Moon Handbooks South Korea [Paperback]

Robert Nilsen (Author)

Book Description

Series: Moon Handbooks | Publication Date: November 26, 2003

South Korea is a marriage of ancient and modern: a shopper's paradise where secluded palaces hide amidst skyscrapers, and Buddhist figurines stand tall along hiking trails. How do you create your own mix of new and old? Moon Handbooks South Korea offers thorough coverage not only of major destinations like modern Seoul and the DMZ border area, but also of the country's 3,000 years of history nestled in its quiet temples, secluded palaces, majestic peaks, and emerald-green islands. Thoroughly revised and updated, this guide is packed with fresh information on sights, recreation, accommodation and dining options that cover a broad range of budgets and personal interests. Complete with detailed maps, fascinating sidebars, a newly expanded phrasebook, and a thorough introduction to the country's political and cultural history, Moon Handbooks South Korea is an intelligent choice for independent travelers wishing to experience everything this fascinating destination has to offer.

Product Details

• Paperback: 860 pages
• Publisher: Avalon Travel Publishing; 3rd edition (November 26, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1566914183
• ISBN-13: 978-1566914185
• Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 5.5 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #997,743 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #46 in Books > Travel > Asia > South Korea

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars In the long haul, superior to Lonely Planet, April 29, 2006

By 

Jared M (New Zealand) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Moon Handbooks South Korea (Paperback)

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.

While I would consider the LP books are slightly superior in some areas, such as "Facts for the visitor", "Getting there and away", and "Getting around" sections, for sights to see, the Moon book provides much greater depth and information. This is particularly the case for cities and regions outside of Seoul. Of course, this is partially due to the greater number of pages in the Moon Book which obviously allow greater amounts of information to be provided, but having said that, in size and weight, the Moon book isn't significantly larger than the LP books. This is due to the lighter papers used in the Moon book. Otherwise, in terms of content, Moon is similar to LP. There is a Korean language section at the back, and place names are given in hangul as well as english in the text. In some cases, information as to how to get to some places is relatively light, but this probably wouldn't be such a problem to a long term visitor.

For short-term visitors, the LP book will suffice as plenty of information is provided that will keep people with a limited amount of time in the country busy. But I would suggest for those planning a long term stay in Korea (for example as ESL teachers) to try out this book due to the higher amounts of sights listed. Not every teacher gets to work in Seoul, and one of the shortcomings of the LP book is its brevity of information provided for the smaller, but still significant cities of South Korea. This is where the Moon book really comes into its own in comparison to the LP book, as it does not stint in this area.

To detract from the book, the maps in some instances weren't as well or exactly detailed as the maps in the LP book. For those who think colours are important in the books they read, Moon is pretty light on colour - a couple of pages in the front of the book, otherwise its all black and white (does keep the weight of book down though, as color pages require higher grade, and hence heavier, paper). The book is also directed at the US market, so in some areas of the book, such as "practicalities", information relating to visas, airlines, and exchange rates is relatively light for readers from the UK, Australia and New Zealand. Still, I would recommend this book over the LP book, at least until the next edition of the LP book comes out, which I believe will be around August 2007.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Fantastic Guide, August 4, 2004

By 

Travis Corn (Mannheim, Germany) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Moon Handbooks South Korea (Paperback)

I've been living in Korea for almost 5 months now, and I don't think I would have seen (or been able to find) half of the places I have been to so far without this book. This handbook has come in VERY handy and is full of interesting historical facts and can really help you maneuver around the country.

After a well written introduction explaining Korea's history, culture and other useful information, Nilsen breaks down the country into provinces. Each chapter on a province has a decent map and a history of the cities and sights. It also gives very current information on how to get there and the prices of public transportation. (You will want to take public transportation in Korea unless you are a VERY agressive driver)

I only gave this book 4 stars because it doesn't get into some of the other things to do in Korea, such as nightlife. Fun as it is to sightsee, sometimes you just want to go out dancing too. ;)

All in all, this is an outstanding book to take with you on a vacation. Its easy to follow and also has a fairly extensive phrase section and other useful vocabulary words written in English and Hangul (if you can't pronounce the words, the Hangul version is very useful). If you're planning on visiting Korea, this is definitely a book to pick up.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Robert KNOWS South Korea, June 14, 2004

By 

"totuta" (West Lafayette, IN United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Moon Handbooks South Korea (Paperback)

this is the best korea travel book currently in the market.
much better than the lonely planet one.
this guy seems to knows everything about south korea,
maybe more than native koreans.
the background info sections..(history,culture..)
is just amazing. a truly recommendable book.
if you're planning to visit korea, or just interested in
anything about korea, get this book.
you won't be disappointed.