Customer Reviews

Korea - Culture Smart!: the essential guide to customs & culture

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

For being so small, this little book is the best book on Korean culture I have read in a long time. It contains so much, so quickly that I read it twice in just one week. It provides an insight not just as a traveler, but as someone who interacts with Koreans. It provides bits of knowledge, trivia, and tips that is well worth the modest cover price. There are several "crash course" books like this, and take it from someone who owns them all practically, this one is the by far the best.

Seeing as how it is designed as an overview, you get more than your money's worth (less than ten bucks including shipping on [...]). Want to give a friend something to read on the airplane ride over before they meet you in Korea? This book fits the bill quite nicely.

I'm honestly surprised that this book gets over-shadowed by the "Lonely Planet" series. Ignore the hype and pick up this book.

I can't believe all the good reviews on this book. I recently moved to Korea from the US. I read this entire book and it really was a waste of my time.

South Koreans have progressed quite a bit since this book was first printed and I don't think the reprint really did too much editing. There are a lot of things that are inaccurate or over exaggerated. For instance flip flops, Koreans wear these very often and don't make comments to others who wear them. Drinking in groups of both men and women, again this happens quite often and doesn't seem to be a strange occurrence. The author also laments the fact that most of the deciduous forest have been wiped out. I'm not sure what country he visited, but all the hills around as far as the eye can see are covered in trees. Not reforested but native to the country. I'm not sure if he never left Seoul, but it might behove them to remove this particular comments as it doesn't apply.

Also bothersome was the Author's story about interfering in a domestic dispute. He contends that he should have just minded his own business and not tried to interfere. After all that is the country's culture and really who was he to intervene. So typical of an academic, care more about the keeping things pristine and allowing "nature" to flow than consider assisting another human being. His theory is flawed though. In the story he is obviously older than the instigator, as such, according to the culture, he had every right to intervene and attempt to assist as he is an elder and it is an age defined hierarchy. Just imagine if it was your daughter who was involved in such a situation, do you think the author is providing good advice in stating that we should just leave things alone, even if we know that another human being is possibly getting hurt? After all that's just the culture. At what point does human accountability fall by the way side or are we suppose to enable abuse and ill treatment?

It would behoove the publisher and the author to take another look at the country as it is now, not how it was 10 years ago. It might even help if they actually lived in the country for a while, instead of making generalizations from a brief visit and theory.

Daughter headed to Korea for a year and I purchased this book for her. Small and concise and full of great information on customs, traditions, do's and don't's for those unfamiliar with the Korean culture. Very informative yet small enough to tote aound and read whenever there were a few minutes. This book would be most helpful to anyone traveling to Korea and wanting to be sure to behave properly and not be offensive simply by doing whatever is done in the United States.

Much informations are useful perhaps at the time between the late 80's to the early 00's. Korea have progressed alot from how the book has put it. Yes, some of the information offered are still accurate but much can now be classified as for "history" purposes. If you are looking for a guide in society in present day (2010 onwards), this is not your kind of book. You'll probably be better off by just watching korean dramas at learning how the society works than relying on this book.

This little book has helped me prepare to move to Korea. It is pocket-sized and easy to whip out while waiting in the passport line at the post office (haha). The author tried to balance information between the 2 Koreas, and you definitely get the feeling that he knows what he is talking about.

This books talks a little bit about korean history at the begining, and then it talks about traditions and things to do/not to do in Korea. I really enjoyed reading it.

We acquired two DVDs and this pocket book in support of a young man deployed and stationed in South Korea.

Upon learning that Michael would be soon leaving us to travel to this beautiful country, we decided to acquire these items to learn where he would be spending the next year of his life.

We are glad to have shared this experience, we learned much about the country, its people, folkloric dance, foods and religion.

If you plan to travel to South Korea and want to arrive with a pocket book in hand that supports your awareness or if you simply want to learn about this country, then this is an excellent choice.

Culture Smart will provide information as to life in South Korea, manners, costumes, religious beliefs, and those little issues that could help you manage your relationships abroad.

This is a very informative book outling the customs and etiquette of Korea. A nice short and to the point book for those who are traveling and want to know the basics.