This Is Korea: All You Ever Wanted to Know about Korea

by Jung-wha Choi, Hyang-ok Lim

Genres: Nonfiction

198 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2010

Reviews

[Bartley Sharkey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm being generous giving this book 4-stars even though it's pretty much exactly as advertised. It's a light, snappy check-list of "Korean stuff" with sort of Wikipedia-quality snippets of info about each. I had hoped to be entertained and delighted by the book but instead found that most of it was very much confirming what I already knew, with a few surprising insights into Korean culture. If determined, you could read it in one sitting or perhaps even better, skim it in the shop and pick out the dozen or so interesting pages according to your own preference and experience (I reckon you won't take over 30 minutes to get a pretty complete picture of what this book can offer).

[catinca.ciornei · Rating 3 out of 5]

Touristy descriptions of South Korean general facts - its alphabet, seasons, holidays, customs, foods, horoscope, hot travelling spots, traditional attire and arts, its education fever and early adopter culture. I was personally hoping for more depth, but it proved to be a good companion for a first-time traveler to this interesting country.