Islam had only a faint historical footprint in Korea before the 20th century, but that changed when Turkish troops serving under the United Nations Command during the Korean War openly performed their five daily prayers, drawing curiosity from Korean civilians and soldiers alike. Some of those early Korean converts went on to found the Korea Muslim Federation, and with financial support from Muslim-majority nations, Seoul Central Mosque opened in the Itaewon district in 1976 — still the country's most prominent mosque today.
South Korea's Muslim population has grown since then mainly through migrant labor from Indonesia, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Central Asia, plus a smaller base of Korean converts, with Seoul and its Itaewon neighborhood remaining the community's clearest geographic center.
With no Korean government body issuing its own calculation standard, the Korea Muslim Federation and Seoul's mosques generally rely on the Muslim World League's widely adopted 18°/17° angles, which this page follows for consistency with local practice.
Itaewon has hosted Seoul Central Mosque since 1976, and the surrounding blocks have since grown into Korea's most concentrated cluster of halal restaurants, Islamic bookshops and prayer facilities.
Yes — while isolated contact predates the war, the public example of Turkish UN troops praying is widely credited by Korean Muslim organizations as the direct catalyst for the country's first organized Korean Muslim converts.
Seoul's mid-latitude position means a noticeably later Isha and earlier Fajr in June compared to December, similar in scale to much of northern China or the central United States.
Seoul Central Mosque and smaller prayer rooms near industrial areas with migrant worker populations do hold regular Jumu'ah services, though attendance is shaped by Korea's standard five-day office and factory schedules rather than a Friday holiday.