Suwon Jihyesam Children's Library: Exploring the Environment Since 2005

November 24, 2005, Opening as an ‘Environment and Energy’ Children's Library

Jihyesaem Children's Library is a facility established by Suwon-si for children's knowledge, information, and cultural activities. Construction began on September 18, 2004, was completed on August 3, 2005, and the library opened on November 24 of the same year. From its opening, it has set environment and energy specialization and the provision of information content as its operational direction. Since February 2014, it has been operated under consignment by the Suwon Cultural Foundation.

The name ‘Saem’ (Spring) can be understood within Suwon-si's naming system for children's libraries, expressing the hope that children's curiosity and wisdom will grow like a spring where water gushes out. Currently, official facility statistics include a site area of 33,855㎡, a total floor area of 2,447㎡, one basement floor and three above-ground floors, and a total of 303 seats.

09:00~18:00 Before Visiting, Avoid Mondays and Public Holidays First

The library's operating hours are from Tuesday to Sunday, 09:00 to 18:00, and it is closed every Monday and on national holidays. As a rule, it is open on Sundays, but if a Sunday overlaps with a national holiday, it will be closed. Therefore, it is safer to re-confirm the schedules for Seollal and Chuseok holidays or substitute holidays via official announcements before departing.

Admission is free, and there is no separate general admission fee. The main phone number is 031-225-5566, and the official website is https://www.suwonlib.go.kr/jkid/. If you need to return books, you can use the automated return machine to the right of the main gate from 18:00 (Tue-Sun) until 09:00 the next day. On closing days, it operates 24 hours. Separate announcements apply to return machine hours during Seollal and Chuseok holidays.

• Address: 818 Dongtanwoncheon-ro, Gwonseon-gu, Suwon-si, Gyeonggi-do (Gwonseon-dong), Zip Code 16683
• Operating Hours: 09:00~18:00
• Closed: Every Monday, National Holidays
• Admission Fee: Free

1st to 3rd Floors Divided into 90 Toddler Seats, 32 Elementary Seats, and 45 Family Seats

The Toddler Reference Room on the 1st floor is 321㎡ with 90 seats and includes the ‘Ongdalsaem’ and ‘Agidungji’ spaces. If you are accompanied by infants or toddlers, you can shorten your route by visiting the lower-age reference room first and then moving to the 2nd floor to visit the Elementary Reference Room and the Reading Discussion Room.

The Elementary Reference Room on the 2nd floor is 343㎡ with 32 seats, and the Eulrimteo Auditorium is 151㎡ with 80 seats. The Family Reference Room on the 3rd floor is 245㎡ with 45 seats. Separately, there is a 151㎡ Media Art Environment Education Center and a 44㎡, 40-seat Jihyeteo classroom. The structure is better suited for families who wish to use the reference rooms, exhibitions, and reserved programs together rather than those visiting just to read books quietly.

Experiencing Marine Waste at the 3rd-Floor Media Art Environment Education Center

A unique space in this library is the Media Art Environment Education Center on the 3rd floor. According to the Suwon-si Library Experience Classroom guide, group experiences are operated from March to November 2026, Tue–Fri from 10:30 to 11:30. The program consists of a total of 60 minutes, including 40 minutes of experience at the Media Art Environment Education Center and 20 minutes of picture book reading or independent reading at the Agidungji on the 1st floor.

The experience content includes marine animals and waste, how waste enters the ocean, searching for underwater creatures, finding suspicious objects, drawing marine animals, and making promises to the sea. The target audience is groups from daycare centers and kindergartens within Suwon-si for children aged 3 and older, with a limit of 25 people or fewer per session, and must be accompanied by a supervisor. Groups must make an online reservation at least one day before the desired date; participation is not possible without a prior reservation.

10 Minutes from Onsu-gol Stop, Realistic Approach to the 31-Space Parking Lot

For public transportation, bus information is provided most specifically. If you take numbers 51, 52, 83, 83-1, 88, or 92, you can get off at the ‘Onsu-gol’ stop and walk for about 10 minutes. For numbers 5, 5-1, 7, 7-1, 7-2, 13-5, 35-1, 64, 310, or 900, you can use the ‘Suwon Sunbokum Church’ stop. As walking information from subway exits is not confirmed in the official guide, it is better for first-time foreign visitors to save the bus stop names.

For private cars, the library parking lot has 31 spaces. Since the number of parking spaces is small compared to the 303-seat facility, it is worth considering public transportation first during weekend program hours or weekday mornings when group experiences are scheduled. Parking fees, dedicated spaces for the disabled, and wheelchair movement routes are not confirmed on the official page, so you must inquire at 031-225-5566 if needed.

2026 Experience Classroom Criteria: 25 People or Fewer, Reservation 1 Day in Advance

Individual reading is available for free without a reservation, but the library experience classroom is by reservation. Based on the 2026 guide, applications are made by selecting the Jihyesaem item under ‘Library Experience Classroom’ in the Suwon-si Library Integrated Reservation system, and only dates marked as ‘Apply’ on the calendar can be selected. The inquiry number for the experience classroom is 031-225-8053.

Since group experiences are operated on Tue–Fri mornings from 10:30 to 11:30, general families can use the reference rooms relatively leisurely by checking for weekday afternoons or days without experience schedules. In a 2025 citizen reporter report, examples of environmental theme activities held in the 1st-floor lobby exhibition, 2nd-floor Reading Discussion Room/Eulrimteo, and 3rd-floor Environment Education Center were introduced, so daily programs may affect the atmosphere of general library use.

Plan for Around 1 Hour and 30 Minutes Including Woncheonricheon and Sindong Subeon Gongwon

Jihyesaem Children's Library is located near Woncheonricheon and Sindong Subeon Gongwon in Gwonseon-dong, making it easy to connect the riverside and park areas after using the indoor reference rooms. In a 2023 regional introduction and a 2025 Gyeonggi-do article, the parks and river paths around the library were mentioned, and seasonal outdoor walks can be seen as an additional option when weather permits.

The recommended duration of stay is 60–90 minutes for general reading and exploring the floors, and at least 90 minutes if including reserved group experiences. If a child is not the target audience for the Media Art Environment Education Center experience or if there is no prior reservation, it is more realistic to plan a visit in the order of the 1st-floor Toddler Reference Room, 2nd-floor Elementary Reference Room, and 3rd-floor Family Reference Room rather than making the 3rd-floor experience the core of the schedule.