If you love the smell of freshly-shelved books, boy do we have wonderful news for you — especially if you’re making a trip to Korea this festive season.
Starfield Library in Gangnam, Seoul, is spreading the Christmas cheer with larger-than-life illustrations painted across its towering shelves of books.
Childhood fairy tales tend to stay in our memories because of the magical elements that the stories have. But when was the last time you immersed yourself in an illustrated book of fairy tales?
Picking one up would feel like a strange thing to do now, but you can at least indulge in the nostalgia at Starfield Library.
Paintings of fairy tale animals cover the height of a three-sided tower of bookshelves that takes center-stage in the huge library.
Stretching all the way up till it almost touches the ceiling, each painted side depicts a fantastical scene of animals engaging in fun activities.
This one has what appears to a rabbit and a very smug reindeer sledding down a snowy slope. They’re dressed in red and green jumpers — it can’t get more Christmas-y than that.
If you sit at the edge of the bench, you could make it look like the animals are barrelling straight towards you. You’re basically creating your own 3D museum experience.
A fancy-dressed giraffe, bear and mouse riding high bicycles or penny-farthings in all sizes is certainly a sight to behold. And look at that pup with its ears flying in the wind.
We’re not sure what fairy tale this would remind you of, but it’s certainly fascinating enough to excite the child in all of us.
Think the Christmas lights at Orchard are all the rage? Wait till you see Starfield Library at night.
After the sunlight fades away, pretty Christmas lights give the space a warm and cosy glow.
Take a break from reading, look up and pretend that you’re relaxing under a starlit sky.
The large space and decorations combine to create a magical atmosphere that we can all associate Christmas with.
What’s even cooler about Starfield Library is that it’s not just about shelves of books as far as the eye can see.
Yes, there are over 50,000 titles both in print and electronically on iPads, but the library also offers many other ways to appreciate the arts.
From lectures, meet & greets with authors to art exhibitions and ‘live’ music, it’s a one-stop hub for everything you need to get cultured.
Libraries aren’t just for bookworms anymore. Now you can be hip and happening while learning something new, be it by reading or being a part of the many events there.
Starfield Library is located at the center of Central Plaza within COEX Mall, the largest underground shopping centre in Asia.
Opening hours: 10am – 10pm
Address: B1-1F Starfield COEX Mall, 513 Yeongdong-daero, Gangnam-gu, Seoul 06164, South Korea.
Take the subway to Samseong Station (Seoul Subway Line 2) and take Exit 6. Follow the underground passageway connected to Starfield COEX Mall.
If you’ve planned your year-end holiday to Seoul, do make a point to drop by and visit this sprawling two-storey open library.
You may not be able to rent a book, but with 200 seats, free Wi-Fi and many power outlets, you can unwind with a good book here after a long shopping spree.
Sounds like the perfect shopping experience right? Let’s hope the upcoming library at VivoCity will have lots of exciting things to offer us too.
Featured image from Facebook.
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