Charlotte is home to the Asian Library, the largest private Asian library in the United States, located at 1339 Baxter Street in Charlotte’s Cherry neighborhood. It holds over 132,000 books: 7,400 in Japanese, 19,500 in Vietnamese, 38,500 in Korean, 33,500 in Chinese, and thousands of books written in English about Asian countries and cultures.
Dr. Ki-Hyun Chun founded the Asian Library in October 1985. Chun grew up in Seoul, South Korea, where his father gave him reading assignments to complete before dinner. If the assignment was not completed, he was given a choice of skipping dinner or eating dinner but receiving a spanking after.
A young Chun often faced his father’s ultimatum by eating dinner and knowing he was in for spanking right after. As he got older, he came to understand the value of his father‘s lesson about the importance of reading. When Chun moved to America in the 1970s, he missed the books he used to read at home and realized that many of the Asian people who immigrated could not bring any books with them, especially books in their native language.
Chun told his father of his revelation, and his father suggested that he start a library. So, in 1985, Chun opened the Asian Library, which couldn’t have come at a better time as Charlotte’s Asian population was beginning to grow rapidly. Today, North Carolina’s Asian population is the fastest-growing racial/ethnic group in the state. The state’s Asian population is highly concentrated. Over half of the population lives in three counties: Wake, Mecklenburg, and Guilford.
In 1990, just five years after the library’s opening, Charlotte’s Asian population was roughly 8,000 and has continued to grow steadily; in 2023, the Asian population had grown to a little over 56,000 people or 6.6% of Charlotte’s total population.
The Asian Library is the product of over 50 years of collecting by Chun and his three children. They purchased truckloads of books directly from Asian countries and from cities with larger Asian populations, like Los Angeles and New York. The library is two stories tall with books of all genres, from classics like Anna Karenina to science fiction.
The Asian Library is not just a place to check out a great book. The library also serves as an Asian cultural center and meeting place for community groups. In the past, they have offered summer camps and after-school tutoring where students can learn to read and write Chinese. They host Chinese karaoke nights, Filipino language school, and Vietnamese birthday celebrations. Various organizations use the library as a meeting space; nonprofits can use it as a free meeting space. You can become a lifetime library member for $10.
Chun has made several other contributions to Charlotte and its Asian community. In 1993, he started the Asian Herald Newspaper, which publishes in English, Chinese, Korean, and Vietnamese. He also founded the Carolinas Asian-American Chamber of Commerce and helped to organize and founded Charlotte Presbyterian Church in 1977, the first Korean church in Charlotte. Chun and his many contributions to Charlotte and its Asian community have stood the test of time and continue to be assets to the community.
