[Photo] Old bookstore disappears due to gentrification

Gong’s Bookstore, a used bookstore in Seoul’s Seodaemun district with a 44-year history, is set to close at the end of this month. The store was opened in 1972 by Gong Jin-seok near Kyunghee University, to whom books were more precious than family, as the first university bookstore. Gong died in 1990, and after his death, his relatives moved the store to the Shinchon area. This summer, the owner of the building double asked to double the rent, then the building was sold. The bookstore now needs to vacate, and will close. (by Lee Jeong-a, staff photographer)