Kyujanggak - 규장각

  The Kyujanggak was the royal library of the Joseon Dynasty, and functions today as a key repository of Korean historical records. It was founded in 1776 during the reign of Jeongjo, at which time it was located on the palace grounds of Changdeokgung. Today it is maintained by Seoul National University, and is located in Sillim-dong, Gwanak-gu.

  It is named after imperial calligraphic works stored there, the kyujang (奎章), which literally means "writings of Kyu", a scholar-deity, but has come to refer to divinely inspired writings, in particularly, the emperor's.

  The library's role underwent various changes after the Gabo Reforms of 1894. In 1922, it was moved under the jurisdiction of Keijo Imperial University, which later gave rise to the Seoul National University. The library moved to its present location in 1990 and became independent of the Seoul National University Central Library in 1992.

  The Kyujanggak now houses more than 260,000 items. Many of these have been digitized and can be searched online. These include originals of the Annals of the Joseon Dynasty, which are among the National treasures of South Korea. The Kyujanggak also supports research in Korean history and sponsors an annual journal titled Kyujanggak.

  In 1782, Oegyujanggak ("Outer Kyujanggak") was founded on Ganghwa Island. This was an annex of the main library by order of King Jeongjo. However, some of the items of Oegyujanggak were burned and some 297 books looted by the French in 1866. Though it was long thought those items would never be returned to Korea, an agreement to return the documents was made by President Lee Myung-bak and President Nicolas Sarkozy at the November 2010 G20 summit in Seoul. France had defended their claims to the documents as cultural properties obtained when no such laws were set up between the two countries. The documents have finally been returned to Seoul between April and May 2011.