Public libraries have become a center for diversified cultural education and exchange following recent socioeconomic development in Korea and China. The concept of universal design is relevant to public libraries because people of all ages and ability levels make use of public libraries. China followed the footsteps of South Korea in introducing universal design. The purpose of this study is to analyze the current status of universal design application in public libraries of both countries, Korea and China. For this purpose, 82 items for the application of universal design are selected through literature reviews. An evaluation framework of universal design is developed. For this study, five public libraries in Seoul and Beijing are respectively selected to conduct a field investigations and case analyses. After that, the collected data are analyzed to understand the application status of universal design in Korea and China. By comparing and analyzing the differences in the application of universal design in Korea, plans to improve universal design in Chinese public libraries are proposed. Following the research results, the conclusions are: first, public libraries in Korea and China are not accommodating enough in guiding and marking, and they lack information guidance for individuals with visual impairment, hearing impairment, foreigners, and other groups; second, while China has relevant standards for universal design, their effective applications are lacking. As a result, the universal design application of Korean public libraries is more satisfying than that of China; lastly, eight suggestions are proposed to enhance the implementation of universal design in public libraries. This will serve as foundation for future research and promotion of universal design in China.