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Busan Metropolitan City Opens “Nam-gu Library Deullak Nallak”: Mayor Park Heong-joon Highlights It as “An Innovative Case Utilizing Idle Urban Space”

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Busan Metropolitan City, led by Mayor Park Heong-joon, announced that it will officially open the Busan Children’s Complex Cultural Space “Nam-gu Library Deullak Nallak,” a key facility of the 15-minute city initiative, on March 20.

The opening ceremony will be held at 4:00 p.m. on March 20 on the first floor of Nam-gu Library, with approximately 150 attendees including Mayor Park Heong-joon, Nam-gu Mayor Oh Eun-taek, National Assembly Member Park Soo-young, city and district council members, children, parents, and childcare-related personnel.

“Nam-gu Library Deullak Nallak” was selected through the 2024 district-level public offering project for the creation of children’s complex cultural spaces by Busan Metropolitan City, with a total project cost of 4 billion KRW. The space has been remodeled into a reading, education, and digital experience facility, transforming it into a welcoming and child-friendly environment.

The project repurposed approximately 1,760 square meters of underutilized library space, including the lobby and basement areas, over a period of about one year to create a learning, cultural, artistic, and digital experience space designed to stimulate children’s cultural sensitivity.

The basement level exhibition and experience space features a five-sided immersive storytelling content zone where children can experience the world of fairy tales in a multidimensional way. On the first floor, the Digital Lounge and Book Café welcome visitors with a media art installation and wall display in the lobby, along with a children’s storytelling experience zone where an AI robot named “Luca” reads books. The second floor learning and community area includes smart tables, an AI Go-playing robot, and a Nintendo gaming space for families to enjoy together. The fourth floor smart classroom is equipped with electronic whiteboards and tablets to offer customized programs such as English and coding education aimed at fostering future talent.

Busan Metropolitan City expects that the addition of Deullak Nallak to Nam-gu Library, a regional hub public library, will transform the library from a traditional reading space into a family-friendly complex cultural space while also contributing to the expansion of public education outside of schools.

Operating hours for Nam-gu Library Deullak Nallak are from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, and from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Sundays. The facility is closed every Monday and on public holidays.

Further information and program reservations are available on the Nam-gu Integrated Library website: https://www.bsnamgu.go.kr/library/#footer

Meanwhile, “Deullak Nallak” is Busan’s children’s complex cultural space designed to enhance creativity and imagination. It has been developed in idle spaces within a 15-minute living radius as a play-based learning environment that combines analog and digital content, including child-friendly libraries and immersive experiences, and has achieved various accomplishments.

Currently, 97 Deullak Nallak facilities are in operation across Busan. The city directly provides high-quality educational programs such as “Play with English,” “Creative Learning Center,” and “Free Play,” and the initiative has been internationally recognized as an innovative model, receiving top honors at the SDG City Awards and LivCom Awards.

Mayor Park Heong-joon stated, “The Busan Children’s Complex Cultural Space ‘Deullak Nallak’ is a key facility of the 15-minute city and an innovative example of utilizing idle urban space, attracting significant attention both in Korea and internationally. The development of this Deullak Nallak using idle space in a regional hub library will serve as another outstanding model.”