Tohle je Jižní Korea - Víc než jen k-pop a kimčchi

by D.K. Eyewitness Travel, Alex Pathe, Bella Talbot

Jižní Korea okouzlila svět svou kulturou, jídlem i zábavou. K-pop dobývá hitparády, kimčchi obohacuje jídelní stoly a korejské seriály ovládly televizní obrazovky. Ale Jižní Korea je mnohem víc než BTS a bibimbap. S knihou „Tohle je Jižní Korea“ se ponoříte hlouběji do této výjimečné země a kultury, která fascinuje celý svět.

Zjistíte, proč byla Jižní Korea dříve nazývána „Království poustevníků", seznámíte se s úžasnými potápěčkami z ostrova Čedžu a odhalíte, jak se v Koreji dříve počítal věk hned třemi různými způsoby.

Objevíte příběh vzestupu hallju – korejské vlny, fenoménu, který proměnil Jižní Koreu ve světového lídra populární kultury. Zjistíte, kolik existuje druhů kimčchi, proč seriál Hra na oliheň vyvolal v Koreji smíšené reakce a co přesně znamená „glass skin“ efekt v kosmetice. Tato kniha plná fotografií je dokonalým průvodcem, který vám otevře dveře do pestré a fascinující Jižní Koreje.

Kniha „Tohle je Jižní Korea“ je ideální pro každého, kdo se chce dozvědět víc o této unikátní zemi.

Genres: Nonfiction, Travel, History, Asia

224 pages, Hardcover

Published May 28, 2025

Reviews

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

I still want to read a history of Korea by an actual historian, but am making do with what I can find in the library. In this case, a sumptuously presented Dorling Kindersley tourist brochure. It’s much more about the visuals than the text, but still fun to read. Dorling Kindersley encourages you to visit beautiful South Korea, which I will not be doing as I dislike travel and gave up flying 15 years ago. I prefer to visit via books, watching kdramas, and the duolingo Korean course. Hello, South Korea: Meet the Country Behind Hallyu includes some interesting, albeit brief, information on South Korean polite forms of address (which duolingo refuses to explain), food culture, festivals, and music. It’s a beautifully presented and quick and easy read. I also appreciated that the section titles were given in Hangeul as well as English, so I could sound them out.

[April Hartman · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was super informative but also a lot of fun to read. It doesn’t go super in depth on any topic, but instead touches upon a lot of different aspects of the history, culture, and people of South Korea. I really liked the graphic design and quality of images throughout. I did notice a few typos but it didn’t impact the content. I flew through this book and learned a lot, would definitely recommend. :)

[Ana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reseña aquí: https://www.instagram.com/p/DGQVr_AOQ...

[Enzo Woo · Rating 5 out of 5]

A shockingly fantastic overview of the modern and dynamic South Korea. A great primer for me to get reintroduced to my birth country, and very accurate and timely, from my perspective. An easy 1-2 day read with beautiful illustrations. Hope they make more books for other countries in this mold. Easy 5/5!

[Annalisa Canova · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice reading for a general overview about South Korea, covering society, culture and cuisine. Not too detailed but good starting point! Very lovely and colourful layout and pictures

[Lucas]

The best part of this book is definitely the presentation. The cover is really beautiful, and each chapter intro includes similar stylized artwork as well. It contains lots of great pictures, the design in general is just really appealing. The information is generally quite good, there are lots of interesting bits about different trends that I didn't know about, as well as media in the entertainment section where I got to add some new songs to my playlist and movies to my watchlist. There is also just a great variety here, you get a really broad picture of the many aspects of Korean culture, not just the material culture, but social as well. I liked the parts focused on Koreans' daily lives, especially the section on food, dining culture, and drinking culture.

I think there were some moments where I questioned their editorial decision making in terms of what topics they put the most focus on. There is a section on history, but it is so brief that you can't really derive much useful information from it, I think it probably deserved its own chapter but it only gets a few pages. There is also a bias towards traditionally "Korean" things, which makes sense because it is a book about Korea, but I found it a bit weird that the most popular sports in Korea, Baseball and Soccer, each only got a small blurb in the sports section, whereas traditional sports like Taekwondo and Ssireum got greater attention.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a kpop stan I HAD to check out this book! I love how neatly detailed the book is, but with beautiful pictures included. It has info on all the popular topics, but don't expect a full chapter on your favorite kpop group or anything. ;) This book included far more than that of course. I would recommend this to anyone with a curiosity about South Korea from teens and up. It's a great all-rounder about the beautiful culture and history, both modern and in the past.

[Dani White · Rating 4 out of 5]

I felt like you could often feel that it was written by someone of a different culture and it was putting me off at times

[Neophrem · Rating 3 out of 5]

An undeniably interesting book, though perhaps a bit too... propagandistic.

The hardcover, the eye-catching graphics, the vibrant colors, and the abundant photographs certainly make quite the impression. However, the content feels decidedly one-sided, as if wrapped in a layer of slightly naive - if not outright exaggerated - enthusiasm.

Reading these pages, one might get the impression that everything we Westerners associate with "the East" was invented and exported by Koreans before anyone else. In reality, it was Japan that pioneered much of this about forty years ago - along with many aspects Korea began to adopt just as it was emerging as a democracy.

The book, at least in my opinion, also seems to blatantly sidestep some of the core issues that are common to all Confucian-based societies: the role of women as subordinate and inferior, the "live to work" ethos, blind veneration of the elderly, and the emphasis on appearances (both in terms of physical beauty and social honor) over substance. These issues are glossed over in brief asides with a breezy but times are changing dismissal.

All in all, it's a lovely coffee table book that sparks curiosity for those approaching South Korea for the first time. But it may feel a touch surreal to anyone already familiar with the lights and shadows of the Korean peninsula.

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jak jinak vstoupit do dalšího roku, když ten celý předešlý byl ve znamení k-popu :)

Kniha podává ucelený, ale velmi zkrácený a obecný vhled do malé země coby rozlohou, ale velkolepé, co se týče všeho ostatního. Od slavných k-dram, k-popu, filmového průmyslu, elektroniky až po nejnovější výdobytky jako jsou roboti, družice a nejmodernější přístroje na virtuální realitu. Toho všeho, včetně tradic, historie, hierarchického vedení společnosti a mnoho dalšího, se kniha dotýká a čtenáři otevírá možnosti a hlavně chuť si zjistit daleko více.

Kniha je opravdu super startovací pozicí, pokud se o Jižní Korei chcete dozvědět co nejvíc informací za co nejkratší dobu. Pak už je jen na vás, co si z témat vyberete a dál budete zkoumat jinde. Mou jedinou výtkou zůstává fakt, že jsou některé informace často opakované a to dokonce kolikrát v rámci jednoho odstavce nebo tématu. Nuž, asi se počítá, že knihu bude číst někdo jen jako průvodce a vyzobávat si jednotlivé informace, čtenáři, který si chce knihu užít jako celek, to bude připadat jako text pro opice.

[Nataliia Osadcha · Rating 5 out of 5]

🇰🇷Ну "Привіт Південна Корея" - ваш путівник країною ранкового спокою.

Чудовий посібник, щоб познайомитись із георгафією, історією, культурними традиціями, сучасними тенденціями в соціумі, новинками в кіно та літературі Кореї. Такий собі мікс цікавинок.

Сеул - серце Кореї, але тут описано чим можуть вас зацікавити інші міста, які фестивалі проводяться, де краще відпочити😜

Вже давно точаться суперечки про те, чи є конфуціанство релігією, чи системою етики, але ясно одне: ця філософська школа є основою Кореї. Також чималу роль відіграє шаманізм, буддизм, даосизм і як не дивно християнство. Дуже часто це все переплітається в щось дивне і незрозуміле🧐, що і додає інтересу та унікальності цьому регіону. В літературі часто використовують натяки, цифри, символи і філософські концепти цих вчень, але без додаткових знань це не помітити 🧐

Жінки продовжують стикатися з нелегкою боротьбою, оскільки Корея залишається затятим патріархальним суспільством. Коли йдеться про гендерну рівність, оплата праці залишається важливою проблемою - це головна тема і в багатьох сучасних новелах, дорамах і навіть в законодавстві.

Про культуру споживання різного контенту🙂, розумні міста, швидкий економічний бум, k-pop, дорами, як корейці пробуджують інтерес в усього світу знайомитись із їхньою культурою, вивчати мову, задавати модні тенденції.

Книга захоплююча, багато ілюстрацій, цікавинок, підійде для швидкого знайомства із Кореєю.

[Teddy! · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one was such a fun nonfiction travel read with the sleekest photos & illustrations! It’s up-to-date & contains a ton of fun information about Korean history, culture, and influence beyond what most of us know about K-entertainment & K-beauty.

Like??? There’s an entire sustainable city called Songdo that’s living in the future. And that’s ??? SO COOL???

저는 한국에 가고 싶어요 😎

[Vanie Anggita · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love it soooo much. You can learn every bit of this and that. Don’t expect you’ll get a thorough explanation about its history, instead you get briefly pieces of its culture, art, food, music, origin, problems, etc.

Super love the picture and illustration!! Beautifully made. Fun to read, not boring at all. 5 stars!

[Denise Aliotta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Molto carino! Pensavo fosse più una sorta di “guida viaggio” ossia cose da sapere prima di andare in Corea, ma in realtà è proprio un libro informativo sulla cultura coreana. Si parla veramente di tutto!

[Vanessa Riveros · Rating 5 out of 5]

Este libro me parece perfecto si se quiere conocer un poquito de todo. No profundiza mucho en ningún tema, pero da un gran overview para conocer el país.

Puntos por el diseño, me gustó mucho, e hizo la lectura más amena.

[Mihaela C · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book combines personal anecdotes with factual information, making it both relatable and informative. Overall, it serves as a valuable guide for prospective travelers and anyone interested in gaining insight into South Korean society.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book for both adults and teens, great over view of South Korea both for its past and its future.

[Alice · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great visual explanation of some of the key features of South Korea.

Interesting read 4.5 stars

[Harry Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun short read. Not worth buying, just borrow from the library.

[Paula · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is really well set up with a great, quick overview of the history and culture

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like a lot of DK a bit dense but lots of info

[Chantelly Low · Rating 3 out of 5]

Probably a pretty good book, but the audiobook was subpar and make everything sound really bland. :/
nice to know about the history of South Korea though. I learnt a lot of new facts.

[Neeve Pulford · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good summaries and deep dives into South Korea’s history, culture and people. Definitely provided some inspo for travels.

[Courtney Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you, like me, have a deep love of K-pop and wish to learn more about the country from which it originated, this is a great starter guide! Hello South Korea covers many different aspects of Korean culture, from popular bands in the K-pop world, popular Korean TV shows like Squid Game, and the delicious foods of Korea. It's brightly colored and full of photos to go with each section, so it's a nice starter guide for those interested. It would also be a great guide if you were planning a visit to Korea and wanted to get more acquainted with the culture and customs of the area before a trip. I really enjoyed the way this book was structured, and I hope DK publish more in this style. 
Blog / Twitter / Instagram

[Elizabeth Chew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed this travel guide with a difference -- it's more of a comprehensive primer on South Korean history and culture. The cover alone will catch your eye, featuring wild colourful illustrations by Jinhwa Jang. Inside, you'll find gorgeous photos and engaging copy that make this a highly recommended read if you'd like to learn more about the amazing country beyond its famous cultural exports-- K-pop, K-drama, K-beauty, K-cuisine.

You might also like to read How to Live Korean by Soo Kim (2020) for a native Korean's perspective on what it means to be Korean and live the Korean way.

[Piper Winchester · Rating 5 out of 5]

The more read books like this, the mighty need to go gets stronger.
Beautiful book with beautiful photos and informative however there is no mention of Big Bang who have influenced many many idols and are considered legends