Resources for Korean speakers
Wellington City Libraries has books, newspapers, magazines and DVDs about Korea, as well as many useful resources for people learning English.
Learning English
In our collection we have:
- Books, tapes, videos, CDs and CD-Roms to help you learn English
- Grammar, vocabulary books and dictionaries
- Items to help you take IELTS and TOEFL tests
- Books about living in New Zealand, including cooking, parenting and health
- Stories to enjoy
These items are available in the Adult Learning Collection, the main collection at 420.7 and 428.24, and the Central Sound & Vision Centre. There are Adult Learning collections at Central, Newtown, Ruth Gotlieb (Kilbirnie), Johnsonville, Miramar, and Karori libraries.
All of these items are FREE to borrow and are issued for 4 weeks. You can borrow as many items as you like.
For more information, visit our English as a Second language pathfinder.
Books in Korean
Books in Korean are held on the First Floor of the Central Library, to the left of the stairs, near the Arts, Music & Literature Enquiries Desk. These are mainly fiction. You may read these books in the Library, or borrow them for 4 weeks with your Library Card.
- Nombo won yotamjong eijonsi
by Alexander McCall Smith ; translated by Yi Na kyong omkim. - MIT suhak ch‘njaedul ui k‘ino muno tturingi, by Pen Mesurich‘ ; translated by Hwang Hae-son omgim.
- Sintakui pam, by Paul Auster ; translated by Hwang Po-sok omkim.
Books in English (Non-fiction)
Our non-fiction books are organised by a numbering system and the same system is used at all branches. For example, The Road Code for car, motor cycle and truck driver's licenses is shelved at 343.0946 DON. There are copies at all Libraries and they can be borrowed for 1 week. If no copies are currently available, you can reserve one with your Library Card.
Here are some subjects you may find useful:
| Call Number: | Subject: |
|---|---|
| 300s | Social sciences, includes Korean customs and etiquette (390.09519 YAN), and traditional Korean theatre (398.209519 TRA) |
| 428 | Learning English |
| 495.73 | Korean grammar and dictionaries |
| 500s | Science, the universe, plants and animals |
| 610-616 | Health |
| 640-649 | Home care, cooking, sewing for the home, children's and adults' clothing, and parenting, including Korean cooking (641.59519) |
| 650s | Information on working in New Zealand |
| 700s | Art, craft & music, including Korean art and Design (709.519) and books on taekwondo (796.8) |
| 800s | Literature of many countries, including poetry, plays etc. |
| 900s | Countries, travel and history, including Korean history (951.9) and New Zealand travel (919.31) |
| Biographies | Including several written by Korean immigrants |
Korean cooking : traditions, ingredients, tastes, techniques, recipes, by Young Jin Song (Cooking)
Home was the land of morning calm : a saga of a Korean-American family, by K. Connie Kang (Biography)
Silken threads : a history of embroidery in China, Korea, Japan and Vietnam, by Young Yang Chung (Arts)
Books in English (Fiction)
Our fiction collection is shelved alphabetically by surname. We have several novels set in Korea.
House of the winds, by Mia Yun.
Children's books
We have a selection of both fiction and non-fiction books about Korea at Central Library as well as many of the Branch Libraries. Please visit the Children's Page to see a list of titles.
Magazines
You may read magazines in the Library, or borrow lending copies for 1 week with your library card. A borrowing fee is charged for magazines.
The magazine Koreana is held at Central Library and can be found on the first floor, to the left of the stairs in the Art, Music & Literature area.
Display copies are also held at Central Library of Korea Now, Korea Policy Review and Pictorial Korea. These magazines can be found on the first floor, to the right of the stairs in the Science and Humanities area.
There are also many magazines in English which may be of interest. They cover a wide range of topics and are in all the libraries.
Newspapers
The Central library has a wide selection of newspapers from around New Zealand. Newspapers must be read in the library - they cannot be borrowed
You can access the following Korean newspapers on our free Internet computers at every Library
- The Korea Times (in English and Korean)
- The Korea Herald (in English)
- Sunday Times (New Zealand based, in Korean)
- Asia Times (in English and in Chinese)
Central Library also holds current issues of New Zealand Times: Korean Weekly and Korea Times, which can be read in the Library.
DVDs
Central Library has a small selection of DVDs available in Korean
DVDs and CDs may be borrowed for 1 week with your Library Card. A borrowing fee is charged for Sound & Vision materials.
Please ask us if you would like help finding anything you need, or would like to suggest other items of interest for people using this page.
