hankyoreh

A group opposed to the construction of a mosque in Daegu cooked 100 portions of pork to be eaten at what they called a “village feast” next to the construction site of the mosque in Daegu’s Buk District on Feb. 2. (Kim Gyu-hyun/The Hankyoreh)

Daegu residents opposing the construction of a mosque held their second “pork party,” having first staged a pork barbeque in December 2022.

At 12:30 pm on Thursday, a group calling itself the “Daehyeon Neighborhood Anti-Mosque Emergency Action Committee” held a “village feast” in front of the mosque’s construction site in Daegu’s northern Buk District, near the west entrance of Kyungpook National University. The party was nothing more than a meat-feasting performance, in which boiled pork and beef gukbap stew was served to 100 people.

Muslim international students visited the temporary prayer center in front of the construction site for their lunch prayers, but no conflict ensued.

The “Daehyeon Neighborhood Anti-Mosque Emergency Action Committee” holds a press conference on Feb. 2 outside the Daegu Buk District Office to oppose the office’s plans to erect public facilities in the area surrounding the mosque. (Kim Gyu-hyun/The Hankyoreh)

Kim Jung-ae, vice chairperson of the action committee stated that the group “received a lot of support from all over the country” after the news covered the group’s barbeque in December.

“This feast was prepared for all of those who cheered us on. I don’t understand since when South Koreans had to provide reasoning for eating pork. We residents will stand very close together to prevent the construction of the mosque.”

This group of people has rejected the Buk District Office’s conciliatory offer to purchase land near the mosque to build a public facility such as a senior citizen center. Before the pork party, the committee held a press conference in front of the Buk District Office and stated “the solution that Buk District Mayor Bae Kwang-sik took two years to come up with is nothing but a one-sided notice saying that he will kick out residents who he thinks are obstacles to the mosque’s construction. He says he will build public facilities near the mosque, but they will only be used by Muslims.”

In a phone call with the Hankyoreh, the Buk-gu District Office stated that “we are continuing to meet and persuade the residents. On the other hand, we are also looking for alternative sites [on which to build the mosque.]” The Buk-gu District Office previously held a meeting with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Daegu city government on Dec. 18, announcing that it would buy land near the mosque to build public facilities.

By Kim Gyu-hyun, staff reporter

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