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The National Library of Korea

 In South Korea, institutionalized efforts to collect and organize archives began in the 1960s. The Japanese occupation and Korean war, as well as the rapid progress of industrialization and modernization in less than 50 years, had left traditional archival materials neglected or damaged. The National Library of Korea and libraries in universities, led by scholars who began to take an interest in traditional cultural heritage began to collect and organize archives in earnest. As the materials began to accumulate, they struggled to establish a standardized classification system. In the early days, archives were donated by the individuals. In processing of collecting and organizing the archives, securing the uniqueness and connectivity of the original materials, and diversity and specificity of their contents, were prioritized.

 The National Library of Korea is a state-operated library and has a policy goal of becoming a representative institution for knowledge information services. It collects not only ancient texts but also domestic, foreign, and non-books through delivery, purchase, donation, exchange, and self-production. The National Library of Korea’s manuscripts are acquired through purchases and donations, mostly from individuals who were the owners of the materials. Domestic books account for 72% of the collection, and ancient texts account for only 2.2% of the collection, with 294,534 items. Although this is a fairly low percentage of the total collection, it is symbolic because it was the first institution in Korea to collect ancient texts.

 The National Library of Korea digitizes old materials such as precious and one-of-a-kind manuscripts, as well as materials that have been published for more than five years. While using the digitized resources, resources which their copyrights have expired or their use has been approved can be used by anyone free of charge. However, fees apply for the use of all other copyrighted materials under the Copyright Act. Types of digitized resources are old books and manuscripts, old maps, text books, newspapers, and more. Databases are available inside the library, and the users can only check the availability of DBs outside the library. However, if the user has a National Library of Korea subscription card, he can use some DBs externally after logging in. And they also restrict commercial use for non-research purposes.

朝英通商條約 = Treaty of Friendship and Commerce between Great Britain and Corea(1883)
National Library Media Integrated Web Viewer Service

One of the most interesting documents in library was Treaty of Friendship and Commerce between Great Britain and Corea. This is the original text of the Treaty of Friendship, Commerce, and Trade signed between Korea and Great Britain on November 26, 1883, which documents the early diplomatic and commercial relations between Korea and Great Britain in the 20th year of King Gojong(Joseon Dynasty often used the combined years of the king’s name and reign). This resource is available through the National Library Media Integrated Web Viewer Service and is available in both Korean and English. The web viewer allows you to view the original documents in image format and download them as well. You can check the information and table of contents of the document, and you can also use bookmarks and automated page turning. The web viewer has its own domain and can only be accessed through the designated site root for security purposes.

The National Library of Korea has been working on building a data base since 1980, when it started developing the Korean Literature Automated Cataloging Format (KORMARC). Currently, the National Library of Korea has 60,341 items in its database, which is 20.5% of the total number of items. And searching is more specialized for general materials, not ancient texts, and there are voices that the categories for the ancient materials need to be subdivided.


OpenEdition vous propose de citer ce billet de la manière suivante :
yuharin (8 octobre 2023). The National Library of Korea. Classiques et numériques. Consulté le 13 juin 2025 à l’adresse https://doi.org/10.58079/mvsa


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