Gyeonggi Library (경기도서관) has joined 1,000 handmade yarn panels into a large canopy to celebrate its first anniversary, turning contributions from citizens across South Korea into shade for outdoor reading. 1 Installed in the library’s Dodamtteul plaza (도담뜰), the finished covering measures 15 meters by 15 meters. 2
The canopy is the result of Geuneureul Billyeodeurilgeyo (그늘을 빌려드릴게요), a citizen participation project that brought together donated materials, knitting workshops and contributions from around the country. 1 Its making extended across several months, from summer workshops to the collection of finished handiwork in October. 1
From donated yarn to handmade panels
In July and August, the library held knitting workshops using 871 donated balls of yarn. 1 Citizens and the collaborating company Nagyangmosa supplied yarn for the project. 2 Support also included citizens’ donations of money and goods: NewsPim reports that these contributions, together with the company’s yarn donation, provided all the materials used. 1 Giving materials and making panels were both ways citizens contributed to the undertaking. 1
In October, handmade panels made to a 30-centimeter specification arrived at the library from knitting communities and citizens across the country. 1 The making was distributed among those contributors, while the library became the gathering point for their finished pieces. 1 Joining the collected panels was the step that changed the separate contributions into one large covering for the plaza. 1
The project involved 488 people nationwide, with participation extending through 11 city and county libraries in Gyeonggi Province, 20 organizations, citizen clubs and individual contributors. 2 That combination gave the project both an institutional network and contributions from people taking part through their own clubs or individually. 2 Provincial libraries were part of the effort, while the makers also included citizens elsewhere in South Korea. 1 2
An outdoor reading space with a purpose
According to Gyeonggi Province’s October 22, 2026, announcement, the canopy was installed on October 19, and the plaza space was scheduled to operate as an outdoor reading zone through October 25. 2 The anniversary installation gives the collected handiwork a practical role at the library: providing a shaded place for visitors to read outdoors. 1
The library developed the project by reinterpreting a citizen-made yarn shade campaign carried out in Spain in response to the climate crisis, adapting the initiative to a Korean cultural setting. 1 Its anniversary celebration therefore drew on an existing example of collective craft rather than presenting the shade-making idea as a practice originating at this library. 1
Library director Yun Myeong-hui described the assembled panels as an expression of the warmth citizens shared with one another and a valuable record of climate action. 1 The director expressed hope that bringing together small, everyday hobbies and interests could contribute to community solidarity and a response to the climate crisis. 1 The aspiration centered on participation through activities people enjoy, with the director emphasizing that climate action need not depend on grand gestures. 2
The hands behind the shade
Alongside the canopy, the library presents Billin Son (빌린 손), a photography exhibition covering the project’s preparation, making and installation. 2 Presented during the canopy’s display period, it includes the collection and production process as well as portraits of the participating citizens—the people behind the handiwork overhead. 1
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