National Library of Korea's Proposed Government Budget for Next Year 95.1 Billion KRW... New Allocation for 'Korean Memory'

On the 7th, the National Library of Korea announced that the government budget proposal for 2024 was set at 95.1 billion KRW. The National Library of Korea established new priority projects such as preparing a plan for collecting and preserving K-content (150 million KRW) and providing curation content related to Korea and Koreans called ‘Korean Memory’ (450 million KRW). They plan to form a consortium with over 3,300 domestic and international cultural and artistic institutions to build a collection of major and rare digital knowledge resources, and support exhibitions, symposiums, and workshops.

National Library of Korea
[Photo by National Library of Korea]

Efforts will also be made to expand convenience facilities for socially vulnerable groups such as people with disabilities. With an investment of 200 million KRW, improvements will be made to the walking environment including disabled parking lots, ramps at library entrances, reinforcement of voice-guided keypad systems, and installation of reading seats exclusively for people with disabilities.

Cultural and career programs will be operated for juveniles under the protection of youth protection institutions and children of detainees. The intention is to support literacy at peer levels. The related budget is 519 million KRW.

For the replacement of electronic devices in the mobile shelving units at Sejong Library, 377 million KRW has been allocated. This aims to prevent service delays caused by device malfunctions and safety accidents among staff. The three most frequently used stacks will be replaced first.

Kim Kyung-nam, Director of Planning at the National Library of Korea, stated, “We will do our best to ensure that the 2024 government budget proposal is fully reflected by the National Assembly, under the banner of ‘The National Representative K-Library Approaching the People.’ We aim for all citizens to enjoy happiness together with the National Library of Korea as a complex cultural institution.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.