On a scorching August afternoon, our new software engineering intern from America and I made our way to Seoul Metropolitan Library after lunch. I read about the Seoul Archive Library on VisitSeoul earlier that month and thought it’d be a good chance to learn more about the history of Seoul (being a new UX designer in the tourism industry here) as well as seeing how interactive and well curated it was. On the 3rd floor is where you can find the Seoul Archives Library, which was renovated in 2022 and showcases the growth of Seoul over the past 70 years. To my surprise, there was also the prior mayor’s planning office exhibition right next to it – which included a cool visual timeline and other interesting information about the accomplishments of past mayors (or setbacks).

Upon arriving on the third floor, right next to the elevator you’ll encounter a delightful lenticular display showing Seoul with Namsan in the back in a similar point of view – a picture of probably 50 years prior layerd with what it looks like today.

After entering, they provide a self pickup english pamphlet and there were 7 main showcase items to explore. The first one we explored was an interactive photo gallery showing major policies and events that happened over the years. The second section we saw (my favourite) was a panorma photo exhibition comparing Seoul areas before and after. It was jaw dropping to see how the iconic Han River, Cheonggyecheon and Gwanghwamun Plaza looked back in the day.

The other areas included an immersive video area, films of Seoul, a live photo wall to upload pictures, and an interactive 3d map. Lastly we checked out a neat photo interaction section that auto tracks your hand movement that pops out an older comparison photo overlay on the same part of the canvas.

The whole experience was really fun and interactive. I remember seeing an english tour guide service listing near the entrance information desk, however I wasn’t sure if it was specifically for this archive section. I did see a Korean tour guide service in progress while we visited.

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The next room we viewed was the Old Mayor’s Planning Room. It’s a beautiful spacious room with 2 films being played and a long timeline displayed in chronological order around the meeting table. Starting from 1946, major events were described with pictures and texts and midway through there was even a touch screen map display to see the different maps of Gwanghwamun Plaza over time.

One admirable highlight for me as a digital designer was Mayor Oh Se-hoon’s approach to prioritizing good design for the city. I remember visiting Zaha Hadid’s DDP building in 2017 and being in awe. It is still a building that never ceases to impress me when I visit. The grand scale that humbles me to remember I’m human in a grand place, and the organic modernity it exudes is so powerful. I also admire the plaza square and all the larger public spaces for community gathering and life breaks – from Seochon, Gwanghwamun all the way to City Hall . I definitely feel the energy from the density of 10 million people in a small land mass just living my day to day life, let alone the 10 million foreigners that come to visit – so I can’t imagine what it’s like trying to manage such a complex city. I hope the city continues to be resilient and innovative as it has been.

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The next room was an office and inside is where you could see plenty of photos, policy documents, books, and all the names of the mayors in order and brief descriptions during their leadership on the wall.

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To make things even better, the cherry on top of the experience was the Sky Yard! Located at the rooftop of the building is a beautiful sky yard that has an awesome view of the whole City Hall, Namsan, the Blue House + Gwanghwamun, and up close views of the new city hall building.

Such a great gem… It was so clean and well kept, quiet and hidden with many beautiful views. Definitely worth visiting again or just coming back to read and viewing the scenery for a break. Thank you Seoul netizens for this exhibit!