Seoul City Announces International Design Competition for 'Municipal Library' Aiming to Open in 2027

Second Municipal Library to Be Established in Bukgajwa-dong, Seodaemun-gu... Scheduled to Open in February 2027
International Design Competition to Be Held from the 12th to the 26th of Next Month

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced on the 11th that it will hold a design competition for domestic and international architects for the construction of the tentatively named ‘Seoul Metropolitan Library (Seodaemun)’ for 55 days from the 12th to August 26.

Seoul is promoting the construction of the Seoul Metropolitan Library (Seodaemun) with the goal of opening in February 2027. The library is being built on a 3,486㎡ site in Bukgajwa-dong, Seodaemun-gu, with a total project cost of 60.2 billion KRW (including land costs) and a total floor area of 9,003㎡. Among the project costs, 30 billion KRW was personally donated by Kim Byung-joo, chairman of MBK Partners.

The Metropolitan Library (Seodaemun) will be the second metropolitan library established by Seoul after the Seoul Library in Jung-gu. The plan is to secure as much comfortable and spacious reading space as possible for citizens and to enhance convenience by integrating IT technology. It will be developed as an ‘open cultural space’ where reading and community activities are possible.

A site briefing session will be held on the 15th for registered participants, and design proposals will be accepted over two days on September 5 and 6. After technical reviews and two rounds of judging, the final winning design will be announced on September 27. Both domestic and international architects can participate in the competition, and up to three people can apply jointly. However, if an architect holds only foreign qualifications, they must participate jointly with a domestic architect.

The judging panel consists of five members: Na Byung-jun, director of Chungnam Library; Park Yeol, professor at Kwangwoon University; Lee Nam-gyu, professor at Kookmin University; Cho Hang-man, professor at Seoul National University; and Choi Moon-gyu, professor at Yonsei University. Preliminary judges include Shin Min-jae, head of AnL Studio Architectural Office, and Hong Ji-hak, professor at Chungnam National University.

Joo Yong-tae, head of the Seoul Metropolitan Government’s Culture Headquarters, said, “We want to newly establish a metropolitan library in Seodaemun-gu so that more citizens can enjoy the pleasure that ‘books’ bring up close,” and added, “We hope that many talented and creative architects will participate in this international design competition and that the ‘Seoul Metropolitan Library’ will become a library that attracts global attention.”