If you’re planning a trip to South Korea and looking for one of the most beautiful libraries and trending photo spots, then Starfield Library Suwon needs to be on your itinerary. You’ve probably have seen the original one located in Seoul, but there’s a new taller one that opened up in Suwon a couple of years ago. It’s known for its towering bookshelves, futuristic architecture, and aesthetic café culture, and has quickly become one of the best day trips from Seoul.

I’ve been to the original Starfield Library located in the COEX Mall in Gangnam years ago, so this time around, I definitely knew I wanted to visit the new one in Suwon. Unfortunately, it’s not as close to Seoul as I thought. From where I was staying, it would have taken me 1.5 hours on public transportation. Luckily, I found this convenient tour that not only took me to the Starfield Library, but also to many cultural sites I’ve been wanting to visit as well. Not only did it make the entire day effortless, but it also turned into one of my favorite memories from Korea.

You can book the exact tour here:

• Starfield Library Suwon Tour

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What Is Starfield Library Suwon?

Starfield Library Suwon is a massive open concept library located inside Starfield Suwon Mall. Inspired by the famous COEX Starfield Library in Seoul, this newer location offers an even more spacious and modern experience.

The library features towering bookshelves stretching four stories high, natural lighting pouring through the windows, and beautifully designed seating areas perfect for relaxing or taking photos. Because of its visually stunning design, it has become one of the most viral Instagram locations in Korea. It might even be even more popular that the original!

After seeing so many videos of it online, I expected it to be overrated, but seeing it in person was completely different. The scale of the library is honestly hard to capture on camera, but it definitely was huge.

 

Starfield Library Suwon vs. Starfield Library COEX 

People might be wondering which one is better and if I were to be honest, I would say that both have their pros and cons. The Starfield Library Suwon is obviously farther from Seoul, but I would say it’s less crowded so if you want to get pictures, you probably have a better chance here. In terms of design, the Suwon location is taller (22-meters high) and skinner while the COEX location is shorter (13-meters high) but much wider. 

You’ll get great pictures regardless but I do like that the Starfield Library Suwon spans four floors (floor 4-7) so if one of the floors is busy with people, you can just go to another floor to take pictures. I went to each floor and I actually think floor 5 and floor 6 gives you the best pictures since it’s a straight shot of the library.

 

Why I Recommend Booking a Tour Instead of Navigating Public Transportation

I feel like a lot of people underestimate how tiring navigating Korea can sometimes be, especially when you’re trying to visit multiple attractions in one day. Yes, public transportation in Korea is amazing, but figuring out train transfers, buses, timing, and directions can easily eat up hours of your trip.

I personally never really book tours because I like to do things at my own pace, but for the amount of places I wanted to see, this tour honestly checked off a lot of the boxes. But the biggest reason I wanted to book a tour was because I didn’t want to think about how and when to get to each place. Maybe I’m getting old but it was nice for once to turn off my brain and have someone just take me everywhere. 

The tour is roughly eleven hours (7:00 am-6:00 pm) and includes:

• Van transportation from Seoul from two locations (Hongdae and Myeongdong)
• Multiple famous attractions in one itinerary
• A guide who explains the history and culture
• Enough free time for photos and exploring
• No stress trying to plan logistics

 

This Tour Gives You More Than Just the Library

What made this tour especially worth it is that the library is only one part of the day. Yeah, you could just visit the library, but if you’re already in Suwon, you might as well visit all the other cultural sights it has to offer. The specific tour I took included:

1. Waujeongsa Temple

 

2. Hwaseong Haenggung Palace (with daily martial arts performance)

 

3. Suwon Hwaseong Fortress 

 

4. Starfield Library Suwon

 

5. Haechan Songhak Laver (seaweed museum, kimbap making class, and hanbok wearing experience)

 

The Transportation Alone Makes This Tour Worth It

One thing people don’t talk about enough is how exhausting day trips can become when you’re trying to coordinate transportation yourself. Again, I usually do try to figure out the transportation myself but since I was short on time, I thought it was worth having someone drive me around.

I like that the tour also had two meeting points: Hongdae and Myengdong. Most tours leave out of Myengdong, but I was staying near Hongdae which means it would have been an extra 30 minutes for me to get to Myengdong. But since there was a pickup point in Hongdae, it made things much easier especially since I’m not a morning person.

The thing that sold me the most (and you’ll probably laugh at this) is that I get to sleep in the car and be woken up once we’ve arrived at each destination. Whereas, if you take the train or bus, you can’t really close your eyes because you always have to vigilant about keeping your stuff safe or that you don’t miss your stop. Since Suwon is a good distance away, it was nice to take an hour nap in the car.

 

Perfect for Solo Travelers

As someone who often travels solo, I think this tour is especially convenient if you’re visiting Korea for the first time. Trust me when I say that Seoul is huge and you don’t want to be wasting time getting lost or trying to navigate all day. It’s honestly one of the easiest ways to experience areas outside Seoul if you don’t want the pressure of planning every little detail yourself. Also, the tour is a maximum of 14 people so you’ll definitely get to meet people in your group (I mean if only you want lol).

 

Is This Tour Worth Booking?

Absolutely yes. If you’re debating whether to visit Starfield Library Suwon independently or through a tour, I honestly think the tour experience is far more enjoyable, especially if:

• It’s your first time in Korea
• You’re short on time
• You want a stress free day
• You’re traveling solo
• You want multiple attractions in one trip
• You love photography and content creation

The best part is that the tour is less than $55 USD. The combination of convenience, beautiful locations, cultural experiences, and organized transportation makes this one of the best value day trips from Seoul in my opinion.