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Kyujanggak () was the royal library of the Joseon dynasty. It was founded in 1776 by order of King Jeongjo of Joseon (as a major policy arm of his government), at which time it was located on the grounds of Changdeokgung. Today known as Kyujanggak Royal Library, the Kyujanggak Archives are maintained by Kyujanggak Institute for Korean Studies at the Seoul National University, located in Sillim-dong, Gwanak District, Seoul. The archive functions as a key repository of Korean historical records and a centre for research and publication of an annual journal titled Kyujanggak.
In 1782, the Outer Kyujanggak library (known as Oegyujanggak) was built in the ancient royal palace on Ganghwado to accommodate an overflow of books from the main Kyujanggak library at Changdeokgung in Seoul, where the royal viewing copies were kept, and most of the viewing copies were transferred there.
The library's role underwent various changes after the Gabo Reforms of 1894. In 1922, it was moved under the jurisdiction of Keijo Imperial University, which later gave rise to the Seoul National University. The library moved to its present location in 1990 and became independent of the Seoul National University Central Library in 1992.
In 1922, during the Japanese occupation of Korea many volumes of books including 167 of Uigwe, along with some 1,000 other relics, stored at the main Gyujanggak library at Changdeokgung were also taken to Japan. In August 2010, then-Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan announced the return of the Uigwe to mark the centenary of the Japanese annexation of Korea. After a 16-month process 1,200 volumes including 150 Uigwe were returned in December 2011, and subsequently kept at the National Palace Museum of Korea.Lee, Claire "Looted Korean royal texts return home" Korea Herald. 6 December 2011. Retrieved 2012-04-23
In addition, it has royal, government, private documents, such as land transactions and power of attorney and maps on natural geography and the state of society of Joseon Dynasty. The antique maps include a provincial map of 1872, a plotting-paper map stamped by Bibyeonsa, a Joseon map, and an eight-province map. It also has a database of Government records with 110 volumes in ten kinds kept by each provincial and gun office, 99 collections of compiled official documents, foreign diplomacy documents kept by each province, 149 volumes of foreign trade-related materials, 180 volumes of court proceeding records. The materials depicts how the nation took modernization policies and coped with aggressions of Western powers. The court proceeding records, from 1894 to 1910, provide information on life style of people from various walks of life, their way of thinking, and acts of the State. It also includes book titles plates and Naegak illyeok, at 1,249 volumes, a daily record of affairs kept by the Gyujanggak Royal Library from 1779 to 1883. Its contents are not found in other chronological documents covering the same period.
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