South Korean newspaper's reading rate report flawed by missing Daegu data

A recent report by the South Korean newspaper Hankyoreh on regional reading habits took an unexpected turn when the National Library of Korea revealed a significant data error. The library admitted that a substantial portion of lending data from Daegu was missing, leading to an inaccurate portrayal of the city's reading rates.

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Last year, in the process of changing the collection method to enhance personal information, it was found that some of Daegu's lending data was omitted.

The library's "Library Information Naru" service, which provides lending big data from 1,600 libraries nationwide, initially ranked Daegu lowest in terms of per capita book loans. This finding drew criticism and embarrassment to the city, with some attributing the low rates to the region's political leaning.

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Thanks to Hankyoreh, we were able to supplement the full data.

However, three days after the report's publication, the National Library of Korea issued an apology to Hankyoreh, explaining that a system change implemented in November to enhance personal information protection resulted in the loss of 98% of Daegu's lending data. This data gap directly contributed to Daegu's misrepresented low ranking.

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We are concerned that trust will be damaged, as we are increasing the participation of libraries nationwide with difficulty, even with a continuously decreasing budget.

Following the revelation, the library has since corrected the data and resumed its services. While the library expressed gratitude to Hankyoreh for helping to identify and rectify the data issue, it also voiced concerns about maintaining the reliability of its data collection efforts, especially with diminishing budgets and the challenge of increasing participation from all national libraries. The Daegu Library also expressed that citizens felt their pride was hurt by the initial report.

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Citizens' pride was hurt.