Incheon National University's Irum Hall (Second Library)

Incheon National University's (President Lee In-jae) Irum Hall (Second Library) has been awarded the Main Prize (Prime Minister's Award) in the public sector at the 2025 Korean Architecture Awards.

The Korean Architecture Awards, hosted by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and sponsored by the Seoul Economic Daily and the Korea Institute of Registered Architects, is regarded as the most prestigious architecture award in the Republic of Korea.

The INU library successfully embodies a temporal connection where the library's past and future communicate. Irum Hall, the second library, particularly emphasizes connectivity and openness, along with a diversity of uses and atmospheres on each floor, offering users not only the joy of learning but also aesthetic value as a space for rest and comfort.

Yoon Young-don, Director of the INU Library, describes the core values of Irum Hall as openness and connectivity. According to Director Yoon, "The process involved public competitions from the design stage to the naming of the building, and it boasts excellent openness as a library that is also accessible to the citizens of Incheon." He adds, "Irum Hall also has an impressive spatial connection with the existing library, linking each floor from the first basement level to the fourth floor." Furthermore, "If the existing library is a static one focused on book preservation and reading, Irum Hall is a dynamic library that serves as a space for creation, collaboration, and multicultural activities."

According to Jeong Ju-yeon, Head of the Academic Information Department at the INU Library, students describe Irum Hall as their favorite space and a source of pride. A user satisfaction survey conducted in 2024 revealed that due to the improved library space, users find it pleasant and conducive to studying, with a "cafe-like atmosphere" and "diverse library spaces." They expressed pride in their school library as a "healing space," loving the restorative atmosphere they experience while studying, even in areas that initially felt unapproachable.

Head Jeong also mentioned that since the opening of Irum Hall, the number of citizen members has increased by more than a thousand each year, and the library aims to be a community-hub by opening various events to local residents.

Meanwhile, since its opening on December 5, 2022, Incheon National University's Irum Hall has previously won the Incheon Architecture Award in 2023, the 9th Korea Culture & Space Award (Library category), and the Excellence Award at the Korea Excellent Educational Facility Competition. Additionally, the INU Library also received the 2025 Korean Library Award (Group Prize) for excellently performing its inherent functions.