KOREA FOUNDATION

KF Global Challengers Internship Letter

I am working as an intern at the Library of Korean Studies at Collège de France. The college has many groups of libraries; the Library of Korean Studies belongs to its Far East Libraries, which also has libraries specializing in research and materials on China, Japan, India, and Tibet. The Library of Korean Studies was established in 1959 at Sorbonne University and became part of the College of France in 1973.
   The Library of Korean Studies has a large collection of Korea-related materials and is continuing to gather books and periodicals that will serve as references for research in Korean Studies. The collection encompasses a wide range of subjects, including the history, philosophy, religion, literature, linguistics, and geography of Korea. The library purchases materials that are deemed important based on a set of independently-established criteria and also receives donations from individuals, the Korea Foundation, and other institutions in Korea. In the case of its Korean Studies book collection, the library does not have a particular set of guidelines, meaning that staff are free to manage the collection as they see fit.
   I began my internship by learning how to catalogue. The Library of Korean Studies uses the University Documentation System (SUDOC) adopted by all libraries at higher educational institutions in France. My main assignment is registering newly-arrived books and materials that are not yet registered in SUDOC. This was—and still is—a completely new experience for me, as the system here is different from the system I am used to working with in Korean libraries. There are many things I have yet to learn, such as the Romanization of Korean, because the Library of Korean Studies is different from general libraries, and my work is rather complicated.
   On March 1, I attended the ceremony held at the Korean Embassy in Paris celebrating the centennial of the March 1st Independence Movement. In hearing a reading of the declaration of independence and speeches by the children of independence fighters while so far from home, I felt immense gratitude for the Korean independence fighters as well as nostalgia for my home country.

KF Library Internship Collège de France, Bibliothèque des études coréennes, France Collège de France, Bibliothèque des études coréennes, France

Paris France Library Intern