Overview
This building is the central library, established by Bosung College, the predecessor of Korea University, to commemorate its 30th anniversary. Like the main building, it was designed by Korean architect Park Dong-jin (1899~1982), and the architectural style and structure were reportedly inspired by the Duke University Library in the United States, where Oh Cheon-seok was a professor at the time. When the Central Library was completed, it attracted significant interest and support both domestically and internationally, and it was completed without delay at the time with a construction cost of 220,000 won. Construction began in June 1935, the year after the main building, and in September 1937, a five-story building made of granite in Gothic style was completed on the hill to the left of the main building. The floor plan is a character shape, with the main building flanked by the central pagoda at the corner; one faces south alongside the pagoda, while the other bends north from the pagoda to face east. The main building is three stories tall, and the tower at the southwest corner is a five-story Gothic-style tower with reinforced concrete structures reinforced with added stone. At the time of completion, the first floor housed 32 professors' research offices, the second floor had a large reading room with 250 seats, and each desk was equipped with a stand and leather chair. The third floor houses a collection of 200,000 books, while the third floor and above are designed to display folk materials and artworks. It is located 300 meters from Exit 1 of Korea University Station on Seoul Metropolitan Subway Line 6.