Comic Book Shopping: Book Sae Tong

When I was just out of high school, my friend Eric and I came up with a tradition. We would take a drive to San Gabriel California to eat Asian cuisine and do comic book shopping. San Gabriel is a city with a large Asian population, so there were many businesses that sold imported goods. However, the majority of our time was spent in Chinese comic book stores. We would spend hours in the comic shops, searching for books that would fit our individual tastes. We would come out with stacks of manga (Japanese comics) and manhwa (Korean comics) that had been translated to Chinese. It didn’t matter that neither of us could read Chinese, if book was any good, the artwork would tell the story. It was those trips that would solidify my love for Asian culture. Had we never found those comic book shops, I doubt I’d be living in Korea today.

That’s why I was surprised to find comic book shops in Korea are surprisingly hard to come by. I had bought Korean comics in the past, and I had heard that Korean’s love comics, so when I came to Korea I expected there to be plenty of places to feed my addiction. I was wrong. Sure, there are a few options for comic shopping, like Kyobo Bookstores and a few smaller retailers in big cities, but none of these places can compare with the selection found at Book Sae Tong in Hongdae.

Book Sae Tong is located just outside of Hongik Univ. Station Exit 8. The shop itself is a basement location so it could be easily missed if you aren’t paying attention. Luckily, the entrance way is lined with posters of anime and manga characters, so if you spot those, you’ll know that you are in the right place.

The first thing you’ll see as you descend the steps is that the shop is quite large. They have a huge selection of manhwa in aisles and shelves that fill the entire room. The end caps on each aisle have small displays where the newest and most popular books are advertised. The majority of the comics are Japanese books translated to Korean, but if you look hard enough you can find some native entries. I saw copies of my favorite Korean comic, Backbone in one of the aisles. You’ll find all of the popular manga titles there too. Books like Naruto, One Piece, Slam Dunk, and Dragon Ball Z all have their own sections in the aisles.

In the far end of the store, they have a number of art and design books. I saw many sketch book collections from popular artists like Alex Ross. They also have some books about production designs for movies, anime, and video games. There were a number of cosplay books and magazines that can also be found in this section. Some of these books were translated to Korean, but many of them are in Japanese or English.   

For fans of western comics, Book Sae Tong has small section devoted to

comic books in English. You can find volumes of popular books like Watchmen, Spider-Man, Batman, Superman, and Avengers. Their selection of English books are limited. If you are looking to find a bigger selection of comics from the west, you’d be better off visiting What The Book in Itaewon.

I highly recommended checking out Book Sae Tong whether or not you are a comic book fan. Manga/manhwa fanatics will enjoy browsing the aisles filled with their favorite books. And for those of you who don’t have an interest in comics, you I recommend that you visit the store anyway, since it will give you a glimpse into an aspect of Korean culture that you may not otherwise come across.

Directions to Book Sae Tong:

Take the Seoul Green Line (Seoul Subway Line 2) and get off at Hongik University Station. Take Exit 8 and make a right at the street corner (do not cross the street). You will see the entrance to Book Sae Tong on your right.