Itaewon Books

Itaewon Books
FormerlyItaewon Foreign Bookstore
IndustrySecondhand books
Founded1973; 53 years ago (1973)
FounderChoi Ki-woong
Headquarters208 Noksapyeong-daero, Yongsan District, Seoul, South Korea
Reference no.2015-041
Websiteinstagram.com/itaewon_books

Itaewon Books (Korean: 이태원북스), formerly Itaewon Foreign Bookstore, is a secondhand bookstore in Itaewon, Seoul, South Korea that specializes in English-language books. Founded in 1973, it is the oldest English-only secondhand bookstore in Seoul. It is designated Seoul Future Heritage and has remained a family business.

It was founded by Choi Ki-woong, who continued to operate the business until 2011. He had been trading books since the 1960s, although then without a storefront. He gathered texts he could find that were in English, including American department store catalogues, novels, and magazines and sold them to bookstores in Seoul. He used a handcart for transporting the books. In 1985, the store moved locations. A 2024 article reported that Choi's daughter Choi Mi-ra was the owner of the business.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "이태원북스(구 포린북스토어)". Seoul Future Heritage (in Korean). Seoul Metropolitan Government. Retrieved 2025-03-30.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "From used cookbooks to Virginia Woolf, Seoul's independent English bookstores have you covered". Korea JoongAng Daily. 2024-02-10. Retrieved 2024-10-20.
  3. 1 2 3 4 이, 다영 (2011-03-04). "Used book bliss in Seoul". The Korea Herald. Retrieved 2024-10-20.

37°32′10″N 126°59′14″E / 37.5362°N 126.9872°E / 37.5362; 126.9872