Budget Travel Korea | Seoul | Korea’s First Guesthouse for Muslims

The name of the establishment is Eid Guesthouse .. the sajangnim (boss) is Saad, a very K-pop-looking young Muslim Korean still in his twenties ^^ This guy is famous especially among Muslim backpackers from Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia because he also runs Eid Halal Korean Food restaurant with his family. (But, he got married in 2016 guyss awwww ;( lol. ) They serve authentic Korean dishes like bibimbap, bulgolgi and tteokbokki in Itaewon, very near to the Seoul Masjid. The guesthouse is only about a minute away by walking from the restaurant. 
Our meet-up point was in front of Eid Halal Korean Food Restaurant only 100m+ away from the guesthouse
AND, we were honoured to be their first guests, yeay! I actually stumbled upon Eid restaurant’s facebook fanpage and somehow saw a comment from one of the customers about the opening of Eid’s new guesthouse. I quickly sent a message to ask about it and coincidently they were going to open as soon as the renovation was completed which was the same week we arrived in Seoul^^ 

From the airport, we took the subway and head straight to the restaurant thinking we would first meet up with Saad there. Turned out we arrived on a Monday – restaurant was closed :( But Saad came to meet us not too long after that and took us to the guesthouse .. 



Okay I’m not gonna lie - my heart skipped a beat when I saw that ‘oppa’ running to great us in that sharp suit… reminded me of common scenes in K-drama lol =D.. 



As we entered the living room on the ground floor we immediately felt the cosiness and warmth of that space.. Saad gave the interior a simple and modern touch yet still exudes that familiar Korean charm and cuteness. The first thing that will catch your eyes is a big wooden bench table in the middle of the space lined with high chairs and a sleek chandelier hanging above it. A big flat screen TV is on the right and a small corner on the left side with tall book shelves and working desk – immediately you’ll be able to tell this is where the young CEO manages his businesses from :D

And so we sat down at the table, Saad poured us a very delicious cup of chilled Korean tea (forgot the name) and we started talking.. and talking and talking… later on we were joined by Said the ‘hyung’ (elder brother) and their parents. 

 I thought THIS was the ultimate Korean experience in itself – getting to know the local people and immerse ourselves in long conversations. We learned quite a handful about them; the brother Said is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in UIA Malaysia and speaks Malay, how they began their restaurant business and best of all how the whole family embraced Islam one person at a time in the past 10 years.. It was some conversation! We didn’t mind staying in the whole afternoon as this was beyond all touristy stuff.. By the end of our ‘little’ meet n greet session, we felt more like friends rather than hosts and guests ^^

Among other things, the brothers helped us to secure air tickets for Jeju too. Gamsahamnida! =D

 Saad’s father Mr. Yusuf, worrying over us not going out and about that afternoon lol

After about 4 hours, yes.. 4 HOURS lol, we finally ‘checked-in’ to our room.. ladies stay on the first floor. 

 
They provide: 
  • 2 pillows per person
  • A small but thick Pierre Cardin towel (I don’t know why I feel the need to mention the brand me lol) 
  • Very thick and luxurious duvet (only 3 hot months in Korea, u'll appreciate this =D) 
  • Musolla or ‘surau’
  • WiFi (very important :P)
  • Hairdryer
  • Ironing facility
  • Washing machine
  • Toiletries and of course..
  • Breakfast and all-day beverage in the pantry for free
  • and oh yeah.. all guests get to dine at Eid restaurant at 10% off!

The halal & thoyyiba breakfast spread ~ rice, side dishes, cereals, toasts, milk and tea; you’ll be filled InsyaAllah^^..


Check out a video of Saad and his dad here explaining to us about how to help ourselves for breakfast.. so cute! Hahaaa =D

Every night when we come back from our outing Saad would be sitting at the big table with his laptop doing his management work and he would ask about our day, look at the goodies we bought (while giving comments :P) and help us to get more info for our next outing..  so helpful jinjja! I guess that’s the perk you get when you’re the only guests staying there?? Hehee..

   

After 3 nights in Seoul, it was time to leave for the next city – Jeju. Although we looked forward for the next adventure that awaits us on the island, it was also very sad for us to leave Eid Guesthouse and the family.. particularly because they were so friendly, helpful and took really good care of us… we will definitely stay here again when we come back to Korea!

 

  
Room rate: 
KRW 30,000/person/night, discounts for long stay (I think they have new rates now). Worth every penny even though you are paying a little extra as compared to other guesthouses for the comfort level and reassurance in the Halal food provided here.

Getting here:
Itaewon station Line 6 (brown), Exit 3. Walk straight ahead in front of the shops as you exit the subway until you reach the first junction to the right. There is a Mr. Kebab shop at this corner. Turn right into the junction and take the road uphill until you reach a school. Turn left at the school into a smaller street and walk straight ahead. 


 You will find the Seoul Masjid on your left, walk further about 5 minutes or less until you reach Eid Halal Korean Food restaurant on your left. Make appointment to meet with Saad/Said here before hand. They are very easy to reach via Eid Halal Korean Food Facebook Fanpage or simply email the management at eidguesthouse@gmail.com
A necessity if you plan to travel Korea on your own; a Korea sim card for at least a data plan. I mean, even though many people say that public wifi is widely available in Seoul, only a few of them are actually usable and reliable and the rest would need you to pay / use an account/sim card for an access. If you do not want to get lost too much while finding your ways around Seoul, at least get a Korea sim card and data plan set on your phone and walk around the city with your Google maps on haha.. this way you'll learn the routes faster and you get to visit more sites ;). Right now there is a 17% discount on Korea Sim Card (EG Sim Card) - Mobile Data + Voice Plan on Trazy. Highly recommended especially when you plan to stay for more than a week. Value for your money, especially when data roaming costs you around MYR30++ per day! (Malaysian telco).


Last updated July 18th 2017

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