Kyobo Book Centre
Encyclopedia
The Kyobo Book Centre or Kyobo Mungo (Korean; 교보문고), is the largest and most famous book store in South Korea
. It boasts ten stores in seven cities, the most famous one being its Main Store, or Gwanghwamun-jum in Seoul
, which is located right under the Kyobo Building, situated at Number 1, Jong-ro 1 Street. (Seoul CBD)
A second book store of comparable size opened in Gangnam
and is housed in the basement of the Kyobo Gangnam Tower.
. The sheer location, being Number 1, Jongro-1-ga, enabled the site to receive much enthusiasm from book fanatics, and its growth was exponential, together bringing much needed life into the recessive book industry. It underwent a major reconstruction in 1991, to enlarge its property underground to approx. 9000m². Its total length of leadways and passageways amounted up to 25km. The Gwanghwamun Store is famous for its entrances, particularly the main entrance that one takes from Jongro-3-ga. Whereby before climbing the stairs to the heavy gate-doors, one can read in clear old-style Korean, across the outer wall of the passage way: "People create/make books, and books create people/men". When entering the passage way, one notices the famous Nobel laureates of the world, including Korean recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize
, late former president Kim Dae-jung. An empty board exists for any future Korean Nobel laureate. After coming down the spiral staircase, one is immediately taken aback by the book store's sheer grandeur. Its ceilings are all mirrored and the book store seems endless. It houses around 2.3 million volumes. Together with the enormous book store, it also has the "Hot Tracks" store, where a huge collection of music CDs and DVDs are sold. Most non-Korean music is sold here; the membership subscription was so powerful that the "Hot Tracks" Gwanghwamun Store managed to shut down a huge CD warehouse store in Jong-ro sam ga. With this, there is also a huge stationery store, together with office ware and decorative products. The Gwanghwamun Store has the famous "Melodys" restaurant, that has a ceiling that resembles the night sky.
In May 2003, Kyobo opened its eighth official store, the third in Seoul, in Gangnam
. It holds the record of being the biggest book store of the nation. Measuring in 11,900m², it is located underground, below the Kyobo Towers in Gangnam. It has the "Bookmaster Dedicated Hotseats" and the automated book distribution system that was implemented the first in the world by any book store. From July 2009, it has connected with Seoul metro line 9, Shinnonhyun station.
Kyobo Book Centre currently has around 3.2 million members (August 2004) for the Kyobo Book Club, and receives around 180,000 visitors everyday both its online
and offline stores. Kyobo has maintained the reputation as the "nation's book store" by frequently and regularly hosting various book-related events, and it is famous for its monthly "meet-the-author" events. Kyobo Book Centre has also maintained its number one position in the category of "Mega-size Book Stores" in the KCSI, or Korean Consumer Satisfaction Index, for a record eight years.
Kyobo in Gwanghwamun reopened on August 27th 2010 after a five-month refurbishment.
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
. It boasts ten stores in seven cities, the most famous one being its Main Store, or Gwanghwamun-jum in Seoul
Seoul
Seoul , officially the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea. A megacity with a population of over 10 million, it is the largest city proper in the OECD developed world...
, which is located right under the Kyobo Building, situated at Number 1, Jong-ro 1 Street. (Seoul CBD)
A second book store of comparable size opened in Gangnam
Gangnam
Gangnam or Kangnam is a Sino-Korean place name meaning "south of the river". It may refer to:*Gangnam-gu, local government district south of the Han River in Seoul, South Korea*Kangnam-gun, county of North Hwanghae, North Korea...
and is housed in the basement of the Kyobo Gangnam Tower.
General information
It was first established by its founding of the company, "Kyobo Moon-go Corporation", in December 1980. After six months, the first store opened in June, 1981. It was built right under the headquarters of its parent company, KyoboKyobo Life
Kyobo Life Insurance Co, Ltd. is a South Korean life insurance company headquartered in Seoul, Korea, formerly known as Daehan Education Insurance...
. The sheer location, being Number 1, Jongro-1-ga, enabled the site to receive much enthusiasm from book fanatics, and its growth was exponential, together bringing much needed life into the recessive book industry. It underwent a major reconstruction in 1991, to enlarge its property underground to approx. 9000m². Its total length of leadways and passageways amounted up to 25km. The Gwanghwamun Store is famous for its entrances, particularly the main entrance that one takes from Jongro-3-ga. Whereby before climbing the stairs to the heavy gate-doors, one can read in clear old-style Korean, across the outer wall of the passage way: "People create/make books, and books create people/men". When entering the passage way, one notices the famous Nobel laureates of the world, including Korean recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize
Nobel Peace Prize
The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes bequeathed by the Swedish industrialist and inventor Alfred Nobel.-Background:According to Nobel's will, the Peace Prize shall be awarded to the person who...
, late former president Kim Dae-jung. An empty board exists for any future Korean Nobel laureate. After coming down the spiral staircase, one is immediately taken aback by the book store's sheer grandeur. Its ceilings are all mirrored and the book store seems endless. It houses around 2.3 million volumes. Together with the enormous book store, it also has the "Hot Tracks" store, where a huge collection of music CDs and DVDs are sold. Most non-Korean music is sold here; the membership subscription was so powerful that the "Hot Tracks" Gwanghwamun Store managed to shut down a huge CD warehouse store in Jong-ro sam ga. With this, there is also a huge stationery store, together with office ware and decorative products. The Gwanghwamun Store has the famous "Melodys" restaurant, that has a ceiling that resembles the night sky.
In May 2003, Kyobo opened its eighth official store, the third in Seoul, in Gangnam
Gangnam
Gangnam or Kangnam is a Sino-Korean place name meaning "south of the river". It may refer to:*Gangnam-gu, local government district south of the Han River in Seoul, South Korea*Kangnam-gun, county of North Hwanghae, North Korea...
. It holds the record of being the biggest book store of the nation. Measuring in 11,900m², it is located underground, below the Kyobo Towers in Gangnam. It has the "Bookmaster Dedicated Hotseats" and the automated book distribution system that was implemented the first in the world by any book store. From July 2009, it has connected with Seoul metro line 9, Shinnonhyun station.
Kyobo Book Centre currently has around 3.2 million members (August 2004) for the Kyobo Book Club, and receives around 180,000 visitors everyday both its online
ONLINE
ONLINE is a magazine for information systems first published in 1977. The publisher Online, Inc. was founded the year before. In May 2002, Information Today, Inc. acquired the assets of Online Inc....
and offline stores. Kyobo has maintained the reputation as the "nation's book store" by frequently and regularly hosting various book-related events, and it is famous for its monthly "meet-the-author" events. Kyobo Book Centre has also maintained its number one position in the category of "Mega-size Book Stores" in the KCSI, or Korean Consumer Satisfaction Index, for a record eight years.
Kyobo in Gwanghwamun reopened on August 27th 2010 after a five-month refurbishment.