Tongmungwan or Tongmunkwan () is a historic book store in

Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...

, South Korea. It is the oldest active book store in the country, having been founded in 1934. It has remained a family business since its establishment. It has served mainly academics, and reportedly has had a significant impact in the study of Korean history. The business was designated a

Seoul Future Heritage Seoul Future Heritage () is a designation by the Seoul Metropolitan Government for entities in Seoul that are deemed worthy of preservation. Various things can be so designated, including buildings, restaurants, books, and foods. The designation h ...

in 2013. It is also an

Oraegage Oraegage (), also stylized as OraeGage and translated to Seoul Historical Store, is a designation by the Seoul Metropolitan Government for long-running businesses. The program recognizes such businesses, offers them support, and provides informatio ...

, a store of historic value.

Description

The predecessor to the book store was called Geummundang (). In 1934, 25 year old employee Lee Gyeom-ro () acquired the business and renamed it Geumhakdang (). The store received its current name in 1945; it is named for a

Goryeo Goryeo (; ) was a Korean state founded in 918, during a time of national division called the Later Three Kingdoms period, that unified and ruled the Korea, Korean Peninsula until the establishment of Joseon in 1392. Goryeo achieved what has b ...

-era government office. Upon the outbreak of the 1950–1953

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

, Lee fled with an 80-volume set of books that documented the military history of

Joseon Joseon ( ; ; also romanized as ''Chosun''), officially Great Joseon (), was a dynastic kingdom of Korea that existed for 505 years. It was founded by Taejo of Joseon in July 1392 and replaced by the Korean Empire in October 1897. The kingdom w ...

for safekeeping. Lee became a famed collector of rare books. In 1961, he discovered a copy of the '. He donated it to

Yonsei University Yonsei University () is a Private university, private Christian university, Christian research university located in Seoul, South Korea. Yonsei is one of the three most prestigious universities in the country, part of a group referred to as SK ...

. He also located royal documents that had been stolen from the

Academy of Korean Studies The Academy of Korean Studies (AKS; ) is a South Korean research and educational institute focusing on Korean studies. It was established on June 22, 1978, by the Ministry of Education & Science Technology. Works Journals *'' Korea Journal'' ...

, as well as an original volume of the ''

Samguk yusa ''Samguk yusa'' (; ) or ''Memorabilia of the Three Kingdoms'' is a collection of legends, folktales, and historical accounts relating to the Three Kingdoms of Korea (Goguryeo, Baekje, and Silla), as well as to other periods and states before, d ...

''. He donated such texts to university libraries. He died in 2006 at the age of 97. The third generation owner, Lee Jong-un (), took over the business in 1998. Its clientele is reportedly mostly academics; it was reportedly frequented by notable Korean intellectuals, including historian

Choe Nam-seon Choi () is a Korean family surname. As of the South Korean census of 2015, there were around 2.3 million people by this name in South Korea or roughly 4.7% of the population. In English-speaking countries, it is most often anglicized as ''Choi ...

, linguist Lee Hee-seung, and art historian

Kim Won-yong Kim Won-yong (1922–1993) was a South Korean archaeologist and art historian. Noted in the discipline of Korean archaeology and ancient art history (Yoon 2006), he was one of the first people recognized as an archaeologist in Korea to receive ...

. It reportedly made significant contributions to the study of Korean history, and served as a forum for the exchange of ideas between intellectuals. The store reportedly has a total of 60,000 to 70,000 items in its collection, with only around 30,000 on display in the store. It has a manuscript signed by

John R. Hodge General John Reed Hodge (12 June 1893 – 12 November 1963) was an American military officer of the United States Army. Hodge commanded Operation Blacklist Forty in 1945. He served as the governor of the American military government in Korea fr ...

, who oversaw the U.S. occupation of Korea. It has copies of the historic Korean newspaper '. It reportedly began selling more general books by the 2010s, in order to afford the higher rent costs in

Insa-dong Insa-dong () is a '' dong'', or neighborhood, in Jongno District, Seoul, South Korea. Its main street is Insadong-gil, which is connected to a number of alleys that lead deeper into the district,David Armstrong (June 3, 2007)''SEOUL lives life on ...

References

External links

{{Commons category inline, Tongmungwan
Homepage
(in Korean)
Tourist information
(in English) Seoul Future Heritages Oraegage 1934 establishments in Korea Book and manuscript collectors Independent bookstores Companies based in Seoul Jongno District

Description

See also

References

External links