Secondhand books not only contain vestiges of time but also contain traces of the people who owned the books. Most of the books in the Dongmun Secondhand Book Library are second-hand and donated by citizens or from other libraries. Upon entering, there is a very large nameplate on the wall. “Secondhand books are a bridge where the past and present meet and move toward the future.” If you continue reading this article, you will understand its meaning.

The first zone you see when you enter on the first floor is “가 슴이 콩닥콩닥” (my heart is pounding). This section contains a collection of books that were banned in the past. Memos about what era and why these books were banned are inside each book. The topics are very diverse, from books by labor activists to Gulliver's Travels to children's books.

To the right are the “찬란한 기억” (brilliant memory) and “그때는 반짝반짝” (twinkle past) zones, which display bestselling Korean books from the 1950s to the 2020s. Since these were the most popular books at those times, the words on the nameplates translate to “brilliant” and “twinkle”.

Next to those sections is the “내 마음이 두근두근” (my heart goes pit-a-pat) spot, which showcases famous Korean people’s favorite books. For example, former President Moon Jaein, actress Jeon Do-yeon, soprano Sumi Jo, and basketball player Heo Woong all have their favorite books on display. For Dongmun Secondhand Book Library, they selected the books that made their hearts pound.

Near the back, there is a “책달력” (book calendar) spot. Librarians select a topic every month and replace the books that fit that month’s theme. Almost everything in this library is the same as when it first opened, but this is the only section that changes every month. The theme for November is “Shop”. Books with words such as “shop” or “store” in their contents or titles will be on display, so there will be a total of 31 books on display.

On the second floor, there are four zones. One is the “책짝 꿍” (bookmate) zone, which exhibits books that have similar titles. Another is the “책나눔” (book sharing) zone, which displays books that visitors can swap out for free.

The library accepts all books regardless of their condition, but they are reluctant to receive books that have strong political leanings. Another zone is called “책맞수” (book match), where there are some differences between the displayed books. The library wants visitors to read these books and discover their differences. The theme in this zone changes every year. The last zone is “발견의 기쁨” (the joy of discovery), where it displays the books in hashtag format. The library displays books by subjects such as love, history, and so on, using Instagram hashtags. This area radiates the joy of discovering new books to visitors.

Lastly, the basement floor is a place that all people can enjoy. Especially interesting is a machine that contains capsules with famous lines from comic books stuffed inside. The library has decorated this floor like a campground because they hope that parents and their children will enjoy the space by freely reading a book and talking. There is also a unique retro spot for parents on this floor where they can reminisce about their past. It is furnished with old textbooks, posters, etc.

If you are interested in reading books from the past that are not in print anymore, you must visit this library. This place is near Hanok village, so if you travel to Hanok village, you can easily stop by and rest in this library and feel the charm of secondhand books.

| Ha Yae-one Editor, Cho Min-hyeok Reporter