Bosu-dong Book Alley

Detailed introduction

The Bosu-dong Book Alley is a bookstore gathered in a narrow alleyway in a diagonal direction toward the Bosu-dong crossing which is the intersection at the entrance of Gukje Market. The area was originally a Japanese residential area during the Japanese colonial era. Right after of the 8.15 liberation of Korea, today’s Gukje Market was destroyed by the Pacific War. People sold the books the Japanese left in the area. As the place became private property, the book sellers moved to the place and that place became today’s Bosu-dong Book Alley.

When Busan became a temporary capital as a result of the Korean War, the valuable books brought by the refugees were sold for their livelihood. As demand and supply increased by professors and students from school, temporary buildings were built and used books alley was formed.

For a time, personal books were gathered, including valuable ones, in this used bookstore alley and the temporary building grew. At that time, there were 70 bookstores and many middle, high school, and college students visited the alley further increasing the volume of books trading hands.

In the early 1960s, when the publishing culture had hardly begun, students and intellectuals had to sell their own books and buy back the used books or magazines they were looking for. This is the origin of Bosu-dong Book Alley and it is one of the a few famous bookstore alleys now.

Second-hand books are priced according to the book’s condition or through bargaining. Every year, the Bosu-dong Book Alley Cultural Event is held and includes the free exchange of books, exhibitions, and concerts. The event is very popular with citizens and has transformed the bookstores into a cultural asset. As a result, it attracts domestic and foreign tourists and activates local commercial areas.

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