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Published: 11 Sep. 2025, 00:06

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

Ko Jae-hyun

The author is a professor at the School of Semiconductor and Display Engineering, Hallym University.

During the hot summer, I often found myself visiting the Chuncheon City Library near my home. It was my first time there since the facility opened eight years ago. The building, surrounded by low wooded hills, offered a striking design and cool, open interiors that made reading comfortable. I was struck by the large number of older patrons, which reminded me of the importance of cultural spaces, such as libraries, in enhancing the quality of life for seniors.

An aerial view of the Chuncheon City Library. [CHUNCHEON CITY LIBRARY]

My first memory of a university library dates back to 1987, when I began my studies. I remember the disappointment. Though the collection was extensive, students had no direct access to the shelves. Instead, we had to sift through endless index cards, locate bibliographic information and file a request to borrow books. In comparison to that era, today’s university libraries have evolved into comprehensive academic and cultural centers. They house vast collections, digital databases and spaces that support a variety of scholarly activities. Even so, I have always been drawn to the science section, where shelves are lined with works that have shaped the field.

Scientists are often avid readers. Newton, Einstein and Darwin each left behind personal collections numbering in the thousands, which were later donated to libraries for preservation. James Clerk Maxwell, who unified electromagnetism, had a reading list filled with works by predecessors such as Fourier, Newton and Poisson. Newton himself once said that to see further one must stand on the shoulders of giants — a phrase that still resonates in the quiet stacks.

There is something irreplaceable about the scent of books and the soft rustle of pages. Choosing a volume and sitting down feels like beginning a conversation with a great scientist of the past. Generative artificial intelligence, with its ability to process and present knowledge from enormous datasets, has become another companion in my pursuit of learning. It opens new dimensions of access to information. Yet when I follow etymologies through lines of text or trace the relationships between concepts, I feel my own awareness sharpen in a way no machine can replicate.

One modest wish for retirement is to live in a neighborhood where a library like Chuncheon’s is just a walk away.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.