Starfield Library (COEX Mall)

Starfield Library fills the center of COEX Mall with a two-level, 2,800-square-meter reading space built around towering 13-meter bookshelves lit with soft, warm light. The collection runs to around 70,000 books, including a foreign-language section, shelves curated from well-known people's personal libraries, and a large magazine corner with titles from around the world. Anyone can walk in, sit at the long tables and even plug in a laptop, and you do not need to read anything to enjoy it; the library describes itself as a place to pause, meet friends or wait for someone. From the upper level you can look down over the sunken lower floor, which gives the best wide shot of the shelves. The space also hosts author talks, lectures, small concerts and changing art installations, and it is decorated for the year-end season. Because it connects underground to two subway stations, it is an easy rainy-day stop, and the COEX Aquarium and Bongeunsa Temple are close by.