Let’s Read at Jibokjae in Gyeongbokgung Palace, Seoul
📅 Opening Period: April 3 – October 31, 2025 (Closed in July & August, Closed on Every Monday, Tuesday, Chuseok Holidays)
⏰ Opening Hours: 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM
🎟 Admission: Open to all visitors of Gyeongbokgung Palace
The Gyeongbokgung Palace Management Office is planning to transform Jibokjae and Palujeong into ”small libraries,“ providing visitors with the opportunity to enjoy reading in these historic spaces.
Jibokjae, meaning ”a pavilion that gathers treasures as precious as jade,“ was used as both a study and an office by Gojong of the Korean Empire. It was also a reception hall where he met foreign envoys. Gojong actively embraced Western culture while preserving Korea’s traditions. He imported a vast collection of books on Western civilization from the Qing Dynasty and expanded his worldview by storing approximately 40,000 books and maps published in China, Japan, and the West within Jibokjae.
Since 2016, the Gyeongbokgung Palace Management Office has been operating Jibokjae as a ”small library,“ housing around 1,700 books on Joseon-era history, culture, and royal heritage. Visitors have been free to read and explore these materials. However, due to COVID-19, the library was temporarily closed in 2020 and 2021 but reopened in 2022.
Gojong of the Korean Empire
- Ascended to the Throne: January 21, 1864 (at the age of 11)
- Passed Away: Around 6:00 AM on January 21, 1919 (at the age of 66)
Don‘t miss this rare chance to immerse yourself in history and literature inside these remarkable spaces.
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