From how-to books and Danielle Steel novels to K-drama DVDs, there is no shortage of Korean-language options at the Hawaii State Public Library System.
LIBRARY HOURS
The McCully-Moiliili Public Library, 2211 S. King St., is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, and noon to 7 p.m. Thursday. Call 973-1099.
The choices will continue to grow thanks to a recent $1 million endowment pledge from Eugene and Sook Ki Moon, marking the 20th anniversary of the Korean Library Foundation.
The purpose of the endowment, according to the Moons, who have two grandchildren, ages 13 and 16, is to ensure the library system’s Korean collection remains available to recent immigrants as well as Korean-Americans interested in their culture and history for generations to come.
The Korean and part-Korean population in Hawaii was estimated at 49,200 in the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2015 American Community Survey, which reported that approximately 19,300 Hawaii residents speak Korean at home.
The Honolulu couple first stepped up to help in 1997 after Eugene Moon, 81, a retired FBI intelligence analyst and Honolulu complaints officer, read a newspaper article reporting the state planned to cut funds for Korean-language books because of budget constraints. He said it was a matter of Korean pride for his wife, an entrepreneur who ran a luxury goods boutique in Waikiki.
The Moons, both avid readers, donated $2,500 for Korean books, thinking it would be a one-time deal, but they soon got far more involved than they planned. Sook Ki Moon, 76, negotiated a discount with Kyobo Book Center in Seoul for the purchase of best-selling books and then got Korean Air to provide free shipping. (Palama Market now pays for shipments.)
What began as Moon’s Book Club grew into a communitywide effort and establishment of the nonprofit Korean Library Foundation at the McCully-Moiliili Public Library in 2006.
“We are very grateful to Eugene and Sook Ki Moon for their very generous donation to the Hawaii State Public Library System and Korean Library Foundation,” said State Librarian Stacey Aldrich. “The funds will ensure access to current Korean-language materials in Hawaii for many years to come.”
Generally, each branch in the state library system purchases materials to support the needs of its community using funds from its own budget. In fiscal 2016, various libraries purchased more than $70,000 in foreign-language materials, according to Aldrich.
The Korean Library Foundation has a small space on the second floor of the McCully-Moiliili Public Library, surrounded by shelves of Korean-language books encompassing fiction, biography, history, poetry, Korean drama DVDs, K-pop music CDs and magazines. A children’s reading room, with neatly organized rows of Korean picture books, graphic novels and a table and chairs, is a recent addition.
Two Korean-speaking staff are on hand to interpret and assist seniors in accessing electronic books, which became available three years ago at 808ne.ws/KoreaneBooks.
In all, there are nearly 20,000 Korean books in the Hawaii State Public Library System, and circulation numbers have consistently doubled in each of the past five years, according to officials.
Satellite collections are available at the Moanalua and Pearl City libraries, and anyone with a valid library card can request a Korean-language item be sent to their neighborhood branch.
How-to books are quite popular, according to foundation president Jennifer Kim, as are cookbooks, Harry Potter novels and Jack Canfield’s “Chicken Soup for the Soul” series. K-drama DVDs are in constant demand, with a waiting list up to 100 people long, she said.
Recent Korean transplants find a piece of home when they visit, she said, and they can go to the library to read about how to invest in real estate or improve their parenting skills, for example.
In addition to annual contributions to public libraries, the Korean Library Foundation created a fellowship for graduate study in Korean literature at the University of Hawaii at Manoa.
