1. ISBN13: 9781598800593
2. Condition: NEW
3. Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.

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1. ISBN13: 9781741047745
2. Condition: NEW
3. Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
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Editorial Review :

Discover Seoul

Find out how eating with chopsticks made of metal can prevent assassination
Learn the secret to navigating Seoul streets - be the only traveler in town who isn't lost!
Check the dress code for a daytrip to one of the weirdest places on earth, the Demilitarized Zone between North and South Korea
Shop 24 hours a day at the raucous Namdaemun Market

In This Guide:

Weeks of rigorous on-the-ground research by two expert authors: one an experienced travel writer, the other based right here in Seoul
Discover Seoul's hidden, winding back-street alleyways - explore the city that even the local expats never find
How to indulge your tastebuds at any time of the day or night - where to sample the best fiery traditional barbequed beef strips or Italian-Korean fusion foods

Customer Review :

Stay Away.

After reading the negatives reviews for this book, I went to B&N to judge for myself. Conclusion, stay away. That is all that I have to say....I can't really add upon the negative comments herein, yet that they are indeed valid.

That's all.

Rating :

A good guide to Seoul

I've been in Seoul for over a month and have used this guide to see most of the sights and to find my way around. I've been very satisfied with it. Seoul is an extremely difficult city to navigate, and this book helps get around. The maps could be a bit more user friendly, but in general they are helpful and the descriptions of the tourist sights have been accurate. Since I have an apartment here, I can't speak to the hotel recommendations. I was surprised to see all the negative reviews already posted, but perhaps the new edition (which is what I am using) is better than previosu editions.

Rating :

Some useful information

Like other reviewers have said, this book has some useful information in it, but many many inaccuracies as well. The maps are generally not helpful and some of the locations in the book no longer exist. Besides this, almost every subway exit direction in the book that I tried to use was wrong ... often the exact opposite exit of what was actually the right one.

If you just use the book for ideas on things to do and places to go, then its a very useful reference. Using it for anything more, though, will probably lead to frustration.

Rating :

Seoul City Guide

Great book! Very informative and very helpful. Definitely taking it with me to the city to use. It is small and convenient for packing and carrying.

Rating :

Good Resource for First Time People

I thought that this is a very good starting point for Seoul. It has all the facts that a first time traveler would need. I have been to Seoul before so this was a refresher for me. From what I remember, directions are always precarious in Seoul. Most people give directions to subway station and such. Seoul is always changing. New subways go in, new bus routes, and restaurants open and close all the time. One of the things that the book did very well was talk to locals that live in Seoul. [...]

Thanks Lonely Planet for pointing me in the right direction,

Jeff

Rating :

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1. ISBN13: 9780761454892
2. Condition: NEW
3. Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
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Editorial Review :

With over three million copies in print, CultureShock! is a bestselling series of culture and etiquette guides covering countless destinations around the world. For anyone at risk of culture shock, whether a tourist or a long-term resident, CultureShock! provides a sympathetic and fun-filled crash course on the do's and don'ts in foreign cultures. Fully updated and sporting a fresh new look, the revised editions of these books enlighten and inform through such topics as language, food and entertaining, social customs, festivals, relationships, and business tips. CultureShock! books are packed with useful details on transportation, taxes, finances, accommodation, health, food and drink, clothes, shopping, festivals, and much, much more.

Customer Review :

Shedding Light on the Korean Enigma

I have a lot of Korean friends and I wanted to better understand them so my search for a more knowledge of their culture led me to this book. I was fascinated by it. However, since my copy of the book was last revised in 2000 I wondered if some of the material might be out of date. Some of it didn't seem to agree with the images shown in most Korean television soap operas and popular music shows I also watch. After finishing the book I decided to ask some of my Korean friends if the material I had questions about was indeed out of date. One such question was whether most of South Korea still has public restrooms shared by men and women at the same time. The book said women walk nonchalantly past the backs of men using the urinals on their way to use a stall with a door. Once inside a public restroom's bathroom stall there will often be no toilet, simply a hole in the tile floor over which to squat like I've often found in Paris and other regions of France.
I asked several of my Korean friends and was surprised to learn that the book is perfectly accurate on both those facts. Other of my doubts included the almost universal adherence to Korean shaman fortunetellers (Mudands) and their advice (kuts and kosas). And the fact that most dining is done in near silence with everyone paying close attention to just eating and not talking. That's still very much the case according to my friends from South Korea. Heavy drinking is also a universal fact among Korean men. It's part of all social and business dealings.
That said I found this book very, very helpful. It was more helpful than a couple of the travel guides I own that are more recent because it goes into depth about why things are done the way they are in modern Korea. People act differently and it often takes a lifetime to understand the proper ways Korea citizens treat each other and why. Business relationships are often permanent and based more on which grade school a person attended with his associates than skill at performing a certain job. Family, school and military connections are more important to business relationships than performance. Saving face is of major importance in Korea. Friendships are formal and a normal part of business and networking. Relationships between different social and business classes are very structured. One doesn't have to study much of the language to understand why the Korean word for "yes" sounds like "no" in most other languages and the method of saying "no" requires several phrases. Saying "no" in Korean is a major skill requiring much diplomacy and practice. We Americans would consider the way "no" is used in Korea as "beating around the bush" and avoiding answering the question.
For any Westerner who hopes to understand modern day Korea this book is a good primer. Just watching Korean television doesn't give a true picture of the nation. The Korean Soap Operas go out of their way to show the most modern, most perfect image of a booming Modern Korea. Korean television's popular music shows give no hint of the standard of living and are every bit as slick as the same kind of shows shown in the USA. The plots of the soap operas still reflect the history and cultural ways of Korea. Reading this book greatly increased my ability to understand much of what I watch on Korean television and why some of the plots and humor seem so convoluted.
Kipling said something to the effect that "East is east and west is West and Never Do The Two Meet." His advice is still right on the mark. You can take the Koreans out of Korea, but you can't take Korea out of the Koreans. Korea has a rich and fascinating history. It had invented and was using movable type to print more than two centuries before Guttenberg introduced his movable type printing press to the western world.

Rating :

Need To Know Basis

This is a great book with a lot of information you need to know if you are going to Korea, or even if you're just interacting with a Korean here at home.

Rating :

Great guide to Korea's culture

I am currently on route to my destination in Korea (have just landed in Seoul) but I have read most of this boook during the 12 hour flight here. I found it very user friendly and informative. I'm not sure how up to date it is (many cultural changes have taken place in Korea in the last 15 years) but it is very helpful in explaining cultural norms and how to make a good impression as a foreigner. Highly recommend if you are travelling to Korea for a long period of time (I am going for a year)

Rating :

2008 edition

For being an introductory read, this book rocks my socks. I highly recommend this book for beginners of the language, expatriates, Koreanists, people with Korean travel plans, and anyone doing business in any form with Koreans. It's that good. I've read my share of culture books and resources but I feel that this book (namely, this edition) demystifies several Korean cultural idiosyncrasies in a clear way that is easy for anyone to understand.

I applaud the authors for including a do-and-don't list. I feel that this helps clear up some questions left by other resources. It's true, most things Korean-related (as with any culture) usually aren't cut-and-dry and objective enough to make a list but I still feel that the authors were tasteful and appropriate in their advice.

This book kind of reminds me of a cross between Moon Handbooks - Korea and Culture Smart! Korea rolled into one. There's useful info on holidays, work ethic, psyche, travel destinations, and living abroad. This book deserves a look. It's a quick read with pleasing aesthetics and well-divided topics.

You'll thank yourself later for this one.

Rating :

fantastic

This book makes me LOVE LIFE! Get it if you plan on going to Korea, or just find the ideals of other countries interesting.

Rating :

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1. ISBN13: 9780470181911
2. Condition: NEW
3. Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.

Editorial Review :

This brand new first edition of Frommer's South Korea features in-depth coverage of this increasingly popular destination, from the cities of Seoul and Busan to the DMZ border area to Jeju Island, the "Island of the Gods." Our author Cecilia Hae-Jin Lee is a first-generation Korean American who passes along insider's tips and insights into Korean culture, plus a Korean recipe or two (Lee is also a respected cook and cookbook author). She'll steer you away from the touristy and the inauthentic and show you the real heart of South Korea. Eat a Hanjeongsik (full-course meal) in a neighborhood cafe in Seoul, attend the Pusan Film Festival, shop for the country's best fabrics (ramie fabrics) at the markets in Hansan, and hike Seoraksan (or just buy the area's famous mushrooms and honey)--plus seek out tea houses, limestone caves, Buddhist temples, hot springs, battlegrounds, and parks throughout the region.

You'll travel South Korea like a pro with our candid advice and handy Korean-language glossary. Also included are accurate regional and town maps, up-to-date advice on finding the best package deals, a glossary of Korean cuisine, and an online directory that makes trip-planning a snap!

Customer Review :

Avoid this awful guide at all costs!

Just to note, this review focuses on portions of the book dedicated to Seoul.

I have to agree with what has been said in previous reviews. This is a deeply flawed guide.
To give them the benefit of the doubt, this is probably geared for the very, very casual tourist who just wants to see the top touristy sites and not delve into the local culture.

There are very few maps in this book, and none are very useful. They only stick to the more popular sites, and for such a jammed packed city, you will be missing a lot of cool stuff. Street names on maps is a must for an aimless wanderer like me, {even Lonely Planet sometimes comes up lacking in this regard}, but some of the Frommer's neighborhood maps for Seoul are just atrocious. Entire neighborhoods are reduced to just a few named roads and a couple of dozen blank lines.
They have very limited map indexes, and no map page references in the attraction listings, so no fast flipping back and forth between the two like you can with the Lonely Planet guides. You have to turn back and forth to try to find the corresponding map, if there even is one.

The lack of vital information in the maps is not the only place they dumb it down. Their directions to points of interest often contain no more than a subway station name and number followed by a series of turns left or right. This can simplify things sometimes, but with no street names so you know where you are walking to, and no time frame to figure out how long a walk it should be, we often overshot our target. What really burned me was when they would say, "walk in the direction of" something (like a school), but not have the aforementioned landmark on the map or to even show the Korean text so we could try to recognize it.
The total absence of Korean text was a real bummer. This comes in handy when you need a cab and don't speak the language (of course the book fails to mention when you really need one).

Just a tip: If visiting the Seoul Tower via subway and then cable car, their directions take you on a steep 25 min. hike uphill just to get to the cable car. An easier, faster route is to get off at the Myeongdong station. Use exit 4, walk straight until you hit the next major intersection (Banporo), turn left and walk one (long) block till you hit the Funicular tram that will take you up the hill straight to the cable car. This may be new, as it wasn't included in the book, and it will save some strength you will need for the stairs you will encounter further up.

Combined with a printout of the WikiTravel guide, you can get around with relative ease and see all the major things to see, but don't expect much more. We were lucky to have a friend in the city to show us the true heart of Seoul, but this is the first time using a guidebook where we felt we needed that kind of help.
We never felt lost, but with this book alone, we never would have experienced the best of Korean culture and hospitality.

When we return, and I really hope we do, it will be with a different book.




Rating :

Informative Korean travel guide

well, there aren't too many travel guides for korea out there. i came across this one and found it interesting. i have to say, thanks to frommer's for finally introducing a travel guide to korea. i look forward to taking it on my journey!

Rating :

Epic Fail

As a frequent traveler to Korea, as a Korean linguist, and as a huge fan of Korean culture, I was thrilled to learn that a new guide to South Korea was being published. I ran to the store to buy it. Wow, what a disappointment! I don't even know where to begin with my condemnation of this tragic tome. Let's start here: as a guide that claims to inform the reader about little-known secrets about this amazing country--well, there are none. The Lonely Planet Guide and the Moon Guide offer 10 times more information. Also, there is MUCH out of date info. The author recommends shoppers to visit the Freya Town department store in Dongdaemun. That building was demolished years ago. She claims that dental floss is impossible to find--it is available at any convenience store. This factoid was probably "borrowed" from an earlier edition of the Lonely Planet guide when, years ago, this was the truth.
Even worse: when she does recommend the usual tourist-trap restaurants that both above-mentioned guides cite, she only gives the address. No map. Well, the first thing the first-time traveler to Korea needs to know is that Korean addresses are WORTHLESS. It's not like in the West, where buildings are numbered incrementally--you won't find numbers on buildings in Korea, as building numbers are only assigned to buildings as they are built. These numbers are used only by the post office. To find out a particular location in Korea, Koreans describe what is the near the building in question, or they fax each other maps.
What is more, whereas Lonely Planet uses BOTH the Ministry of Education transliteration system AND the Korean letters (Hangeul), the author saw fit to eschew Hangeul completely and use her own sloppy, inconsistent, misleading, and incomprehensible transliteration system. In short, the novice to Korea will be completely baffled. To make matters even worse, she includes a glossary of Korean and of Korean foods at the end of the work. Although the English seems fine, there are numerous mistakes in the Korean language she uses, and in some cases, the Korean and English terms don't even match up!
Shall I go on and on? For those who want to buy electronic devices, she mentions Yongsan Electronics Mart in Seoul and doesn't even mention Technomart, a much smarter place for foreigners to buy electronics. She mentions the most expensive places to stay in Jeonju but doesn't even mention that the best places to stay in Jeonju are right by the train station (most people go to Jeonju for the excellent food and the international film festival).
More? the author includes a subway map of Daegu, but not that of Seoul? Where is the wisdom in this decision? How many first time visitors to Korea will EVER go to Daegu. Highly unlikely.
Worst of all, the author recommends that visitors go to the DMZ as their first trip out of Seoul. Wow. No place on Earth is more boring. Anyone who has visited Korea will tell you this. It takes an entire day to go, there is a dress code, and the only food available is an expensive, tasteless, foreigner-based quasi version of the real stuff.
I could go on and on. I am so disgusted with Frommer's for allowing this unedited travesty to be published. Save your money. Buy the Lonely Planet Guide to Korea (and also their very good guide to Seoul). If you want lots of background info on cultural sites and Korean history also buy the Moon guide. Frommer's guide is just a waste of money. What a shame.

Rating :

Thank you.

Finally Frommers puts out a traveling guide for Korea. I've used their books before and will use again. Just in Time for my visiting. Thanks!

Rating :

Exactly what I needed.

This guidebook to South Korea was exactly what I needed as someone coming to live in the country. It is well organized and gives recommendations for several types of visitors including families.

Rating :

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1. ISBN13: 9781598805451
2. Condition: NEW
3. Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.

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