Korean Job Discussion Forums

[i]

Anyone have a beef with this publication? Better than what I could come up with, but some really bad mistakes. For instance, you can take a ferry from Yeodio with a buffet for 13,000 won. I told some friends I'd foot the bill, but the phone number was wrong and the trip was over 50,000 won each.
Wanted to go up to Namsan tower. Book said to go to Seoul Station, Options were to walk, take the #2 bus or the cable car. Neither the cable car nor the #2 bus are at Seoul Station. Had to go down the line to where the #2 bus is and get on. Also went to the Korean National Museum, and the book gave the amount for entering, but it turned out it was free.
I've just been in Seoul a short time, but the LP is having me chase my tail.

[Sapa]

it is a bad guide, just even the layout of it. the only thing I have found useful so far is the small subway map at the back.

[Whistleblower]

It's a good book for lighting fires, using as a "spot the error in the guide" tool, as well as useful thing for use with a book shelf.

[crazy tigger]

Try using the South America guides and then you will have problems! The mistakes in those often lead you to finding yourself in some "interesting" parts of town.

[TeeBee]

I've had similar experiences with the LP Southern Africa. Full of inaccuracies and out-of-date info.

[sojourner1]

I like the Lonely Planet TV shows, but the books lack detailed enough maps and often missing important features. Some would say this is good that it's not a precise accurate description so that you still have an element of adventure by exploring places, while others would say it needs more clarification.

I used LP books mainly for a list of places to stay. The front intro is the best part in them.

[kiknkorea]

Haven't seen the Seoul LP, but I've had similar experiences with other Lonely Planets. Sometimes the info is good, other times I think I could do as well throwing darts on a map! The Frommers guides are easy to use and reliable, so I prefer them when I can find them.

[losing_touch]

Personally, I take whatever is put into those guides with a grain of salt. The maps are usually the best part of them. I have quite a lot of posts on the Thailand section of their Thorn Tree Branch. Instead of relying on the guidebook, I tend to seek information there. I have noticed that the Korean Branch is somewhat lacking. Surely, information online would be more accurate, right?

[majolica]

man, i hate LP! i used to swear by them, but they're getting worse and worse. my last experience was with LP India, the edition was 3 months old when I used it, but there were horrific mistakes already (and, I should say, still!!). The prices were ALL wrong (3 months after... seriously?) and there were spelling and grammatical mistakes galore. Many of the "highly recommended" theatre/dance/music performances listed were pitiful highschool reproductions and tourist traps which no one with any knowledge of the country or the arts could have knowingly recommended. But the worst mistake of all nearly cost us our flight home, and had been repeated in the last three editions when I checked. They listed (in TWO different sections of the book) that a city we were visiting was 6 hours away by bus, when in fact it was 16 hours away (from the airport we were flying out of). They also negelected to mention that the only train service (which would still have only dropped our time to 12 hours) had been undergoing repairs for 3 years at least. Fortunately I called the bus service to check on something else, and realized we were going to have to leave a day early to get back in time.
so anyway, my advice, don't bother with lonely planet.

[Sadebugo1]

You know, I once wrote LP and pointed out some misinformation in their Bangkok guide. They wrote me back and offered me the free guide of my choice. You might want to give it a try.

Sadebugo
http://travldawrld.blogspot.com/

[cedarseoul]

when it comes to LP, it's very apparent that the authors pick random restaurants, museums, hotels, etc., to fill pages - rather than GOOD establishments worthy of their recommendation.

complete waste.

[Ekolye]

I totally agree, I won't buy an LP book again. I had the same issues with outdated information. I prefer asking people who have recently visited the country and/or locals.

[sonicmatt]

im lookin at a coming to korea and is there any good guide books out there about korea and seoul?

[karmarooster]

at the bookstore i looked at two guide books for south korea:

lonely planet
moon

the moon book has almost twice the number of pages, and the text is much smaller... from this i gather that there is more information, or at least the authors are more verbose... = more detailed maybe? however, i have no idea if either book is more accurate than the other.

for what its worth, i suggest you get the moon book, even though it is somewhat older than LP.

[22tea77]

The BEST thing about the "Wrongly Planet" is their website!
www.lonelyplanet.com
Click on the Thorntree Forums and scan through the info there.
Better yet, post a specific question..... within a couple of days you'll have a ton of excellent first hand travel advise from fellow travelers in the know.