Reviews (5)

a gem of a book on north korea
Robert Willoughby's travel guide to North Korea is fascinating on two counts.In the first instance, on the travel front itself, the author has covered several far-flung corners of the country, going beyond the more accessible capital city of P'yongyang, the Diamond Mountain resort, and the tourist-oriented luxuries of Mount Myohang.Although it is not always clear how Willoughby--or those others who contributed to his book--won permission to visit these remote locations, the guide book is explicit in pointing out that few if any foreigners are free to roam the country at will.Visits must generally be part of package tours, most of which originate in China, and the severely underdeveloped road and public transportation systems limit the number of cities that can be accessed.
August 2005 Trip to DPRK
I found the Bradt travel guide indispensable.I traveled to the DPRK in August 2005.I am a U.S. citizen.The trip was arranged through the National Lawyers Guild.I and another lawyer from the US represented the NLG at the 60th Anniversary Liberation Day events in Pyongyang. The trip was routed through China.I believe the NLG picked me because I have good contacts in China and I speak Chinese.
Hints for US citizens?
I actually did travel to North Korea, through the Korean FriendshipAssociation. This is about the only way non NGO Americans can make their way into the Hermit Kingdom. I am wondering if this book gives Americans any advice as to how to get into the country. I would love to see past the major showcase cities we were allowed to tour. Nowadays you have to be prepared to 'Praise the Leader" everyday if you want to take the KFA trip. Not a good idea for those Americans who would ever like to visit South Korea or fly on an airplane. I bet the CIA has your picture before you even land in Pyongyang...
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Subjects:  1. Asia - Korea    2. Asia - Southwest    3. Travel    4. Travel - Foreign    5. North Korea    6. Travel & holiday guides    7. Travel / Asia / Southwest   

Reviews (8)

A sell for "The Coldest War"
As a previous reviewer I thought that Brady's book would be more of a focus on the DMZ and perhaps show some insight into "the scariest place."I did enjoy his war time reminiscences but that wasn't why I purchased his book.I didn't particularly care for his 'how he belatedly was awarded the Bronze Star,' and chumming around with colonels and generals at galas and such as it sounded like 'how great I am after all.'Oh, and by the way, Senator Chafee was my CO.I got tired of Mr. Brady selling his earlier pub,"The Marines of Autumn" (which is a fine read) but in particular I did not like him pimping (perhaps a bit too strong) his "The Coldest War."There are sections of the book where he cites this book seemingly every other page.After awhile I started to feel a bit sorry for Mr. Brady which is too bad as I'm sure that he was a fine officer for his Marines of Dog Company.It's an ok book for what it is but it really isn't about "the scariest place."

Reunion with Combat
The Scariest Place in the World by James Brady. Published by St. Martin's Press 11 April 2006. Paperback. ISBN 0312332432.
A warm look back at a cold and scary place
Man... Talk about crabby... Everyone else who's reviewed this book so far here don't seem to be impressed. But I always enjoy James Brady's writing and this book was no exception. It's a memoir, of course. The underlying theme of the book is the march of time and how one looks back at -- or in this case, returns to -- a specific geographic place where youthful impressions were made, ideals died or changed... Where a young, unsure Marine officer discovered he did, in fact, have what it took to lead Marines in combat.
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Subjects:  1. 1928-    2. Asia - Korea    3. Biography & Autobiography    4. Biography / Autobiography    5. Biography/Autobiography    6. Brady, James,    7. Description and travel    8. Korea (South)    9. Korean Demilitarized Zone (Kor    10. Korean Demilitarized Zone (Korea)    11. Korean War, 1950-1953    12. Military    13. Personal narratives, American    14. Biography & Autobiography / Military   

Reviews (9)

Lonely Planet
Short passages about all sights and sites one might want to visit.Would be a good book to have there with you as you sightsee.

Helpful for Newbies
Having never been to Seoul this book was very helpful for finding attractions.I did not use the book for accomodation or dinner recommendations though.A particularly convenient aspect of the book was that it told you which subway exit to leave from for a lot of the attractions.When subway stops commonly have many exits it makes it that much quicker.

Learning about Seoul
Being first time travelers to Korea, we wondered what it would be like. A friend recommended that we order this book. We found it very helpful in answering many of our questions. We alsoreferred to the book on several occasions while in Seoul, confirming our memory of its contents, such as the custom in tipping for services and to remind us of the below ground shopping experiences available within the city.We would recommend the book to others.We also ordered the Korean Phrasebook which we did not use at all -- it was not necessary or helpful for our use. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Asia - Far East    2. Asia - Korea    3. Travel    4. Travel - Foreign    5. Travel Guides    6. South Korea    7. Travel & holiday guides   

Reviews (24)

Too many pages, yet missing details you'll need
I travel to Korea on business trips lasting 2-3 weeks, and the many sightseeing days mixed into those frequent trips has allowed me to evaluate this and several other Korea guides. While Lonely Planet's guide covers Korea efficiently, in 400 pages, by including details you'll need, and leaving out details on obscure cities rarely visited, I found that Handbooks' South Korea includes too many sections of rambling historical notes, and coverage of rarely visited cities.For example, Lonely Planet covers Busan's Geumgang Fortress in less than half the text used by Moon Handbooks; however, Moon Handbooks fails to provide adequate directions on getting there, and forgets to warn of the maddening crowds found on holidays, and weekends - important info included in Lonely Planet Korea. Faced with the challenge of Busan's tens of thousands of restaurants, Moon Handbooks chooses to review NONE and only suggests city areas to look for them, while Lonely Planet Korea gives us helpful reviews of specific restaurants. If like me you plan on spending more than a few days in Seoul, you'll find it useful to combine Lonely Planet Korea with Lonely Planet Seoul, because the latter includes far more detail for your Seoul visit.Be sure to visit the tourist information centers (found in major airports) upon your arrival and get the free city maps.I suggest you withdraw extra Won from the ATM's in Seoul (or Busan's Gimhae airport) because you'll find ATM's that accept international cards very difficult to find in cities outside Seoul. Don't buy Moon Handbooks' South Korea unless you're planning a Korea trip length of over a month and need details on obscure cities, and want pages of historical info on every city.

In the long haul, superior to Lonely Planet
Out of curiousity, when considering my next trip to Korea, I purchased the Moon Handbooks South Korea.I already had the 5th and 6th editions of the Lonely Planet Korea books, and am a self-avowed fan of Lonely Planet.On reviewing the Moon book, and comparing it to the LP products, I have to admit to being impressed by the breadth of coverage of Korea by the Moon Handbook.I lived there for a year (in Gumi, near Daegu), and have visited twice more for several weeks, but there were places mentioned in the Moon book that I was totally unaware of, despite spending several days in some areas with my LP guide book.In fact, Gumi isn't even mentioned in the LP at all (except on a map), while the Moon book does have a brief section about the city, which surprised me, as the only thing of note in Gumi is the fact that it is the birthplace of President Park Chung-hee.
Probably more info you'll ever need
This book is very informative. My Korean-native friend has reviewed this book, and she said this is a very good book. Most of what is said is accurate, unlike many other travel books. This book includes a brief section of Korean vocabulary and dialogue, which will be helpful for my trip. I plan to visit Korea in 2 months. I have no prior knowledge of Korea and its culture. After reading parts of this book, I am a bit more confident in my travels. Haven't made the trip yet, but I'll see how useful this book really is. Don't expect to see colorful pictures in this book. In fact this is just black and white. If you're into history, geography, and social studies about Korea, this book is the book to have also. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Asia - Far East    2. Asia - Korea    3. Travel    4. Travel - Foreign    5. Travel Guides - U.S.    6. ASIA    7. South Korea    8. Travel & holiday guides   

Reviews (11)

Korea is a wonderful country
This book gives you tips on the exciting, but not hastily endeavored world of teaching in Korea. I had wonderful experiences in Korea and married a kind, gentle, Korean man.
Great Tips, Great Country
Teaching in Korea was one of the best experiences in my life. I learned a lot about myself and about another culture. I met my wife there, too! And I became a very good teacher (even earning a Teacher of the Month award at my school). The kids were hysterical.
Good introduction to the area...
This book does everything it says it will, it gives a basic and helpful introduction to the field. Knowing nothing about teaching English abroad, I read the other reviews and decided to purchase this book-- it's an indispensible guide. It didnt cover every imaginable area, but it doesnt have to. It lists some valuable resources as well-- though I think some might be a little outdated? An updated version might be nice. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Language    2. Employment    3. English as a Second Language    4. Korea    5. Teaching    6. Travel   

Reviews (4)

Great Resource
My husband and I travel and live all over Asia and we love the Insight Guides and the DK guides.When we first started traveling we would buy the lonely planet and the insight or DK guide.But we found that we never used the lonely planet.We found it was far too detailed and had out of the way places that we weren't interested in.The Insight guides sift through all of the sights and show the best ones.We have never been disappointed with the information in the guides.While we were living in the countries and traveling veraciously we still didn't have time to visit all of the places in the Insight guide.The Insight guides have all the highlights are enjoyable to read and provide enough details for us to make all the hotel and flight reservations.The Insight Guides have well-researched and accessible history and culture sections.When we move we always buy a guide for our family to read so they have a better understanding of where we live and always enjoy the colorful pictures and well-written articles.

Wonderful as always
I've bought bought many Insight Guides through the years, and this one runs true to form--lavishly illustrated, chock full of information on the history, culture and people of Korea. As others mention, these guides are not good for hotel and restaurant information, but they're not intended to be--in fact, you may not even want to carry it along on the trip. But for research they're indispensible. A note: I have not gone to Korea but used this book in an English class for adult Korean students. They gave it a big thumbs up, said it "has everything." They would know!

if you only buy three travel guides, buy this one third
Beautiful pictures, good cultural info at the beginning, a little thin on the actual information on places, which I assume what a traveller/ tourist needs most, right after a willingness to see new things and meet new people. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Asia - Far East    2. Asia - Korea    3. Guidebooks    4. Korea (South)    5. Travel    6. Travel - Foreign    7. Travel Guides   

Reviews (16)

Culture Shock Korea style
Very interesting book about the differences in Korean culture and how to fit in in a new culture.Some editing mistakes, but a good read.

Korean Culture Awareness
Excellent book on Korea. Gives details on what to expect and how to react. Many things that I did not know....
An OK book, but a good travel guide is more useful
This book was OK, but I wish that I had just spent my money on a good travel guide (Moon Handbook Guide to S. Korea by Robert Nilsen) because most of the information was superficial. Worth a look into if you are in a bookstore or library, but otherwise I would just save my money. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Asia - Korea    2. Etiquette    3. Korea (South)    4. Reference - General    5. Social life and customs    6. Travel    7. Travel - Foreign    8. Travel - General   

Reviews (5)

Perfect? No.Insulting? I didn't think so.
As a Westerner who has lived in Seoul for two years, I was quite intrigued by Simon Winchester's look at the country back in the 1980s, back in the days of the military dictatorship, a Korea that I never knew.
A Big Disappointment
I picked up this book hoping to get some insight into Korean life, culture, and customs.The subtitle--"A Walk Through the Land of Miracles" was also very appealing.However, Winchester should have subtitled this book--"Why I Hate Korea".His condescending attitude drips off of every word.
An arrogant westerner's view of Korea
This book details the author's walking tour in South Korea in the late 80's. Though tidbits of interesting historical and cultural facts are included, they were written in a disorganized and anecdotal manner. Occasionally careless statements about the Koreans and Asians were made, clearly with exaggeration or overgeneralization.
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Subjects:  1. Asia - General    2. Asia - Korea    3. Description And Travel    4. Korea (South)    5. Travel    6. Travel - Foreign    7. Winchester, Simon    8. Travel / Asia / General   

Reviews (1)

The must-hav-right-now gay guide
Only the naive would believe that modernization brought homosexuality to Japan. The Utopia Guide to Japan, South Korea and Taiwan introduces the present state of homosexuality in East Asia, via its historical and literary vintage, and brings it to a manageable head in this must-have handbook. Drink deep!
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Subjects:  1. Asia - General    2. Travel    3. Travel - Foreign    4. ASIA    5. Gay men    6. TRAVEL & HOLIDAY    7. Travel / Asia / General   

Subjects:  1. Maps    2. South Korea    3. Travel / road maps & atlases   

Reviews (4)

transliteration makes lao even more complex than it is
The Lonely Planet phrasebooks are usually a great help travelling around the world. This one however turned out to be creating more problems than solving them. The transliteration is so weird that you actually have to learn two new languages before pronouncing anything closely right. I tried the book with several english speaking lao persons and lao speaking native english speakers while travelling around the country and all had problems with the transliteration. Nothing is like you would naturally pronounce it. For example who would say Khoj if you see Khawy? Lao Phrasebook
Very good book, especially for someone that don't understand a lot of English. They could always use as reference anywhere they go. Again, good book and excellent choice for someone who wants Nifty little phrasebook
The Lonely Planet phrasebooks have come a long way since the days when the foreign script portion was merely hand-written in the space beside the romanized portion. The Lao phrasebook is representative of that new generation, and it is pretty impressive. Along with all the usual categories of phrases one would expect to see (greetings, directions, lodging, food, shopping, health, numbers, dates, emergencies, etc.), the splendidly informative introduction provides an interesting background on the spoken language and script, followed by a great section on pronunciation and grammar. There are interesting cultural notes dispersed throughout the book, and a vocabulary list at the end. Its compact size makes it ideal to carry in one's pocket. On the down side the marking system used in the romanized portion to indicate Lao tones is a little confusing and under-explained, but all-in-all a great little phrasebook. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Asia - General    2. Foreign Language - Dictionaries / Phrase Books    3. Foreign Language Study    4. Korean    5. Polyglot Phrasebooks    6. Southeast Asian    7. Travel    8. Language self-study & phrasebooks    9. Lao    10. Laos    11. Travel & holiday guides   

Reviews (1)

Shopping or Site Seeing - It's a Hard Choice!
South Korea has made a terrific come back since the war.The cultural sites are magnficent and represente thousands of years of history.The shopping couldn't be nicer.The people are very friendly and very honest. The cities and especially the countryside is clean and neat.Read more

Subjects:  1. Asia - Korea    2. Description and travel    3. Guide-books    4. Guidebooks    5. Korea    6. Korea (South)    7. Middle East - General    8. Travel    9. Travel - Foreign    10. China    11. Travel & holiday guides    12. Travel / Asia / General   

Subjects:  1. Korea    2. Travel / road maps & atlases   

Subjects:  1. General    2. Museums, Tours, Points of Interest    3. Travel    4. Travel - Foreign    5. South Korea    6. Travel & holiday guides   

Reviews (7)

Worthless
Korea has the worst reputation in terms of teaching jobs. Look up "Korean school blacklist" on Google and see the State Department's travel advisory on Korea - gives a lot more useful info than this piece of fluff.
Not quite four stars, but a few jewels may make it worth more than three.
When this arrived, I couldn't believe it qualified as a book, so I checked out the product pages. Yup, there it was--50 pages. IMHO, that's a fat pamphlet, and at $7.95, somewhat overpriced.
M Jo hates Korea, not the book
I thought Korea was great, and enjoyed my year there. I was surprised to see the review, and then checked out other Korea books and the same person said the same things about Korea. I doubt M Jo read the book.
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Subjects:  1. Asia - Far East    2. Asia - Korea    3. Business & Economics    4. Business & Economics / Job Hunting    5. Careers - Job Hunting    6. Education    7. Employment    8. English as a Second Language    9. English language    10. English teachers    11. Korea    12. Korea (South)    13. Language and languages    14. Reference - General    15. South Korea    16. Study and teaching    17. Study and teaching as a second language    18. Teachers    19. Teaching Methods & Materials - Language Arts    20. Travel    21. Travel - Foreign    22. Vocational guidance   

Subjects:  1. Asia - Korea    2. Asia - Southeast    3. Etiquette    4. Reference - Tips    5. Travel    6. Travel - Foreign   

Subjects:  1. Korea    2. Travel & holiday guides   

Subjects:  1. Conversation and phrase books    2. English    3. English language    4. Foreign Language - Dictionaries / Phrase Books    5. Korean    6. Korean language    7. Language    8. Polyglot Phrasebooks    9. East & Southeast Asian Languages    10. Foreign Language Study / Korean    11. Language & Linguistics    12. Language self-study & phrasebooks   

Editorial Review

When a Zen master invited Geri Larkin to join him on a spiritualpilgrimage to Korea, she had a spiritually incorrect reaction. One might think"that I would be swept away by emotion, stunned at my good fortune," writesLarkin in Read more

Reviews (6)

Wonderful buddhist read, from a unique perspective. Just read it.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I read it cover-to-cover in the week after receiving it and was helped by it. Geri has the unique distinction in my experience of relating her own experience on her path rather than pointing to an idealized or abstracted one. I found that to be very accessible and easy to relate to. As a bonus, I learned a lot more of the history of Korea than I had known and developed a greater respect for the Korean people.
Flaws and all
In many ways I agree with the previous review, although I draw slightly different conclusions.Often when I travel to other countries (even without an occasionally raging zen teacher; and even without having to constantly worry about the sometimes shifting protocols of new monasteries), I find myself fantasizing about a good omelette or NPR.That's true whether or not I'm trying like hell to be a solid, present little zen practitioner.And actually, that's true on zen retreats, & it's true when driving to the grocery store, for that matter.
Quick Reading
While I did enjoy this book for it's easily digested format, I also found it was somewhat shallow in parts. This book "captures" Larkin's travels with her teacher (Samu Sunim) during the summer of 1999 all throughout South Korea. By the end of the book, Geri makes it no secret that she rather dislikes her teacher. There was one point in the book where Samu appears to lose his temper with her, for wearing her robes incorrectly in a monastery. Larkin resented this tremendously, and never really aptly admits the faults of her subsequent rage that followed thereafter.
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Subjects:  1. Buddhism - General    2. Buddhist pilgrims and pilgrima    3. Buddhist pilgrims and pilgrimages    4. Description and travel    5. Korea (South)    6. Religion    7. Religion - World Religions    8. Social life and customs    9. Temples, Buddhist    10. Zen Buddhism   

Reviews (2)

Not worth the money
This isn't really a book...it's more of a pamphlet.Very thin and with rather big type.Some of the information is useful, but there just plain isn't enough detail on anything.Some Web addresses are provided (although some of them probably point to websites that no longer exist, as this book is from 2001), but I was hoping for more concrete information about day-to-day life in Korea.This is just too short to provide what I was looking for. Living in South Korea- I am using this book for a repot
This book was good enough to provide me with lots of information about living in- South Korea. Although I mostly used the information for my report, it also provided me with a new intrest in South Korea. This book gave me first-hand information about South Korea. I enjoyed it, certainlly not the best..but pretty good. ( This book does not include many statistics) ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Asia - Southeast    2. Travel    3. Travel - Foreign    4. Travel / Asia / Southeast