Do not go gentle into that good night, old age should burn and rave at close of day; Rage, rage against the dying of the light, though wise men at their end know dark is right, because their words had forked no lightning they, do not go gentle into that good night.
Seoul to pitch outdoor reading culture at global library summit in Busan
Visitors unwind at an open-air library setup in Gwanghwamun Square, Seoul, April 23, 2023. Courtesy of Seoul Metropolitan Government
By Jhoo Dong-chan
Long celebrated for its tech-forward innovations and globally exported pop culture, Korea is now exporting a quieter, more literary phenomenon: its open-air reading culture.
Next week, the Seoul Metropolitan Library will bring its signature outdoor library initiative to the global stage at the World Library and Information Congress in Busan, framing public reading as a vital new pillar of K-culture.
Organized by the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions, the summit is the largest gathering of its kind in the global library sector. Returning to Korea for the first time in two decades, the 2026 congress is expected to draw over 5,000 librarians, policy experts and delegates from roughly 150 countries to the coastal city’s BEXCO convention center from Aug. 10-13.
At the center of Seoul’s presentation is the Seoul Outdoor Library, an ambitious civic initiative launched in 2022 that reimagined public reading spaces by dotting plazas, parks and riverbanks with beanbags, shade umbrellas and open shelves. The program has drawn an astonishing 8 million visitors through the first half of this year alone, transforming quiet library spaces into vibrant, community-centered public hubs.
During the congress, Seoul Metropolitan Library Director Oh Ji-eun will take the stage at the Expo Pavilion as Korea’s representative presenter. Under the banner of “Innovative Library Spaces: The World’s First Sustainable Seoul Outdoor Library,” Oh plans to walk international delegates through how the city converted conventional public squares into dynamic, open-air cultural spaces. In total, the library is slated to participate in six key conference sessions, spanning specialized academic panels and poster exhibitions.
In tandem with the main event in Busan, Seoul is hosting two satellite meetings on Aug. 7 and 14 for roughly 100 international library professionals representing 22 nations. The sessions, to be held at the Seoul Book Bogo warehouse space and Seoul City Hall, will feature guided tours of the city's key library landmarks and provide a rare behind-the-scenes look at urban library management.
In response to overwhelming interest from visiting international delegates — including library officials from the United States, China, Japan, Singapore and Russia — the city government said it will run a special mid-August session of Read at Cheonggyecheon, its popular streamside reading site, from Aug. 14-16. The pop-up site will allow visiting experts to experience firsthand how readers relax by the water with books in hand.
“This year’s World Library and Information Congress offers a meaningful platform to share Seoul’s innovative public library policies with the global community,” Oh said. “We look forward to developing leading library models that represent Korea while fostering continuous dialogue with peers worldwide.”
This article was published with the assistance of generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.