📚 What a Library Inside a Mall Taught Me About Malaysia's Reading Problem
A reflection from Seoul, South Korea
Alhamdulillah — I recently had the opportunity to visit Seoul, South Korea.
Travelling opens your mind in ways that no classroom, no course, and no YouTube video ever can.
And sometimes, the biggest lesson hits you not in a museum or a conference room.
It hits you inside a shopping mall.
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
🇰🇷 Welcome to COEX Mall — Where Shopping Meets Reading
COEX Mall in Seoul is one of the largest underground shopping malls in Asia.
It has everything you'd expect — fashion, food, tech, and entertainment.
But tucked right inside this buzzing mall is something I did not expect.
A library.
Not a small corner with a few shelves.
A massive, floor-to-ceiling, sea-of-books library — right in the middle of a shopping mall.
It stopped me in my tracks.
📖 The Sight That Made Me Think
I stood there and just observed.
People were browsing. Sitting. Reading.
And then — something that genuinely surprised me.
Kids. Picking up books. Reading.
Not scrolling through their phones. Not watching videos. Not gaming.
Reading.
In a mall. By choice.
That, for me, was the real eye-opener.
💡 The Genius of This Idea
Here's what I realised:
We've spent years telling people — especially young people — to "go to the library and read."
And it hasn't worked as well as we hoped.
Because the library is over there. And life is happening over here.
But what if we brought the books to where the people already are?
The mall generation doesn't go to libraries.
So bring the library to the mall.
Create the environment. Remove the barrier. Let curiosity do the rest.
And honestly? You don't need to worry about people stealing books.
No one steals from a library inside a shopping mall.
The openness itself creates trust.
The beautiful design itself invites you in.
And the books? They do the rest.
🇲🇾 What This Means for Malaysia
I came home with one thought repeating in my mind:
Why aren't we doing this?
We have malls. Lots of them.
We have books. Plenty of them.
We have kids glued to gadgets — and parents quietly worried about it.
The problem isn't that Malaysians don't like to read.
The problem is that we haven't made reading easy, attractive, and accessible enough.
We need to rethink the environment.
A child who walks past a beautifully designed reading space inside a mall — surrounded by books, good lighting, and a calm corner to sit — will stop. Will look. Will pick something up.
That's not a dream. I saw it happen. In Seoul.
🌱 A Challenge to All of Us
To the educators, leaders, policymakers, and parents reading this:
The solution to Malaysia's reading culture is not another campaign.
It's environment design.
Put books where people already are. Design spaces that invite curiosity. Make reading feel like a discovery, not a duty.
Travelling reminds me that the world is full of ideas we haven't tried yet.
Seoul taught me that.
And I'm bringing that idea home — Inn Shaa Allah.
What do you think? Could a library inside a Malaysian mall work?
Drop your thoughts in the comments. Let's start the conversation. 👇
#ReadingCulture #Malaysia #Seoul #Korea #COEXMall #LeadWithImpact #WorkSmarterNotHarder #CoachAmirul #Education #MindsetShift #LibraryInAMall #LifelongLearning #MalaysiaReads #TravelAndLearn #Leadership
.jpeg)
No comments:
Post a Comment