In May, when the greenery of Gwanak is at its most vibrant, the Central Library is hosting a special exhibition to showcase the academic achievements and donated collection of Professor Shin Yong-Ha. Established in 2017, the Shin Yong-Ha Collection, along with the Sang-baek Collection, represents the donated collections of Korea’s first-generation sociologists and serves as a vital documentary resource for understanding the intellectual foundations upon which Korean sociology was formed and developed. This exhibition brings together previously unpublished Western rare books from the Shin Yong-Ha Collection, offering a comprehensive view of the collection in one place, and provides a multidimensional exploration of the academic journey that drove the collection through charts and documents. Furthermore, by showcasing for the first time the old maps—empirical evidence of the Dokdo issue that he painstakingly uncovered—this exhibition will provide an opportunity to gain a fresh perspective on Shin Yong-Ha as both a master of empirical scholarship and a bibliophile. We invite you to join us for this exhibition, which celebrates the beautiful tradition of private collections at the Central Library.

To mark the opening of the Seoul National University Heritage Library and the Daishin Financial Group–Seoul National University Heritage Lounge, we are presenting the Inaugural Exhibition of Park Wansuh Archive 〈Something So Wondrous and Beautiful〉 to celebrate the establishment of the Park Wansuh Archive. According to an analysis of book lending statistics over the past decade, Park Wansuh is the Seoul National University alumnus whose works have been read by the largest number of readers across the widest range of academic disciplines. Consequently, the Park Wansuh Archive has been designated as the first SNU People Archive. Following the signing of the archive establishment agreement in 2023, the Inaugural Exhibition of Park Wansuh Archive 〈Something So Wondrous and Beautiful〉, unveiled after 1,000 days of effort, features a space recreating the study and garden of “Archul Yellow House”—the home where the author wrote her works during her lifetime. The exhibition showcases everyday artifacts the author personally used, such as a sewing machine, cameras, seafood bowls, and handmade clothes, as well as precious handwritten materials such as original manuscripts, diaries, and letters. By carefully selecting and presenting approximately 470 items from the 6,000-plus donated items for the first time, the exhibition is designed to offer a multidimensional experience not only of Park Wansuh’s literary world but also of the trajectory of her life and the traces of her thoughts.