Revamped Kyobo Bookstore becomes friendly space to book lovers

By Baek Byung-yeul

Despite temperatures dropping well below freezing on Thursday, Kyobo Book Centre in Gwanghwamun, central Seoul was crowded with visitors reading.

It has been about a month since the bookstore chain’s flagship store finished its latest renovations on Dec. 15.

Among the noticeable changes different from the previous space design are the two huge tables situated at the center of the store. Each table -- 11.5-meters by 1.5-meter -- can accommodate 50 visitors where they can fully occupying themselves with their reading. The bookstore said the tables are made of kauri pine from trees that were submerged in the marshes of New Zealand over 50,000 years ago.

“The aim of the renovation is to make the 35-year-old bookstore our customers’ favorite place to visit because they can stay longer,” a Kyobo official said. “The overhaul indicates that we are not just selling books here. Ultimately, we want our offline bookstore to become a cultural space.”

In addition to the great pine tables, the bookstore installed sofas, benches and tables at some 20 spots throughout the store so that more than 400 people can enjoy reading and taking their breaks in the bookstore.

Kyobo Book Centre, which has an average of 40,000 visitors per day, also launched Kyobo Art Space to hold art exhibitions; a conference room where writers can deliver lectures; a promotion zone featuring books by certain themes; Kids Garden, a place where parents and children can read books together; and five Book Concierge Desks, which help customers find books and make book recommendations.

First opened in 1981, this was the third remodeling of the nation’s largest bookstore chain’s main store. In 1992, the bookstore was transformed into a shopping complex adding a music store and snack bars to the original bookstore; and after the second remodeling in 2010, the bookstore added some 100 seats in a bid to provide visitors with more space for reading.

Publishers worried that providing more seats for reading would take up too much space, resulting in a reduction of books on display.

However, responses from customers have been positive and the better reading experience has led to increased sales.

“After retiring from my job, I used to visit this bookstore, but it was uncomfortable for me to read books by sitting crouched in the corner. Now, I feel more comfortable,” a 64-year-old male customer said, expressing his satisfaction with Kyobo’s new renovation.

Though the exact data has not been compiled yet, the bookstore chain said they are inspired by the positive influences of the renovation.

“We’ve also worried about customers damaging books, but the apprehensions have proved wrong,” an official from the bookstore chain said, adding the percentage of customers damaging books are the same as before, when customers were forced to read the books sitting on the floor.

“Having these magnificent tables where our customers can read the books they’re interested in, they have good manners handling the books. As their purpose is to sit and read at the table and to look into the content of the books more thoroughly, many of them end up buying the books,” the official added.

Thanks to all of the positive feedback from the customers, the bookstore chain plans to transform its 14 regional branches to be more like the Gwanghwamun store.