Visitors read books at Seoul Metropolitan Library in Jung District, central Seoul, Tuesday. Courtesy of Seoul Metropolitan Library
The pavement shimmers, the air feels thick and heavy and stepping outside starts to feel like a dare. When the summer heat currently baking the Korean Peninsula turns punishing, these three spots in the greater Seoul area offer not just relief from the sun but reason to stay all day.
Seoul Metropolitan Library
Located in Jung District, central Seoul, Seoul Metropolitan Library is the city's flagship public library.
Located in the old City Hall building, which was constructed in 1926, during the 1910-45 Japanese colonial period, and continued being used as City Hall after Korea's liberation. The building was renovated in 2012 and the remaining original section was repurposed as a library after the addition of the new City Hall building.
