Korea (Country Guide) | 
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Product Description
Discover Korea
Dirty yourself clean at the Mud House - one of Korea's many public baths.
Forget hot dogs - snack on dried squid at a baseball game.
Vow to get fitter as a wizened Korean lady overtakes you on the climb up Seongsan Ilchulbong.
Steady yourself for the sight of 100,000 people participating in the North's Mass Games.
In This Guide:
Four expert authors, 68 detailed maps, 189 boiled silkworms.
Expanded information on North Korea tours.New Activities chapter including detailed advice for hiking up Hallasan.
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Customer Reviews:
• Avoid At All Costs 07 January, 2008
I've used Lonely Planets for years. I like some more than others, and there's a few issues I have with the series, but they've always been a useful general guide to my travels.
However this book is a new low and I can't recommend people away from it enough. Literally every single time I tried to follow the advice the book gave, the information ended up being incorrect or outdated or amazingly vague.
A quick example is the Sa Rang Chae guest house in Gyeongju - it didn't give an address, and the phone number didn't work, but the description and location on the map indicated a general area to look. When I got to this general area, the guesthouse was nowhere to be found. I later learned that the guesthouse had moved locations four years ago, and had been e-mailing and mailing LP for several editions, trying to get them to update their information. Similarly, the restaurants and cafes they recommended for that city were nowhere to be found - it was worse than useless.
Their maps are terrible, particularly in Seoul. They generally don't list street names on the map. They also tend to skip a large number of smaller streets - but without names, it's hard to guess if the street was skipped or not. So trying to use an LP map involves an awful lot of guesswork. Korean people were often very kind helping confused tourists such as myself, but they also couldn't understand the maps, because even if the street had names on it, there was no Hangul, only Roman characters.
Addresses were very rarely given. So finding their recommendations boiled down to trying to use a small map with no street names. If using this book, make sure to confirm every single destination with a google search.
The KNTO releases very excellent free travel books, they can either be ordered, viewed on the web (unfortunately it requires Active-X), or picked up at the information booth in the Seoul/Incheon airport - google tour2korea and go to "e-books." That and wikitravel (which is sparse and often vague, but at least generally accurate) is definitely a better option than Lonely Planet. Don't waste any money on this.
- Reviewed by customer ID: A2EVQ8S7FMLGL
• Review 22 June, 2008
Typical of the Lonely Planet series, this book is full of interesting and necessary information. From sightseeing, to restaurants and accomodation, I found it to be a good help. It also gives a great insight into the history and culture of Korea, with a food chapter and a language chapter included. It's not the bible but I would definitely recommend this book to anyone going to Korea. You should also supplement it with stuff from the net or your local Korean tourist office etc.
- Reviewed by customer ID: AQIVHXHIDXRDW
• (not Really A) Lonely Planet 29 April, 2008
Lonely Planet produces some of the best guidebooks available, so it should come as no surprise that their book on Korea is complete, concise, and interesting.
Pros: This guide book has it all, from Korean phrases and vocabulary, to fun getaways, trails off the beaten path and of course, lots of information on hotels and restaurants.
Cons: Can't think of many, although Seoul needs its own book. (Which Lonely Planet makes, actually!) Also, my copy was slightly out-dated, (2004). Unfortunately, many fast-growing areas have completely changed since the book's first printing.
- Reviewed by customer ID: A1J1L81RQS9F8W
• Lonely Planet Korea 17 March, 2008
This book was a very comprehensive and honest guide to the country. It also included a section on North Korea and the possibility of travelling there. I found the information useful in order to decide where to go and the cost of living in Korea.
- Reviewed by customer ID: A1FSLPTJU40WOM
• Good For Getting Around 28 October, 2007
This is a decent guide book, but not a great one. Where is the old LP tongue-in-cheek humor that helped make it the guidebook it... was? And how about a cultural tidbit or anecdotal morsel that hasn't been airbrushed, hermetically sealed, and filed under PC. Oh, well. I suppose those days are over.
But seriously now folks, this Lonely Planet Korea will enable you to steer your way through the country's primary cities and chief tourist attractions, and, as usual, the recommended places to stay are well chosen and exactly as described. I used this book on a recent trip to Seoul and Incheon and found it to be entirely adequate and even exceptional in places. Some people I ran into were using (I believe it's called) the Moon Handbook, which looked to be much more comprehensive, especially in terms of non-travel related information. Indeed, it had more than 800 pages as I remember. It all depends on what you want: Korea Lite or Korea Loaded. Either way, enjoy your travels in what must be the dried squid capital of the world.
Troy Parfitt, author
- Reviewed by customer ID: A1XXSZCR3FAVAK
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