Yongsan opens English library for kids combining AI tech, interactive exhibits
Summary
Dongbinggo English Library for Children opened Wednesday at Onnuri Youth Center in Dongbinggo Neighborhood Park in central Seoul, offering English books, AI activities and interactive exhibits. The 389.74-square-meter facility provides reading rooms, programs for different reading levels, cultural activities and hands-on exploration. Trial programs are planned throughout November, with the regular schedule beginning in December.
Key Facts
- The library includes a children’s reading room, program rooms, a parents’ waiting area, a digital aquarium and interactive content.
- About 80 people, including Yongsan District Mayor Kim Gyeong-dae and local residents, attended the opening ceremony.
- Be a Talkie! lets children listen to English and practice repeating words and phrases through an AI-based activity.
- Monthly book selections, structured reading levels and follow-up activities are intended to support reading habits, comprehension and confidence.
- The district plans to offer special lectures for parents featuring experts who can help families support children’s reading at home.
Yongsan District Mayor Kim Gyeong-dae, far left, poses for a photo with guests and children during the opening ceremony for the Dongbinggo English Library for Children in Yongsan District, central Seoul, Wednesday. Courtesy of Yongsan District Office
A new children’s library in central Seoul is pairing English books with artificial intelligence (AI), interactive exhibits and cultural activities in an effort to make language learning feel less like a lesson and more like an adventure.
Yongsan District said Thursday that Dongbinggo English Library for Children opened Wednesday on the first floor of Onnuri Youth Center in Dongbinggo Neighborhood Park, offering children a dedicated space for reading, language development and hands-on learning.
The 389.74-square-meter facility includes a children’s reading room, program rooms and a waiting area for parents, along with a digital aquarium and interactive content designed to extend children’s experiences beyond the pages of books.
About 80 people, including Yongsan District Mayor Kim Gyeong-dae and local residents, attended the opening ceremony, which featured a project briefing, congratulatory remarks, unveiling of the library sign and a tour of the facility.
The library offers English-language books, along with programs tailored to different reading levels and activities intended to build reading habits, comprehension and confidence.
Children can read picture books and take part in follow-up activities, progress through structured reading levels and explore new subjects through monthly book selections.
The program lineup also includes Be a Talkie!, an AI-based activity that lets children listen to English and practice repeating words and phrases.
Other activities introduce children to different cultures and encourage creative projects connected to the books they read, while an exploration program called Dongbinggo Library Explorers invites them to complete missions throughout the facility.
The library will also offer special lectures for parents featuring experts from various fields to help families support children’s reading at home.
The district plans to run trial programs throughout November before beginning its regular schedule in December.
Kim said, “I hope Dongbinggo Children’s English Library will become a place where children encounter new worlds through English books and naturally develop a love of reading.”
He added, “We will continue to work to operate and support the library so that children can experience a wide range of reading and cultural activities.”
This article was published with the assistance of generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.
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