Meeting Mr Kim: How I Went to Korea and Learned to Love Kimchi: Or How I Went to Korea and Learned to Love Kimchi [Paperback]

'She is excellent at painting word portraits of the people she meets' --suite101.com, September 11, 2008

`Meeting Mr Kim succeeds where a lot of travel books have failed: it is entertaining, endearing and educational.'
--www.scmp.com, 27 November 2008

'Barclay's writing is fresh and lively... it is an entertaining and interesting account.' --PS News (Australia) March 2009

`a decent starting point for anyone thinking of visiting or wanting to get an insight into travelling South Korea.' --Real Travel Magazine, November 2008

`a warm and funny journey into a country that's foreign to many... an invaluable primer on Korea.'
--Blue Wings (Finnair magazine) January 2009

11th October 2009. --Featured in The South China Morning Post

Featured in The Travel Section of The Saturday Guardian, 26th February 2011. --Saturday Guardian, 26th February 2011

'Barclay is revealed as an excellent guide, her personal experience of the country reaching into every corner'

'Brilliantly evokes the strangeness of Seoul for a western visitor... a very lively account... invaluable and entertaining reading'

'One woman's touching and humorous voyage to the very heart
of Korea... written with real insight and thoughtful reflection'

'high time that a new book be written about Korea... fresh, amusing and light-hearted... precisely the right approach'

'...this book would make a great addition to a Lonely Planet guide to Korea'

'reveals a modern hi-tech country - that still has so much more to offer for those seeking beauty, passion and serenity.'

'Barclay is revealed as an excellent guide...it left me wanting to know more.'

`she shares her passion, humour and includes some tips on how to explore Korea as well as a Kimchi recipe!'

`don't miss Jennifer Barclay's Meeting Mr. Kim.'

The world knows more about secret North Korea than the free society of the South. As a peace summit heralded a new era for a country divided for 50 years, Jennifer Barclay searched for the spirit of South Korea, discovering a land full of passion, tradition and spirituality, good humour and great food. Jen quit her high-pressure job and followed her musician boyfriend to South Korea, where his band had a contract to play funk at a luxury hotel. But life in Seoul was lonely and bewildering. Desperate to connect with Korean life and the people, she said goodbye to the capital and set off alone to explore the country. With patience and determination she found her way to ancient tombs and Buddhist temples, strangers’ homes and forest-covered mountains, where people’s kindness and pride in their culture began to work magic. They were on a mission to ensure she left with happy memories – and perhaps a new set of values.

Jen Barclay has written on Korea for The Korea Herald, Canada's Globe and Mail, Lonely Planet: Korea and the Travelers Tales (US) anthology A Woman's Asia. She is co-editor of AWOL: Tales for Travel-Inspired Minds (Vintage Canada, 2003), listed by the Globe and Mail as one of its Great Summer Travel Reads. Born in Manchester, Jen has lived in several countries, and is now based in West Sussex.