Choi Young-kil (Hamed), a professor of Islamic studies and Arabic language and a South Korean translator, is the first to translate the meanings of the Holy Qur'an into Korean, he invented a digital device for memorizing and explaining the Qur'an, he declared his Islam twice: the first in 1970 when he was a student in Korea and his Egyptian teacher called him "Hamed", and the second after graduating from the Islamic University in Medina in 1980.

He began memorizing the Qur'an at the age of 26, participated in many events to introduce Koreans to Islam, gave lectures at Korean universities on Islamic culture, and received international honors and awards in recognition of his contribution to the service of education and teaching.

Study and scientific training

Born in Korea in 1949, Hamid Choi Yong Kil (Hamed) began his postgraduate studies in 1970 at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies in Seoul, Korea, where he obtained a bachelor's degree in Arabic language and literature in 1975 and a master's degree in the same discipline in 1982.

During the period between 1976-1980, he studied at the Faculty of Fundamentals of Religion and Islamic Call at the Islamic University of Madinah, and attended the classes of Sheikh Abdul Aziz bin Baz, the rector of the university at the time.

In 1986, he received his PhD in Islamic Studies from Omdurman Islamic University in Khartoum, the subject of his thesis was entitled "The Islamic Call in Korea".

Career

Hamid Choi taught at the Islamic Education Center in Jeddah to teach Korean residents there during his stay in Saudi Arabia and as a visiting professor at Imam Muhammad bin Saud Islamic University from 1982 to 1983.

He studied Arabic and Islamic sciences at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies and held several academic positions at Myeongji University, South Korea's oldest and most famous Arabic language university, where he headed the Department of Arabic Studies and Graduate Studies.

Kuwait's Ambassador to Korea Receives Hamed Choi (Kuwait News Agency)

He served as Director of Academic Affairs at the Faculty of Arts, then Dean of the Faculty of Humanities, and is currently Professor of Islamic Studies at the University.

He was a former member of a number of councils, bodies and centers dealing with Islamic sciences.

Islam and memorizing the Qur'an

Choi Young-kil converted to Islam in 1970 when he was a student at Hankuk University by his Egyptian professor Hamid al-Khouli, who was sent by Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Higher Education.

He said that his Islam at the time was out of respect for his teacher, who gave him the name Hamid, while he was a Muslim by name only, because of his ignorance of the principles and principles of Islam. For years he did what Muslims do, had no idea about Islam, and gradually learned the principles of Islam after studying Arabic.

He converted to Islam again after graduating from the Islamic University in 1980, and came to the conclusion that the true religion of Islam was the one he had learned, not the one he had heard about and read in Korea.

When Hamid Choi decided to memorize the Qur'an, he thought of leaving school and returning to Korea, because he found it difficult at first because of his weakness in the Arabic language, and at that time he memorized only Surat Al-Fatihah and some short surahs.

He began memorizing at the age of 26, so he wrote each verse in order on small papers "study card", asked about its meaning and transferred it to the side in Korean, and he carried the cards in his pocket and memorized them until he completed memorizing the Qur'an.

Hamid Choi says that what he was interested in at the time was memorizing and knowing the meaning that helps it. When he met Sheikh Omar Abdullah Kamel, who had established a center in Jeddah to teach Koreans Islam, he suggested that he translate the meanings of the Qur'an into Korean.

Today, this translation is the main and only reference for about 200,0 Korean Muslims (38.<>% of the total population, according to the Korean Muslim Federation).

Translation of the meanings of the Qur'an

Hamid Choi began his career in translation when he realized that the Korean people had difficulty understanding the truth of Islam, due to the Arabic language barrier and the lack of Islamic educational resources in Korean, as Korean books were full of misinformation that distorted Islam.

The Islamic Center in Seoul was also unable to respond to the questions and expectations of Korean Muslims; the answers were in English or Arabic, which they did not understand. This is in addition to the need of students who study Arabic and cultural language in 4 universities in Korea, numbering about a thousand students.

On March 1977, 5, Hamid Choi began the project of translating the meanings of the Holy Qur'an into Korean based on the English text in the translation of Abdullah Yusuf Ali, under the supervision of Omar Abdullah Kamel, and completed it 29 years later on March 1982, <>.

He then completed the translation with commentary in a second phase that lasted two and a half years, relying on Arabic references such as Safwa al-Tafsir and Mukhtasar Tafsir Ibn Kathir.

The translation was penned in a Korean literary style by Choi Shin, a professor of Korean literature at the School of Literature at Chungxin University in Seoul.

Ahmed Abdel Fattah Suleiman, a professor in the Department of Arabic at Myeonggi University, explained the Qur'anic meanings and rulings, and reviewed the Qur'anic text.

Hamid Choi conveyed the meanings and made each surah an introduction in which he mentioned its history and the reason for its revelation, quoting the approved interpretations, and each surah was issued by summarizing its meanings and indicating the important points that help to understand its contents.

The translation was according to the Qur'anic order of the surahs, placing the text of the Qur'an in Arabic in the center of the page, translating its meanings into Korean on the right side, and the translation in English on the left side, and at the bottom an additional explanation and background for the revelation of the verses in Korean.

The Muslim World League has authorized the printing of the translation, noting that the Qur'anic text should be in the Ottoman script in the second edition and that its meanings should be translated into English. Hamid Choi subsequently sought help and assistance in printing the translation from some Arab and Islamic embassies in Korea.

On January 1988, 8, Saif Al Yabhouni Al Dhaheri, then director of Al Ain International Airport, was charged with printing 500,10 copies, amounting to about KRW <>,<>,<> ($<>,<> at the time).

The costs of printing a second thousand copies were paid for by the head of the Hassan Alesayi Trading Establishment in Jeddah on March 24, 1989. With the support of the King Fahd Glorious Qur'an Printing Complex, the translation was reprinted in 1996.

Meanings of the Holy Quran translated into Korean by Hamid Choi Young Kil (From Norway Q&A Facebook page)

Scientific career

Over the 46 years of his scientific career, Choi has translated 106 Islamic books and scientific researches, and has become the main source for Koreans to study the teachings of Islam and Islamic culture.

Among the books he has translated are:

  • The Book of the Life of Muhammad - may God bless him and grant him peace.
  • A summary of Sahih al-Bukhari and the hadiths of the Prophet and how to pray.
  • Arabic-Korean dictionary.
  • The way to learn Arabic.
  • Forty nuclear.
  • Riyad Al-Salihin.
  • Indexed Dictionary of the Words of the Noble Qur'an.
  • In addition to books on teaching Koreans the Arabic language, which are taught in a number of Korean universities.

The Prophet's Hadith: Traditions and Customs of 1.8 Billion Muslims was the 100th book on Islam by Professor Emeritus of Myeongggi University, and is a comprehensive book on the Prophet's Hadith, dealing with nearly 400 detailed topics related to Muslim life.

The professor of Islamic studies, who is in his seventies, said that it took about 3 years to write the book, and a thousand copies of it were printed thanks to a Korean citizen named "Kim", who identified himself as indebted to the Arabs who taught him a lot, and has been making donations to projects to support Muslim students and cultural projects for years.

According to the scholars, Hamid Choi's translation was characterized by quality, accuracy, clarity, integrity of language and sobriety of style, and contributed to the transfer of knowledge about important parts of Islamic culture to Far Eastern societies, specifically to Korean-speaking peoples.

Cultural activities

Since the seventies and eighties of the last century, Hamid Choi has participated in events and lectures to introduce Koreans to Islam, in a number of academic bodies, companies and institutes.

After a lecture at the Chongcheon Institute of Culture in Seoul, its founder and president adopted a course entitled "The Concept of the Holy Quran" in the curriculum, making it the first academic institute in Korean history to teach this discipline for 12 hours a year.

He gave a lecture on "The Concept of the Meanings of the Qur'an" to employees of Postel Iron and Steel, Ewha University for Women, and the Institute for Research on Islam on December 30, 1997.

Subsequently, "Translating the Meanings of the Qur'an" became a 45-hour curriculum in the Department of Arabic Studies, postgraduate studies at Myeongji University, and a reference for learning Arabic at the Police College.

He gave lectures on the educational television channel (EBS) for beginners to teach Arabic, lectures to introduce Islam at Seoul National University, lectures on "War and Peace in Islam" at Sekang University, as well as courses to introduce and preach Islam.

He established an Islamic fund called the "Heba Islamic Fund" with contributions received from Korean Muslims, in gratitude for the project of translating the meanings of the Qur'an.

The fund, which he has headed since its inception, has been dedicated to various activities, including supporting needy Muslim students and youth studying Islamic and Arabic studies, supporting the translation, printing and distribution of Islamic books into Korea, and supporting mosques in Korea.

He became the President of the Korean Islamic Federation, Dean of the Muslim Community in South Korea, a member of the Muslim World League in Mecca, a member of the Regional Council for Islamic Dawah in Southeast Asia and the Pacific, and a member of the World Supreme Council of Mosques of the Muslim World League.

Creating the "Wallet"

In the nineties, Hamid Choi contributed to the memorization of the Holy Quran by two Korean students, the first in primary school at the age of 7 and the second at the university level.

He used the phone to memorize them because they lived outside the capital, Seoul, and could not come to his office at the university or his home every day.

This method inspired him to adopt a digital device to memorize and explain the meanings of the Qur'an, and he collaborated with an electronic company, the IMEX Foundation, to bring the proposal to reality in January 2000.

Hamid Choi receives the King Faisal Prize in the Service to Islam category (from the Award's Facebook page)

After a study that lasted more than 18 months, the project was launched as "Al-Mahfaz" on June 13, 2001.

It was the first digital device to study and memorize the Holy Quran, and the first multiple e-book specially made to introduce the most important principles of Islam such as: guidelines for the rituals of Hajj and Umrah, and the most important 40 hadiths of the Prophet with the translation of their meanings into local languages.

The "wallet" was officially registered with the authorities of the Korean government and several legitimate institutions in the country, and was considered a major turning point in the spread of Islam in Korea and the rest of the world.

Top books translated into Korean

  • Translating the meanings of the Holy Quran into Korean.
  • Translation of "Mukhtasar Sahih al-Bukhari".
  • Translation of "Sealed Nectar".
  • The Prophet's Hadith: The Traditions and Customs of 1.8 Billion Muslims is the 100th book in Korean, dealing with nearly 400 detailed topics related to Muslim life.
  • The book "The Guiding Way to the Principles of Worship".
  • The book "Islam and Muslims".
  • The book "The New Muslim's Guide".
  • The book "Summary of Islamic Jurisprudence (Chapters: Virtues, Morals, Etiquette, Remembrances).
  • The book "Summary of Islamic Jurisprudence (Chapter One: Monotheism and Faith).

Awards

  • King Faisal Prize in the Service to Islam Branch for translating a number of Islamic books and advocacy efforts in 2023.
  • Service to Islam Award from the Regional Council for Islamic Call in Southeast Asia in 2023.
  • The Abdullah bin Abdulaziz International Award for Translation in the Field of Humanities from Arabic into Other Languages in its second session, for the translation of the book "The Prophet Muhammad" into Korean, and for the book "The Sealed Nectar" by Sheikh Safi Al-Rahman Al-Mubarakfuri (the author's first translation of the description of the biography of the Prophet Muhammad into Korean) in 2008.
  • Medal of Education and Teaching Service from the Korean Government in 2014.
  • Medal of the President of the Democratic Republic of Korea in 2013.