There is a queue for the escalator at Starfield Library in COEX. Not to ride it. To be photographed on it.

People line up at the bottom, step on, turn around so the 13-metre bookshelves fill the frame behind them, and their friend shoots upward as they rise. Then they swap. Then the next pair does the same thing. On the weekday morning I visited, roughly half the people doing this were foreign visitors, and the rotation never stopped.

Almost every English guide to this place tells you the same three things: it’s beautiful, it’s free, take a photo. Nobody tells you the rest. The books above the sixth shelf are not real. You cannot borrow a single volume. And tucked into the corner of the plaza is % Arabica’s first store in Korea, which is the sort of thing that turns a photo stop into somewhere you actually sit down.

I went on a weekday morning in August 2026. This guide covers how to get there, what the rules actually are, where the two good photo positions are, and why this place was built in the most expensive spot in the mall.

Starfield Library COEX at a glance: hours, address and admission

• Korean name: 별마당도서관 (Byeolmadang Doseogwan). Signs and maps in English say Starfield Library
• Address: 513 Yeongdong-daero, Gangnam-gu, Seoul. Starfield COEX Mall, basement level 1
• Nearest station: Samseong Station, Line 2, connected indoors
• Hours: 10:30 to 22:00, open every day of the year
• Admission: free. No ticket, no pass, no membership, no registration
• Size: 2,800 sqm over two levels, three shelf towers 13 metres high
• Collection: around 70,000 volumes and 600 magazine titles
• Borrowing: not possible. Reading on site only
• Operator: Shinsegae Property, a private retail company
• Phone: 02-6002-3031

Byeolmadang Library is not a public library, and that explains everything

Get this straight first and the rest makes sense. Starfield Library is not a city library or a university library. It is a cultural space that a private retail company built in the middle of its own shopping mall, and it has been free since day one because that was always the point.

It opened on 31 May 2017. The American architecture firm Gensler designed it, reportedly taking cues from the Takeo City Library in Saga, Japan.

What makes it interesting is the real estate. The centre of a shopping mall is the most valuable floor space there is, and it normally goes to a flagship store. Shinsegae emptied it and put in bookshelves.

The numbers came back in their favour. In the twelve months after it opened, Starfield COEX Mall recorded about 20.5 million visitors, the vacancy rate went from 7 percent to zero, and roughly 50 new stores moved in. One brand reported that footfall into its shop doubled.

For you as a visitor, that history has a practical meaning: this space was designed to make you stay. That is why it costs nothing, why there is no time limit, and why nobody will move you along.

The Starfield Library photo spot: the escalator queue and how the shot works

The escalator between basement 1 and floor 1 is the shot everyone wants, and there is a reason it works. As you rise, the shelf tower behind you drops away and the full 13 metres come into frame with the glass roof above it. Standing still on the floor cannot give you that.

So this is what the choreography looks like in practice. One person rides up while the other stays below and shoots from a low angle. Then they come back down and swap. Pairs form a loose queue at the bottom and wait their turn without anyone organising it.

Two things worth knowing before you join in:

• You do not need to block anyone. The escalator is wide enough to stand to one side. People do try to pass.
• The reverse angle is better and nobody uses it. Go up to floor 1, lean on the railing and shoot down into the plaza. You get the tops of the towers, the roof structure and the crowd below, and there is no queue at all.

When to come

• Quietest: weekday mornings 10:30 to 12:00, or after 21:00
• Busiest: weekend afternoons, 14:00 to 18:00
• Best light: two different looks. Daytime gives you natural light through the glass roof; after dark the shelf lighting carries the whole room

Are the books at Starfield Library real? Above the sixth shelf, no

I have not seen this in a single English-language guide.

Only the first six shelves, the ones a person can reach, hold real books. Everything above that is what Korean media call fake books: covers and spines the right size and shape, hollow inside.

The reason is structural. Filling 13 metres with real books would put more weight on the towers than they are built to carry, and in a fire or an earthquake you would have thousands of volumes coming down from height. The upper books were placed one by one with a special crane during construction and fixed in position, and they are not swapped out, for the same safety reason.

Do not let that spoil it. The six reachable shelves still hold tens of thousands of real books, and knowing the truth makes the room easier to read. This is less a library with a dramatic design than a stage set about libraries, and everyone using it treats it exactly that way.

Can you borrow books at Starfield Library? No, and there are no exit gates

Books stay in the building. There is no library card and no lending system at all. For a traveller that hardly matters, but the word “library” misleads people.

Here is the part that says something about Korea. There are no security gates. No barriers on the way out, no bag checks, nothing beeping. If you wanted to walk out with a book, you could.

Books do go missing and get damaged. Management knows this and has kept the space open anyway for nine years, and instead of installing gates they restock, curating and swapping in over a thousand new titles at least once a month. If you visit twice a year apart, the shelves are not the same shelves.

English and foreign-language books at Starfield Library

Most visitors photograph the room and leave, which misses the useful part: there is material here you can actually read.

The magazine collection runs to about 600 titles and a large share of them are foreign. Current issues of Nature, Science, Stuff, T3 and similar were laid out on the tables when I visited. Starfield also lists a foreign-language section among the library’s zones, alongside shelves of books recommended by well-known Koreans and e-books you can read on iPads on site.

So if you have been in Seoul for a week and want an hour with something in English, this is free, air-conditioned, and open until 22:00.

% Arabica’s first Korean store is inside the library

This is the detail that surprised me most, and it is easy to walk straight past. Tucked into the corner of the library, behind the bookshelves, is a % Arabica store, and it is the brand’s first project in Korea. The signage reads “HELLO WE ARE HERE”, which looks like a coming-soon notice, but it is not one. The store is open and serving.

If the name means nothing to you, it will if you have been to Japan. % Arabica started in Kyoto and became one of the most photographed coffee shops in the country, with the minimal white counters and the percent-sign logo. It has since spread across Asia, the Middle East and Europe.

The Seoul store was designed with the Japanese studio no.10, and it is not a kiosk. According to % Arabica, this location has a roasting room where you can watch the beans being roasted, offers custom roasting, and has private booths you can reserve.

Practically speaking, this changes the shape of a visit. Instead of twenty minutes of photographs, you can take a coffee, sit down with a magazine and stay an hour. And if you have been chasing % Arabica branches around Kyoto or Hong Kong, this one is inside a 13-metre library, which none of the others are.

Starfield Library as a K-drama filming location

The library appeared as a bookshop in the 2020 tvN drama Record of Youth, starring Park Bo-gum and Park So-dam. It shows up early in the series and returns in the final episode.

If you are working through filming locations, add it. If you are not, nothing here marks the connection, so you can skip this section entirely.

Starfield Library rules: drinks, talking and how long you can stay

Nothing here requires library behaviour:

• You can bring a drink in
• You can talk. This is not a silent space
• People sit on the floor and on the steps to read
• People work on laptops
• There is no time limit

The reverse is also true, so set your expectations. It is loud, it is busy, and there is a steady stream of people taking photographs. If you want calm, go up to floor 1, where a separate reading area looks down over the plaza. It is noticeably quieter than the basement.

Finding a specific book, and the free performances

There is a search terminal in front of the escalator that goes from basement 1 up to floor 1. It returns a shelf code, a letter and a number, that matches the labels on the shelf ends.

The stage you can see in the photo is used for free talks and concerts every Wednesday and Friday at 19:00, plus weekend afternoons. No ticket and no booking. Author talks, poetry readings, lectures and book concerts rotate through. In its first year the library hosted 142 events.

Programming is posted on the Starfield COEX Mall website. Most events run in Korean, but the music programmes do not need translation, so check the schedule before you go.

How to get to Starfield Library from Samseong Station, and what is nearby

By subway. Samseong Station on Line 2 connects to COEX Mall indoors, so you never step outside. That matters in a Seoul August and in a Seoul January. If the subway is new to you, our step-by-step subway guide covers cards, transfers and etiquette, and the Seoul and Gyeonggi transport guide covers the wider network.

By car. Use the Starfield COEX Mall car park. Public transport is easier here.

Worth combining into the same trip:

• Bongeunsa Temple, a short walk across the road. A Buddhist temple with more than a thousand years of history, sitting directly opposite the glass and concrete. The contrast is very Seoul
• COEX Aquarium, in the same building. Paid entry
• % Arabica, inside the library itself. The brand’s first Korean store
• Starfield COEX Mall itself, with over 300 brands
• Viking’s Wharf, the seafood buffet in the same complex. We reviewed it here

Frequently asked questions

Is Starfield Library free?
Yes, completely. No ticket, pass, membership or registration. You walk in.

What are the opening hours?
10:30 to 22:00, every day of the year.

Can I borrow a book?
No. Reading on site only. There is no lending system.

Are the books on the high shelves real?
Only up to the sixth shelf. Above that they are hollow fake books, used to avoid overloading the structure and to prevent books falling in a fire or earthquake.

Are there books in English?
Yes. Starfield lists a foreign-language section among the library’s zones, and a large share of the roughly 600 magazine titles are English-language, including Nature, Science, Stuff and T3.

Is there a cafe inside?
Yes. % Arabica, the Kyoto coffee brand, has its first Korean store inside the library, with a roasting room, custom roasting and bookable private booths.

Can I take photos?
Yes, freely, as long as you are not blocking a walkway. The escalator between basement 1 and floor 1 is the main shot.

When is it least crowded?
Weekday mornings between 10:30 and 12:00, or after 21:00. Weekend afternoons from 14:00 to 18:00 are the busiest.

How do I get there?
Samseong Station on Line 2, then follow signs into COEX Mall. The library is on basement level 1 in the central plaza.

Was it in a K-drama?
Yes, as a bookshop in the 2020 tvN series Record of Youth.

How long should I plan for?
Twenty minutes if you only want photographs. One to two hours if you sit down with something. There is no time limit.

Related guides on SeoulKnows

• How to Ride the Seoul Subway: A Step-by-Step Guide for Tourists
• Seoul and Gyeonggi Public Transport Guide
• Best Seafood Buffet in Seoul? Viking’s Wharf COEX, Reviewed
• Suseo Station (SRT) Guide: Booking in English, Hospital Shuttles and Luggage Lockers

The bottom line

Starfield Library became famous as a photograph, and most visitors treat it as one: queue, shoot, leave. That is a waste of a free room that stays open until ten at night, has English magazines on the tables and a Kyoto coffee roastery in the corner.

Just do not bring library expectations. It is not quiet, you cannot borrow anything, and the books near the roof are not books. Go in knowing that and it is one of the best free indoor hours in Seoul.

Written by WY, a Seoul-based local sharing honest, first-hand guides to Korea. Every guide here is a place I’ve actually been to — written from my own visit, my own photos. More about me →