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 enlarge | Author: Martin Robinson
Publisher: Lonely Planet
Category: Book
List Price: $19.99
Buy New: $7.81
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New (43) Used (11) from $7.81
Rating:  15 reviews
Sales Rank: 202549
Media: Paperback
Edition: 5
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 218
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 7.7 x 5 x 0.5
ISBN: 1740598466
Dewey Decimal Number: 915
EAN: 9781740598460
ASIN: 1740598466
Publication Date: June 1, 2006
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: New; Excellent condition! Clean crisp tight copy, no marks,could have some minor shelf wear. Email Notification, Satisfaction Guaranteed,Direct from our warehouse.
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| Customer Reviews:
 Needs Reworking March 10, 2007
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
Lonely Planet Seoul is poorly organized and riddled with inaccuracies; unfortunately it is the only comprehensive, recent Seoul guide (in English) on the market. I used the book to get an overview of Seoul, but shockingly, found the tourist information office maps and guides more useful and accurate. The website Seoul Style offers much more interesting eating, entertainment, and shopping suggestions, but very occasionally I'll refer to the Lonely Planet for further ideas.
The book ought to be organized by neighborhood rather than subject; it's aggravating to visit an area of Seoul and flip between different chapters, looking for the two inches of print on a given activity in a particular area. Other Lonely Planet and Fodor's guides usually integrate all suggestions by neighborhood and accurately portray those suggestions onto maps. One can get an overview of the different areas when the descriptions are integrated, especially if the author writes an introductory paragraph about a neighborhood's feel; to Robinson, it seems that places are just places, with no 'there' there. In reality, each area of Seoul does have a unique feel and meaning.
In the LP Seoul guide, the maps' numbered descriptions are often mis-categorized (e.g., under 'Shopping' the author suggests the bookstore Seoul Selection, but when you look for the location on the map, it is listed under 'Entertainment'; when poring through dozens of suggestions in tiny font, it is frustrating to check all the categories to compensate for his carelessness). The layout and selection of maps in general is mediocre, and leave little sense of the scale or organization of Seoul; for instance, Robinson devotes two pages of maps to Jamsil to depict just a few activities, and leaves the bottom half of those two pages devoid of suggestion, but gives the large, very happening area of Gangnam / Apjugong just one page. Adjacent Cheongdam, which a favorite hangout for younger Koreans and in 'feel' and location is much closer to Apjugong, he places on the Jamsil map, but doesn't provide any activities.
The transliteration between Hangul and English is frequently bizarre, which makes it difficult to decipher the names of neighborhoods and places. It is better to use the Tourist Maps (in other cities I've never relied on tourist maps, but Seoul is different), for the transliteration and neighborhood names are more commonly understood by Koreans. His language guide is also transliterated ineffectually; a traveler trying to follow his phonetics would never be understood by a Korean. For vowels pronounced 'e' he writes 'i'; the number 1 is correctly pronounced like eel; he writes 'il', which is perfect if he means the French pronunciation of 'il'; same for 2: pronounced e, he writes i - again, great for French, but he's transliterating to English, so it's wrong.
LP Seoul needs to be rewritten by a very organized, clear thinker who possesses a current understanding of Seoul and Hangul-English translation, yet who recalls the needs of a first-time visitor to this dynamic city.
Lonely Planet August 19, 2006
1 out of 4 found this review helpful
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 December 28, 2005
10 out of 12 found this review helpful
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 July 29, 2005
12 out of 13 found this review helpful
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 also referred 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.
This book is very informative! August 24, 2003
6 out of 11 found this review helpful
I had lived in Seoul for a year without a guide book. When Lonely Planet's new edition of "Seoul" was released I decided to buy the book. At the time, I didn't think I needed the book because I thought I knew pretty much everything. Anyways, the book is turning out to be very helpful and interesting. I'm finding new and different things to do in a city that I thought I knew.
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