Where Books Meet Beauty – Exploring South Korea’s Starfield Libraries

Despite having left South Korea in 2021, my long distance love story continued to bring me back to the country every year. Each trip, I would spend my time visiting old friends, eating my favorite foods, and exploring new hotspots in Seoul and other cities.

From 2019-2021, I lived in Suwon, South Korea working as a preschool English teacher. Suwon is the capital of the Gyeonggi-do province and is located roughly 40 minutes outside of Seoul. Suwon is known for being the home of the UNESCO World Heritage Site, Hwaseong Fortress, which showcases the city’s rich history, culture, and architecture. The city offers a unique blend of old and new Korea, making it the perfect location for expats to call home. Check out my previous post to read more about my time teaching in Korea, as well as info on how you can teach abroad!

Since my boyfriend (now husband) was living in Suwon, we decided to check out the newest hotspot in the city, the Starfield Library. Now, if you have ever seen one of those “Coolest Libraries in the World” posts on social media, I want you to know that those kinds of library actually do exist, and the Starfield Library is one of them! The original Starfield Library is located in the Coex Mall in Seoul, South Korea, and has been a popular tourist spot for years. I visited that library in 2019 while living abroad – see below.

In 2024, the Starfield brand opened another mall with an even more enchanting library in Suwon. My boyfriend and I decided to make a date of it and go explore the new mall and library! After getting lost, a few times, we finally found our way to the mall and wandered around admiring all the new stores and kiosks. We eventually ran right into the library, which is strategically integrated into each floor of the mall.

Wow! I could not believe my eyes! The library truly looked like an AI simulation. From floor to ceiling there were enormous shelves, each neatly filled with books. The bookshelves jutted out of the walls in different angles creating cozy reading nooks and balconies. The books were endless! From the ceiling hung artwork that resembled planets and moons, giving the space an other-worldly feel.

As we made our way up, each floor of the library had something unique to enjoy. A record store, a coffee shop, we even ran into a magic show in the children’s wing. We finally made it to the top floor and found a cozy corner to sit in and enjoy the view of the people checking out books below. How amazing!? Korea’s infrastructure, technology, and forward thinking never ceases to amaze me! I grabbed a coffee, a book, and settled into our corner to enjoy the library a little longer before leaving.