Abandoned Train Station Becomes Rural Community's Cozy Library

In the rural heart of Uiseong County, South Korea, a disused train station has found new life as a cozy community hub. The former Dancheon Station, once a stop for trains, now houses the Dancheon-myeon Small Library, which opened its doors on June 10. The adjacent unmanned cafe has been repurposed into a program room for residents.

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Smartphones are my favorite, but I like books too. Now that there's a library, I think books and smartphones will be tied for first place.

Dancheon-myeon has long been considered a cultural desert, lacking accessible libraries. Previously, the nearest library was in Geumseong-myeon, a 20-minute drive away. The transformation of the station's old mechanical room into a 120-square-meter library offers a much-needed local resource.

Students are excited about the new facility. Lee Yeo-on, a third-grader at Dancheon Elementary School, expressed her enthusiasm, stating, "I love smartphones the most, but I also love books. Now that there's a library, I think books and smartphones will be tied for first place." She hopes for more origami books to be added.

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Compared to the existing school library, which was a stiff space the size of a classroom, this place is expected to provide children with emotional stability and a unique experience.

Shin Mi-jeong, the vice principal of Dancheon Elementary School, noted the difference from the school's own library, which she described as a "stiff space the size of a classroom." She anticipates the new library will offer children "emotional stability and a unique experience."

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It is significant in that we have reborn the old station into a beautiful cultural space where past memories linger, by remodeling one part as a cafe and the other as a library.

The project is the 135th small library established through a partnership between the non-profit 'Small Library Makers' and KB Kookmin Bank, which has been creating these spaces since 2008. Uiseong County Mayor Kim Ju-soo highlighted the significance of repurposing the historic station into a cultural space that blends past memories with present use. KB Kookmin Bank's regional representative, Lee Mi-sook, expressed hope that the library will become a cherished cultural space for youth and residents to connect and find comfort.

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We hope that the small library becomes a precious cultural space where teenagers and residents can freely communicate and fill themselves with warm comfort and happiness.