National Library of Korea, National library in Seocho District, Seoul, South Korea

The National Library of Korea is a major collection institution holding over 12 million materials, including millions of Korean books, foreign publications, and historical documents. The building spans multiple underground and ground levels that organize all these holdings in one central location.

The National Library of Korea opened on 15 October 1945, weeks after liberation, when the Government-General of Chōsen Library in Sogong-dong was reorganised under Park Bong-seok, who gathered collections from several area libraries. A 1963 library law renamed it the National Central Library. It moved to Namsan in 1974 and to its Banpo-dong building in 1988, and passed from the Ministry of Education to the Ministry of Culture in 1991.

The collection reflects Korean literary history through rare manuscripts, historical texts on traditional medicine, and early Korean paperback editions from the 20th century. Visitors can explore how the country's written culture has evolved over time.

The library sits at 201 Banpo-daero in Seocho District, reached from Express Bus Terminal Station, where Subway Lines 3, 7 and 9 meet. Children under 16 are not admitted without special permission. The main building has seven floors above ground and one below, with reading rooms by subject; the digital library next door links to it by an underground passage.

The collection includes specialized holdings of materials written by foreigners before 1945, showing how the world perceived Korea at that time. These outside perspectives offer a rare view of how society was understood from abroad.