Korea resource room launched in Copenhagen

The National Library of Korea opened a resource room at a library in Copenhagen last week as part of its effort to improve understanding of Korea abroad, officials said on Wednesday.

The project, titled “Window on KOREA,” provided more than 1,800 books on Korea written in Korean and English to the Nordic Institute of Asian Studies located in Copenhagen. Korea’s state-run library will send 200 reading materials annually to the Danish library, for the next five years.

Shim Jang-sup, chief executive of the National Library of Korea, Anja Rasmussen, chief librarian of the Nordic Institute, and Korean Ambassador to Denmark Kim Byung-ho attended the opening ceremony.

Since 2007, the “Window on KOREA” project has launched Korea resource rooms in 15 libraries around the world since 2007 including National Library of Thailand, Russia and Turkey. It aims to provide better knowledge of Korean history and culture and to improve the national image of Korea. On average, the Korean state-run library provides 3,000 books, plus bookshelves and computers for each location.

The country plans to open at least three resource rooms overseas a year. It will open “Window on KOREA” at Bodleian Library at the University of Oxford in England and libraries in the Philippines and Mexico within this year, officials said.

By Cho Chung-un (christory@heraldcorp.com)