Bosu-dong Book Street Cultural Centre in Busan has been around since the 1950s. — RAWKKIM/Unsplash
While the digital versions certainly offer more convenience in terms of storage and portability (really, one device is all you need to carry your whole library around with you), there is just something about books in their traditional, paper form that make it inherently more satisfying to peruse.
The advancement of technology has made ebooks and even audiobooks more accessible, altering the buying and reading habits of consumers. However, it’s also this shift towards digitalisation that made physical books – whether paperbacks or hard covers – suddenly a novelty.
Readers want to engage their senses again, to feel the weight in their hands, smell that familiar scent emitted by the ageing paper (look up “bibliosmia”, but this might make you feel sad about books) and trace their fingers on the pages as they read.
If you’re a “traditionalist” who share this same notion, rest assured that there still exist places that cater to a bibliophile’s love of books.
Whether purchased from online retailers or brick-and-mortar bookstores – though the latter is unfortunately a casualty of technological advancement and their numbers have continued to decrease – the resurgence of interest in physical books ensures their continued existence.
Books even make for great souvenirs when travelling, especially ones bought from second-hand vendors. Whether it’s new or old reading materials you look for, here are a few book streets that you should bookmark for your next trip abroad.
A large blue entrance welcomes visitors to the Ho Chi Minh City Book Street.
Ho Chi Minh and Hanoi, Vietnam
Neighbouring Vietnam has two cities with bustling book streets: One is former capital Ho Chi Minh City or Saigon, and the other is the current capital, Hanoi.
Ho Chi Minh City Book Street or Nguyen Van Binh Book Street is hard to miss, as not only does it have a large blue main entrance with an abstract statue of a person reading a book set in the middle, it is also conveniently situated next to the Saigon Central Post Office and across from the Saigon Notre Dame Cathedral Basilica.
Opened on Jan 6, 2016, it stretches 100m long and houses little bookstores and coffee shops, as well as open areas for events and performances.
The city’s second book street, Thu Duc City Book Street, was opened on Dec 22, 2023.
Stretching more than 190m long on Ho Thi Tu Street in Hiep Phu Ward, it is part of a project that will see the implementation of book streets in the city’s four axes – North, South, East and West – with Ho Chi Minh City Book Street in the centre.
Thu Duc City Book Street sits on the East axis, while the remaining three aim to open their book streets by this year.
Over in Hanoi, the Hanoi Book Street (opened May 1, 2017) is so widely known that it was even visited by our Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim in July 2023. Also known as 19/12 Street, it is one of the four book streets in the city.
The other three are Lang Book Street, Pham Van Dong Book Street and Dinh Le Book Street (which has been around since the 1970s).
MRT Zhongshan Underground Book Street is the longest underground book street in Taiwan. — SOLOMON203/Wikimedia Commons
Taipei, Taiwan
Taiwan’s book street, located underground at Taipei’s Zhongshan Metro Mall, was initiated by the government in an effort to encourage reading. It underwent renovation and was relaunched by Taipei Rapid Transit Corporation and Eslite Bookstore on Aug 7, 2017.
Named MRT Zhongshan Underground Book Street or R79 Eslite Underground, in reference to its proximity to exits R7 and R9, the 261m-long book street runs between the Zhongshan and Shuanglian MRT stations.
If shopping above ground is more up your alley, then head to Chongqing South Road Bookstore Street. Locals have long associated the road with books as it used to be lined with over 100 bookstores. That amount has dwindled to around 40 in present day, but it is still a good place to find books old and new.
Busan and Seoul, South Korea
The history of Bosu-dong Book Street in Jung-gu, Busan dates back to the 1950s, when evacuees from North Korea began selling their used books on the street, leading to second-hand bookstores eventually mushrooming in the area.
Plan your visit to coincide with the Bosu-dong Culture Festival in October to maximise your experience, as you’ll get to make your own book covers – and perhaps, even a book of your own!
Present-day bookstores there see a mix of old and new books in Korean and English. To preserve the street’s legacy and attract more visitors, a unique cafe called Scuola di Atene was opened there in March 2023. The cafe immediately catches attention with its four-storey exterior that resembles book spines, giving the impression of giant books arranged neatly in a row.
Meanwhile, Seoul is the perfect place for you to hop on the literary wagon – or train, to be precise. Mapo District’s Gyeongui Line Book Street is unique in the sense that its book shops come in the form of 14 train-shaped booths.
This design takes inspiration from the eponymous line, whose disused railway tracks have been transformed into a cultural space that encourages locals and tourists alike to enjoy reading while surrounded by nature.
Explore the book street’s full length of 250m by walking from Hongik University Station’s exit No. 6 towards the Gyeongui Line Forest Park.
To the west of Seoul there is another book-themed destination worth a mention, though this one’s more than just a street. Gyeonggi-do’s Paju Book City offers full immersion as it is wholly dedicated to books – from creation to publication and sales. Visit the city’s library, Forest Of Wisdom, to spend a day surrounded by books from floor to ceiling.
Stroll under the Waterloo Bridge to shop for books. — Photos: FLOREY D. MIKIL/The Star
London, England
Stepping foot at Cecil Court will make you feel transported into the Harry Potter realm. Rightfully so, since this 17th century lane was believed to have been the inspiration for the popular franchise’s fictional Diagon Alley.
Nicknamed “Booksellers’ Row”, the street is lined with Victorian shop fronts that lend the area its magical charm. The 20-something shops here, some selling more than just books, are your best bets at finding rare books, vintage items and even antiques.
There is another place you can visit to get your hands on second-hand books in London. It’s an outdoor book market rather than a street, and it may not look as whimsical but its proximity to River Thames makes it just as fun to explore.
Located next to the river, under the Waterloo Bridge specifically, is the South Bank Book Market. It has been serving bookworms with a wide selection of English books since 1983. Rain or shine, sellers will display their books on tables and in boxes under the bridge daily, starting from 10am.
You can apply to stay at this famous Parisian bookstore.
Paris, France
A stroll along the River Seine will show you exactly why it is known as “the only river in the world that runs between two bookshelves”.
Lined on both sides by sellers selling second-hand books, posters and souvenirs out of 2m-long and 0.75m-wide dark green boxes, these historic Bouquinistes Of Paris are as much an icon of the city as its Eiffel Tower.
Bouquinistes, meaning booksellers in French, have set up shop on the riverside for five centuries, though it was only in the 1900s that they began using the standardised boxes.
They can be found from Quai du Louvre to the Pont Marie on the Right Bank and from Quai de la Tournelle to Quai Voltaire on the Left Bank. Their location has caused many to confuse the Bouquinistes as having Unesco status, when in reality it is specifically the banks of River Seine that were inscribed as a Unesco World Heritage Site – the only one in Paris – in 1991.
The books sold by the Bouquinistes are largely in French, however. To find English options, drop by the Shakespeare And Company Bookstore along Rue de la Bucherie on Paris’ Left Bank.
If you’re game, you can even find out what’s it like staying there by participating in its Tumbleweed programme.
Yes, you can call this world-famous Parisian bookstore your humble abode for up to a month.
