Kyobo Book Store Gwanghwamun

Kyobo Book Store Gwanghwamun

Kyobo Book Store Gwanghwamun
4.5

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Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.

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4.5
4.5 of 5 bubbles160 reviews
Excellent
104
Very good
51
Average
5
Poor
0
Terrible
0

globetrotter8971
New York City, NY14 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jun 2023 • Family
We were staying very near to the Kyobo Book Store so I stopped in with my 12 year old daughter after lunch one afternoon. Although they don't have a huge section of English books, they have a huge stationary section with gadgets, paper, cards, pens, and many other things that were fun to look at and peruse.
Written 21 June 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Quest758876
2 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jan 2020
good vibes and easy to access. centrally located and plenty of things to do around the area. Myongdeong is just minutes away and Insadong another few minutes walking distance away. Lots of food. bookshop is a great place for soaking in the literary scene in seoul and to sit and rest and read. Joining the locals doing that makes it fun
Written 12 January 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Hailey T
Austin, TX3 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Nov 2019
Just a spectacle! Giant book store inside the mall; a fun stop while in Seoul! Plenty of options for those who wish to purchase, or just relax and enjoy the atmosphere.
Written 18 December 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Kevin Tan
Singapore, Singapore33 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Nov 2019
The giant Kyobo Book Store in Gwanghwamun stocks great books, music and stationery. For those of you who still music in palpable form, the Hottracks concessionaire has an amazing collection of CDs, DVDs and LPs. Its classical collection is particularly impressive and it stocks many hard-to-find CDs and LPs of Korean classical artistes like Kun Woo Paik and Yeol Eun Son. Its English books selection is small but well stocked. It also has an incredible array of stationery concessionaires who stock a great collection of fountain pens, inks, papers, notebooks and stationery you never thought you needed. For those who are into personalised music, there is an extensive selection of headphones and bluetooth streaming devices. You could spend a whole day there since there is also a restaurant and cafe within the bookstore itself.
Written 28 November 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Brooke C
Honolulu, Hawaii, United States30 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jul 2019
Kyobo is a chain, so there are stores all over Seoul, but the Gwanghwamun location is my favorite. They sell books and CDs, which reminds me of what the States used to have in the Borders chains, along with even more stuff. There are cafes and restaurants inside, too. There are sections for foreign languages and, depending on your language, there are likely specialty shops elsewhere that will better serve you. The English section is small, but has great editions, like Oxfords World’s Classics, at cheap prices. The literary selection tends to be canonical, but the staff also has a large section devoted to best-sellers and newly published material, most of which is non-fiction, that is a sort of Korean-American cultural filter. There are always lots of families here and people milling about, reading, gathering books, enmeshed in the written word and the real world. Take some time here, slow down, observe, read something, think a few connected thoughts, have something to eat or drink...and enjoy.

Over the past five or six years, there has been lots of renovation in the areas adjacent, particularly with high end restaurants and shops behind Kyobo and to the left. Jongno has remained the same and the Gwanghwamun Gwangjang is historical. Several years ago the Korean people protested then President Park Geun-Hye with candlelight vigils and songs on the square, every Saturday, for months. These protests began with small numbers that grew into the thousands, and arguably millions. These protests were part of the success in the removal of Park (December, 2016) and were amazing representations of the civil, non-violent assemblage of people for a cause. Democracies around the world would do well to follow in these Korean footsteps.
Written 22 August 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

ry36
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia146 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
May 2019 • Family
This is a huge bookstore, connected to the Gwanghwamun metro station. A must visit for those who likes books, although mostly Korean books. There is also an English section. Do check out their interesting stationery items as well.
Written 15 June 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Deborah W
Melbourne, Australia39 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
May 2019 • Solo
Kyobo bookstore in Jongno-gu (near Gwanghwamun station) is a must-visit for anyone with a passion for books and simply spending time in bookstores. This particular branch (there are others dotted around the city) is, I believe, the largest. It has a vast collection of books in Korean, and sections for a number of other languages, with quite a good selection of books in English.
The store also has a stationery section, puzzles and a cafe, and is surrounded by a number of other shops. Unlike so many bookstores these days, Kyobo allows you to spend time simply sitting on the provided comfortable benches, and reading.
You'll find the store in the basement, accessible from the station.
Written 25 May 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Dara-Khmer
Melbourne, Australia3 773 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
May 2019 • Solo
Without doubt the biggest book store I’ve ever seen, including Barnes & Nobel in the USA.
Small English section, but were in Korea.
Truly amazing to see how the experience is developed, the cafes, the associated offerings, eg Mont Blanc store. Retail at its best
Written 25 May 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Leilehua
Oahu, HI67 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Nov 2018 • Family
This is a big bookstore with many sections. We spent well over an hour in the stationery section alone. Super cute gift items. It's great to see so many people sitting in chairs or standing reading books. This place is a must visit for book lovers, even if you can't read Korean.
Written 28 February 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

FlyfishermanBeijing
Beijing, China265 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Feb 2019 • Friends
Probably biggest book store what I've seen. Not only books but parfumes, DVD and CD, electronics, coffee shop etc. Basically you can spent whole day in this book store without get bored. Also goid selection of English language books available.
Written 20 February 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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KYOBO BOOK STORE GWANGHWAMUN: All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (with Photos)

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