Can you believe that these children are laughing out loud and running around in a library? Well, if it’s a library named “My Eonni’s Small Library” located in western Seoul, you can. It’s not only a library, but a children’s playground and a community center all bundled up in one.

All sorts of activities take place at this library. A mother may be reading a book to her child, while some ladies chat away in one area and their children play hide-and-seek among the bookcases. This unlikely library opened on December 22, about a month ago, but it has already become a favorite neighborhood hangout.

Children can have snacks with their moms and read books. I couldn’t bring my kids to the library, because my son is noisy, but here my kids can talk loudly so we come here often.

In an ordinary library, loud footsteps or a burst of laughter would earn a scornful glance, but all those forbidden behaviors are allowed in this unique library. Such a departure from the norm is what draws so many people to this amazing library and others like it. In addition to “My Eonni’s Little Library,” quite a few libraries operating under special concepts are opening up all over Seoul. It seems that libraries are evolving.

It sounds like someone reading a book, but the voice is too mechanical and too fast to be human. The voice is reading even punctuation marks, like a period, a comma, and quotation marks. This awkward-sounding recording is a book-reading program for the visually impaired provided at a library located inside the Gwanak District Office in Seoul. Here’s librarian Kim Min-ju.

This service is for visually impaired readers, like the blind or extremely weak-sighted people. The Sorian소리안 program scans a book and reads its contents.

At this library, amusingly named “The Library Dreaming of a Dragon,” there is an optical character recognition system that can convert a file of a scanned book into an audio file, which can be played to a visually impaired person. So instead of reading a book in Braille or listening to an audio book, a blind patron can pick up any book from the shelf and run it through the character recognition machine and have it read to him. Here’s librarian Kim Min-ju again.

The library was for ordinary patrons, but we decided to set up an automatic reader to give more reading opportunities to the visually impaired. Those without disabilities say that they can’t understand what is being read because the machine reads too fast, but those with vision impairments say listening to a fast reading is much better to understand than a slow one. The text is converted into a voice file and read automatically. I hope visually impaired patrons will use this machine often.

The “Library Dreaming of a Dragon” is a community library located on the first floor of the Gwanak District Office. Countless people visit the district office every day and some of them often stop by the library to borrow a book or two or to simply relax. Here’s Mayor of Gwanak-gu Yoo Jong-pil.

About a thousand district residents come to the library daily. That’s impressive, isn’t it? Since the library is located on the first floor of the district office, the ceiling is quite high and it’s very spacious. The interior is decorated like a café. People who come to the district office usually have to wait a while, so instead of just watching TV, they go over to the library and borrow books to read while they wait. People also hold small meetings at the library.

One of Gwanak-gu’s projects is to open a library in every neighborhood in the district. Any leftover space is converted into a library in Gwanak-gu and “The Library Dreaming of a Dragon” is the district’s 16th library. The library isn’t that big, only 203 square meters in area, and has some 70 seats and 13,000 books, but it has become a neighborhood fixture since it opened on November 1, 2012. The fact that around 3,000 books are always out on loan illustrates the library’s popularity.

(Man 1) The first thing I read is the newspaper, and then I move on to books. While reading, I can find solutions to all my problems, and that helps me sleep better at night. I think the library’s name, The Library Dreaming of a Dragon, is very appropriate.
(Man 2) I come to this library every day during my school break for about two to three hours. It’s really nice. Reading a book is better than just playing a computer game or watching TV.

Big floor-to-ceiling glass windows and pleasant surroundings with comfortable chairs lend a café-like atmosphere to the library. It also serves as an event hall where local festivals or parties are held. Here’s Mayor of Gwanak-gu Yoo Jong-pil again to explain.

There are always book concerts going on at the library. Writers are invited for talks and concerts are held for music lovers. The library is always packed. It’s not only a library, but also a town hall, a place to take a break from hectic lives. There is even a breastfeeding room for new mothers. The library serves the same functions as a rural village’s water well, where people gather to chat and exchange information. This is a library, a town hall and a cultural center all mixed into one.

Some libraries are built by local government agencies, but some are sponsored by private groups. A case in point is “My Eonni’s Little Library” in Yeongdeungpo-gu, which was started by a non-profit group called Seoul Women Power. Here’s the chief librarian Yoon Mi-young윤미영.

A few years ago a young child was raped in Yeongdeungpo-gu. A man entered a school and kidnapped and raped a girl. That tragedy galvanized local residents to campaign for a safe environment and prevention programs for sexual violence against women and children. But above all residents agreed that there should be places where women and children can spend time safely and conveniently. That’s how “My Eonni’s Little Library” came to be. Daerim-dong in Yeongdeungpo-gu unfortunately has one of the highest crime rates in the city. The area severely lacks safe places and cultural facilities for local residents. That’s why this library was opened in this area.

Realizing that the neighborhood desperately needed a public place where residents can feel safe and comfortable, Seoul Women Power took charge of the project to build a library in the area with the help of 612 local residents. So this library is actually a triumph of all community members. Here’s chief librarian Yoon Mi-young again.

I was on the preparation committee to work with district residents. I talked with the locals and visited shops in the neighborhood to ask for their support. At the end more than 600 people, 500 of whom lived in the Yeongdeungpo district, decided to work with us to build a library. Since that many people were involved in the opening of the library, they all felt very attached to it. They would proudly say that it’s the library they helped build or it’s where they donated books and supplies. They all waited for opening day and have been frequenting the library ever since.

But the name “My Eonni’s Little Library” seems to indicate that the library is for women only. Are male patrons banned from the library?

Of course not. The Korean word for older sister, “eonni언니,” used to be a friendly title attached to anyone older, either male or female. We struck friendships with many women in the neighborhood by calling them “eonni.” That’s why the library is named “My Eonni’s Little Library.” We get many male patrons as well, especially young fathers. When the library hosts lectures on parenting, many fathers bring their children with them. We have quite a lot of male members.

Although the library is only 103 square meters in area, it is overflowing with generosity and love. There are snacks for hungry children and the heater is turned up high if anyone complains of a chill. It’s just like visiting your favorite eonni’s home.

We can borrow books and enjoy coffee here. The librarian is so nice. She takes care of all of us, giving us fruits and grilled sweet potatoes for snacks. She even allows us to bring lunch from home and eat in here. She also sets the cooling and heating to our demand. It’s just like visiting her home or a friend’s house. Children also love the library. They willingly come along when we ask them to come to the library, because they think of it as a playground, not a formal library.



Since community participation is the key to “My Eonni’s Little Library,” local residents still make steady book donations. It’s been only a month since it opened, but there are about 4,000 children’s books and 1,000 books for general reading already. Thanks to such community-wide support, the library has ambitious plans for this year.

One of our boldest programs is “Eonni’s School.” Most women of our district are stay-at-home moms or part-time workers, but many of them are college-educated and even certified for special skills. We wanted those women to discover their talents and share them with their neighbors. We planned “Eonni’s School” so that these women can be trained as instructors or community activists. The program will kick off in the first half of this year. I hope the program will bring many capable people to the neighborhood.

Out of all the literary genres, comic books must be children’s favorite. On December 20, 2013 a comic book library opened in Nokbeon-dong녹번동 in western Seoul. Here’s the librarian Kim Chae-won.

There used to be an old police station here, but the building was so dilapidated that everyone had moved out. So the district government tore it down and built a small building. Its operation was commissioned out to the Eunpyeong-gu District Library System, which decided to open a library for children. Most of the books are about children’s favorite subjects like sports and comics. We have between 1,500 and 1,600 books now.

The Nokbeon Cartoon Library was a huge hit among children from the day it opened. Since the library is quite small, measuring only 60 square meters, patrons often have to wait to get in during the peak hours.

(Boy 1) I don’t have that many comic books at home, but here I can read whatever I want for free. I come here whenever I have free time. I’m here for the fifth time already. There are so many comic books here.
(Boy 2) There are many recent releases. Other libraries usually have only a few comic books in their collections, but here there are comic books everywhere. It’s amazing.


The Nokbeon Cartoon Library has heated floors, perfect for the cold winter days. You would think that only children come to this library, but many grownups also frequent the library to relive their youth.



The library is no longer just a place to borrow books or study. Many libraries are reinventing themselves as friendly and accessible destinations for local residents.