The Cheongun Literature Library: reading in a hanok at the foot of Inwangsan, Seoul

North of Gyeongbokgung, where Seoul's streets begin to climb towards Mount Inwangsan, the Cheongunhyoja-dong district changes pace: the buildings give way to wooded slopes and stone walls. Here, in 2018, the Jongno-gu district opened the Cheongun Literature Library (청운문학도서관), the first public library in the area built in the form of a hanok, the traditional Korean house with a curved tiled roof.

The building

The building is designed to work with the slope of the land rather than against it. The upper part is a wooden pavilion in hanok style, with a courtyard and a pond fed by a small waterfall; the lower part, carved into the hillside and almost invisible from outside, houses the library itself: a reading room with glass walls looking onto a bamboo garden, a children's area, a conference room and a small café space. It is a deliberate, precise contrast: contemporary architecture below, tradition above.

The recycled roof

The detail worth knowing concerns the roof. The roughly 3,000 handmade tiles come from the demolition of the Donuimun area (the Donuimun New Town), recovered rather than thrown away. They are of the same type used for the restoration of the Sungnyemun gate, the Namdaemun: a small act of recycling that ties the library to the material history of the city. This is another reason the pavilion and courtyard have become a beloved backdrop for photos, especially when the waterfall is in full flow.

Inside, the experience is simple and concrete: you sit down, take a book and read to the sound of water and the green of the bamboo behind the glass. It is not a museum, it is a working neighbourhood library, and this explains why it stays quiet: those who climb up here usually come to read or to walk, not to tick off a tourist stop. Crowds are low even at weekends, when the nearby Gyeongbokgung is instead besieged.

The literary trail

The library is in fact the ideal starting point for the literary trail that runs along the hillside. A few steps away are the Yoon Dong-ju Literature Museum, dedicated to the poet who died in 1945, and the hill that bears his name, from which a view opens over the rooftops of Jongno and the skyline. The route continues towards the places linked to the painter Jeongseon (Gyeomjae), following the walls of old Seoul.

How to get there

How to get there: from Gyeongbokgung it is about 20-25 minutes on foot uphill, or you can take the neighbourhood bus (Jongno 09, the green minibus line) to the Yoon Dong-ju Literature Museum stop; from there the library is just below, recognisable by its hanok roof at the bottom of a short flight of steps. Those who love walking can climb from the Changuimun gate, following the path along the walls. You can get there by car, but the car park has room for very few vehicles (about six) and at weekends it is almost always full: the public transport is better.

A few practical tips. The library is closed on Mondays; the hours given by the sources vary slightly (generally opening around 9-10 in the morning and closing in the evening), so it is worth checking them before heading up. Admission is free. Spring, with the waterfall lively after the rains, and autumn, with the foliage of Inwangsan, are the best times to combine reading and walking.