Korean Who Announced "Will Build Islamic Temple in Incheon" Reveals Land Sale Contract

Gained Fame Posting Islamic Content Abroad
Former Catholic Converts to Muslim
Also Addresses Resident Conflicts Over Daegu Mosque Construction

Attention is focused on Dawood Kim, a Korean Muslim YouTuber who announced that he has signed a land contract to build a Muslim mosque in Incheon. Dawood Kim is a mega YouTuber with 5.52 million global followers, originally a Catholic believer who is known to have converted to Islam.

Dawood Kim (real name Kim Jae-han) began gaining fame about four years ago in 2020. Although born in Korea, he started his YouTube activities in Indonesia, and after gaining popularity there, he was "re-imported" back to Korea.

Muslim YouTuber Dawood Kim Photo by YouTube Capture

Originally a Catholic, he converted to Islam and gained public attention by posting content about the daily life of Muslims. He is famous for videos that honestly cover stories such as his visit to Mecca (Mecca, the holy city of Islam in Saudi Arabia), traveling to other Islamic countries, and discrimination Muslims face abroad.

It is reported that the majority of his fans are still Indonesians. Indonesia, a large country with a population of about 270 million, has 87% of its citizens as Muslims, accounting for 14% of the global Muslim population.

He became famous for Islamic-related content such as visiting sacred sites.
[Image source=YouTube capture]

He has recently been producing video content set in Korea. At the end of last year, he introduced conflicts surrounding the construction of an Islamic mosque in Daegu on his YouTube channel. The video captured protests by Daegu residents and scenes of grilling pork, which is taboo in Islam.

Some netizens have also focused on an incident before Dawood Kim converted to Islam, where he was accused of sexual assault by a woman but was given a suspended indictment.

Regarding this, Dawood Kim explained in a 2020 video, "On June 27, 2019, I met two women while drinking at a club in Hongdae. I visited one woman's accommodation and was talking when I fell asleep on the sofa. When I came to, someone was shouting at me, and I was so startled that I hurriedly left the house."

He added, "The woman reported me to the police, and on July 5 of the same year, I met the women in person and apologized," releasing the agreement and withdrawal of the report documents he wrote at the time. Dawood Kim clarified, "(That incident) has already been legally concluded."

Land contract document disclosed by Dawood Kim [Image source=YouTube]

Meanwhile, on the 11th, Dawood Kim announced that he purchased about 84 pyeong (approximately 278 square meters) of land in Unbuk-dong, Jung-gu, Incheon. He shared a photo of the land document on his YouTube community, stating, "This place is planned to be a prayer site for Korean Da'wah (Islamic proselytizing) and an Islamic podcast studio," expressing his ambition by saying, "I truly believe this is the beginning of a huge step."

However, it is still uncertain whether the mosque construction will proceed as planned. The land Dawood Kim contracted is near Yeongjongdo and is designated as a natural green area. According to the current National Land Planning Act, the building coverage ratio in this area is up to 20%, and the floor area ratio is up to 80%. Even if construction permission is granted, it is reported that only small buildings with a total area of 65 to 100 square meters can be built.