important to us. I am committed to building a bridge between the countries also through tourism. As more Israelis visit Korea, they return with experiences and memories that turn them into a kind of ambassadors for our information. This seminar is an opportunity to promote bilateral tourism, and I hope this is the beginning of cooperation in tourism and culture.”
The host, Ofer Reinhard, CEO of Maman Aviation, which represents Korean Air in Israel (GSA), thanked all the guests from Israel and Korea who came to the seminar, and said: “The year 2023 is going to be a record year for Korean Air’s operations in Israel. We are satisfied with the data so far which reflect it in all dimensions compared to the record year in 2019. These days, in preparation for the tourist season that opens in September, we are working in collaboration with Korean Air and the South Korean Tourism Bureau in order to produce the ultimate packages for Israeli companies specializing in organized tours.”
According to him, this seminar was also held to mark the 100th flight of Korean Air on the Tel Aviv-Seoul route. In the first five months of the year, Korean Air flew 20,705 passengers, while in May the company recorded a record in terms of activity with about 5,000 passengers, which will be broken already in June The average occupancy of the flights from Israel in the first half of the year is about 85%. This is the highest figure among all the airlines launched by the company during 2023. About half of the Korean passengers from Israel (55%) left as part of organized groups, 40% are private travelers and business people Israelis, 65% of whom fly to Seoul as their final destination, and 35% continue on connecting flights from Seoul to destinations such as Tokyo and Sydney.
The director of Korean Air operations in Israel, Mr. Hoon Jun, spoke about the high demand of Israelis. “In light of the continuation of the trend that is expected to reach its peak in Passover 2024, starting in the spring of 2024 we intend to switch to operating the line with the format of 4 weekly flights, with the Airbus 330 wide-body aircraft.”
After the words of welcome, the main lecture was presented by Pelin Ozer, assistant of the Korean Tourism Bureau in Turkey, which is also responsible for the Israeli market (for now). It featured many tourist sites around Korea, temples and monasteries where you can spend a whole day or more, and various tourism statistics. According to her, Israelis are allowed to pass through the border crossing with North Korea. Her lecture was accompanied by a presentation with slides of exciting scenic sites and various sports activities. It also introduced a variety of accommodation and travel solutions and flights within Korea. Flynn also expanded on the description of medical tourism for the needs of cosmetic treatments and plastic surgeries of various types that are very popular in Korea, also for tourism and tourists.
Afterwards, most of the Korean travel agencies were invited to also publicly present their services and offers.
After the speeches, the seminar participants were invited to a Korean-style dinner. The main course was the famous bibimbap. A dish of steamed vegetables, meat or fish served on a bed of white rice in a traditional sauce of red peppers and sesame oil. This dish is served with special ceremony. It is brought in a large pot with large wooden spoons, and the dignitaries of the meal are invited to mix the bibimbap well. Then serve it in small bowls and add an eye omelette on top. Yummy!
Itzik Biran
We do not know of any Jewish heritage sites in Korea, but nevertheless Judaism is present there. Beit Chaved is very active, led by the apostle Rabbi Usher Litzman. The Koreans love Israel to the point of admiration. “If the Koreans know you’re Israeli, they run after you in the street, shake your hands like a celebrity, and ask to hug you,” says Noa Kalil Horesh. In many schools in Korea, chapters from the Talmud are also taught. All respect the Israeli businessman Shaul Eisenberg, who saved Korea from the economic crisis it experienced. In addition, the wife of the first president of Korea, Ri Sung-man, was a Jewish woman born in Vienna named Francesca Donori.
