The Royals were sent the following information by Peter Stephenson, a volunteer for the Peace Cup in Korea.

Taxis
Don't be afraid to take a taxi. They are very cheap in Korea, they offer a translation service and they are very scrupulous so there is no need to worry about being taken 'the long way round'.

If you know where you are going then just get your hotel clark or someone to write it down in Korean and you can just show the taxi driver. Usually though if you pronounce the place right they will get it.

Hotels/Motels
Even the very cheapest hotels are spotless. There is no such thing as a sleazy motel/hotel in countries such as Korea and Japan. The very cheapest are about £20 a night (30-40,000 won). They may be a little on the small site but they usually have a bed, and are very clean.

The typical Western style hotels are easy to spot but can be just as pricey as in the West. The traditional Korean hotels though are very ubiquitous, it's just a matter of reading the Korean.

The 'symbol' for such hotels is a kind of circle or oval with three wavy lines going up from the center, kind of like the end of a cigarette. I think it's mean to symbolize hot coals as in the traditional heating system in the past. These signs can be seen in red neon on the hotel building.

The reason I mention this is that if some visitors are like me then there is no difference between the Hilton or a simple hotel except the price, as long as they are both clean. So some travelers might want to use such budget hotels.

Asking directions
Many Koreans speak English and will always help if they can. One thing though, if a Korean can't speak English well and a Westerner speaks to them they feel very ashamed of their lack of English and sometimes react abruptly (sometimes just bustling away) or their facial expression can sometimes seem like they are just being unfriendly or unhelpful (in fact it's fear and embarrassment).

So it's good to bear this in mind if any of your fans in Korea get such a response as seeing Westerners is a new thing for many Koreans.

Also, just saying no or that they don't know when asked for help by someone clashes with their 'Confucian' culture so as strange as it seems, Koreans will sometimes give any direction rather than none even if they have no clue.

Some of the middle aged or older will even do this with a great deal of certitude. It's just one of those quirks experienced when in a far off land so if you find you have been sent in the opposite direction that you asked for just know that it wasn't done with malice.

For this reason it's always good to get a second or third opinion when asking for directions and go with the consensus if time is short. For the most part though, Koreans are always happy to help if they can.

Currency
Korea is currently in a redesign of its paper money so there will be two versions of the 1, 5 and 10,000 won notes.

Eating out
One nice thing about most places that you eat such as McDonalds or similar is that you can get one refill of most drinks such as Coke.

Also, if you can't bare spicy then know that if you ask the waiter if the food is spicy and he says 'no' then that does not mean that it is not spicy. It means that it is not 'very' spicy.

General hygiene is very high in Korea so there is no need to worry about such things.

Bottled water or from a cooler is the only water that you should drink though and all fresh fruit and veg should be washed carefully as they use pesticides quite heavily here.

Tourist info
A good general tour site with region specific info - http://english.tour2korea.com/index.asp

It also has a great 'interactive' subway map for Seoul. If you click on your start station and destination it will show you the route, cost and travel time.

Also, on the site is a feature called 'Goodwill guide'. Basically if you are visiting Korea there are many young people who are willing to act as volunteer guides for you. You don't have to pay them but if there is transportation costs such as the subway fee (Which is usually about 50p even for long
journeys) etc for them while they guide then you should pay that.

Overall, this site is a great English language facilitator for just about everything you will need to know in Korea.

Seoul
Here is the Seoul tourist site. In Seoul you can see 'tourism kiosks' in many places and people will be happy to give any help there. http://english.seoul.go.kr/