Daejeon City to Promote Construction of Representative Library in Ojeong-dong... Opening in 2029

Bird's-eye view of the 2nd Municipal Library / Daejeon City

원본보기 아이콘

Daejeon City announced plans to build a representative library in Ojeong-dong, Daedeok-gu, and to promote the construction of the 3rd municipal library in Gwanjeo-dong, Seo-gu, following the 2nd municipal library.

Daejeon ranks first nationwide with about 70,000 members per library and 160,000 book loans, but the number of libraries per 1 million population is 17, placing it among the lowest in the country.

Accordingly, the city plans to build two regional libraries and a new representative library for Daejeon. The second municipal library is currently under construction in Gayang-dong, Dong-gu, and is scheduled for completion in September. It will have a total floor area of 7,354㎡, with 3 floors above ground and 1 basement level, and a total project cost of 29 billion KRW. After a pilot operation within the year, it will officially open in the first half of 2025. It will serve as a creative convergence library focused on children and youth.

The 3rd municipal library will be built in Gwanjeo-dong, Seo-gu. It will have a total floor area of 6,500㎡, with 5 floors above ground and 1 basement level, and an estimated investment of 43.6 billion KRW. Construction is planned to start in 2026, with an opening targeted for 2028. The preliminary feasibility evaluation by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism is currently underway.

In addition, a representative library symbolizing the city will also be constructed. With a total floor area of around 20,000㎡ and an investment of approximately 150 billion KRW, construction is planned to begin in 2027 and the library is expected to open in 2029. The site for the representative library is being considered in the Ojeong-dong area of Daedeok-gu, taking into account balanced urban development, reduction of cultural disparities between regions, and the ripple effects on regional development.

Hanbat Library is also undergoing a green remodeling project to save energy and create a comfortable environment, following the 2020 remodeling of the entire 3rd floor (2,725㎡) of the main building into a book caf?-style reading room with an investment of 4.5 billion KRW. The green remodeling is scheduled for completion in 2025 with an estimated investment of 10 billion KRW.

To foster a healthy reading ecosystem, the 'Our Daejeon Bookstart' campaign for infants and toddlers will be expanded. Daejeon City also plans to expand the 'One Library per Neighborhood' initiative to create library environments in every neighborhood so that citizens can easily access books. Currently, among the city's 82 administrative neighborhoods, 25 have no library facilities, resulting in an average access time of 44 minutes, highlighting the need to expand libraries for citizen convenience. The city plans to create various types of reading spaces suited to each neighborhood’s conditions, including public libraries, small libraries, smart libraries, and book caf?s.

Lee Jang-woo, Mayor of Daejeon, said, "Expanding libraries means increasing spaces where citizens can stay safely and comfortably in the city without any cost," adding, "We will enhance the dignity of our citizens by establishing a groundbreaking and creative world-class library and fostering a healthy reading ecosystem."

© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.