Guro-gu selects 14 recommended works under theme 'Hello, Loneliness'

Seoul's Guro-gu has finalized its main curation list for the 2026 Guro ON Book, a community reading culture initiative led by District Mayor Jang In-hong.

The district revamped its longstanding Guro Book program this year, transforming it from a single recommended-book format into Guro ON Book, a resident-participatory reading culture project. The main curation is a recommended list compiled by incorporating residents' opinions on a given theme — drawing on books, films, music, drama series and artwork — to help the public explore the theme broadly and spark conversation.

Earlier this year, the district selected "loneliness" as the annual theme at the curation committee's first meeting in April. From April 23 to May 19, the district gathered residents' opinions through both online and offline channels. After analyzing the responses and holding a second committee meeting in May, the representative theme was refined to "Hello, Loneliness."

"Hello, Loneliness" frames loneliness not as something unusual or negative, but as a natural emotion that anyone can experience in everyday life.

At the committee's third meeting in June, the district finalized 14 works for the main curation list, chosen to offer empathy and answers corresponding to different types of loneliness, based on the analysis of residents' input.

The list comprises 14 items in total — seven books, three songs, two films, one drama series and one painting. Titles include the books "Goripui Sidae" (The Age of Isolation) and "Aging Solo," the film "Perfect Days," the song "Mindeullae" (Dandelion), and the drama series "My Liberation Notes."

The district plans to use the curation list to develop expanded, library-specific curation programs at Guro Munhwa Nuri Library and other public libraries in the district, and to run resident-participatory reading culture programs at each venue.

Further details about the Guro Book program are available on the Guro-gu integrated library website, Jihyeui Deungdae (Lighthouse of Wisdom).

"Guro ON Book goes beyond reading a single book together — it is a reading culture project that invites residents to reflect on and discuss one theme through a variety of materials," District Mayor Jang said. "We will continue building a reading culture of shared discovery and communication through diverse programs that reflect residents' thoughts and experiences."

Meanwhile, Guro-gu has been running a neighborhood bookstore instant-loan service since March 31. Under the service, residents who request a book can borrow a new copy directly from a nearby local bookstore without visiting a public library. The waiting period — previously up to about three weeks from the time a request was submitted to when the book became available — has been cut to an average of about one week, improving convenience for users. Five local bookstores participate in the program: Book Park (Sugung-dong), BCG Books and Kokkokok (Oryu-dong), and Yeollin Mungo and Hansol Mungo (Gocheok-dong), along with two district-run libraries — Guro Munhwa Nuri Library (Gaebong-dong) and Guro Mirae Library (Sindorim-dong).

The service is open to any Guro-gu resident or registered member of the Jihyeui Deungdae library portal. Users log in to the portal, submit a book request on the neighborhood bookstore instant-loan page, and select a participating bookstore. Once they receive a loan notification by text message, they have three days to visit the chosen bookstore and pick up the book.