Library of Korean Studies Academy of Korean Studies: Gateway to Korean Documentary Heritage

Overview

The Library of Korean Studies is the central library of the Academy of Korean Studies (AKS; Korean: 한국학중앙연구원), a publicly funded South Korean research and educational institute located in Seongnam (Bundang), Gyeonggi-do. The Library serves as a key resource for scholars of Korean history, language, literature, culture, and society, providing access to both physical and digital collections related to Korean studies worldwide.

History and Founding

The Academy of Korean Studies was established on June 22, 1978, by South Korea's Ministry of Education and Science Technology, with the mission of conducting in-depth research on Korean culture and educating specialists in Korean studies. The institution is a public body under the Ministry of Education and is located at 323 Haogae-ro, Bundang-gu, Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi-do. The Graduate School of Korean Studies, originally founded in 1980, was restructured and the institution took its current title in 2005.

Collections and Holdings

The Library of Korean Studies provides access to a wide range of academic materials in Korean studies, including books, journals, and digital databases. Through the AKS digital infrastructure, researchers can access the Hanʼguk Tijitʻŏl Akʻaibŭ (Korean Studies Digital Archive), which offers original images of Korean rare books and ancient documents, dialect materials, folk song audio recordings, and reference dictionaries for people's names, place names, and official titles. The Library supports both on-site and remote access for domestic and international scholars.

Notable Materials

The Library provides access to databases encompassing a broad range of Korean cultural heritage materials. The AKS hosts the Archives of Old Korean Documents (the Jangseogak Archives), which are housed separately but accessible through the same institutional infrastructure. Cross-disciplinary Korean studies resources include newspaper databases and historical periodicals relevant to media and communications research.

Access and Usage

The Library of Korean Studies is accessible online at lib.aks.ac.kr, providing international users with catalogue access and links to digital collections. On-site access is available at the Seongnam campus. The Library is a member of the broader Korean Studies research network and supports international fellowship programmes that allow overseas Korean Studies scholars to use its facilities.