Even as more foreigners are picking up the iPhone and iPad, I find myself sticking with an iPod Touch - and a full-fledged netbook computer better able to do the heavier lifting. There are times when one or the other is preferred; in this case, looking up the subway lines is an easy job for the iPod Touch.

Enter this free app - SeoulMetroTour Lite - into the mix. After starting the program, you can tap your way into a Seoul subway system map completely in English. Tap on Sights (as above) to highlight a number of tourist-friendly destinations.

One nice touch: if you miss the half-centimeter dot that represents a subway station, a sub-menu will bring up the three subway stations nearest to where you touched.



This is thankfully the worst English in the app that I saw - not that there's a lot of English here to begin with. Simple, easy to use, and speedy (even on an older iPod Touch) are definitely its high points.



I was left a little surprised by this layer - on one hand, there's plenty of jimjilbang listed here, and there's no clear evidence of sponsorship.

As a whole, it's a lightweight app, intended for a couple of simple uses, and that's it. It doesn't have the 'create a route' feature that Jihachul has; to be fair, once you've been in Seoul for awhile, you don't really need it. The emphasis on sights and saunas is nice, and is a definite download during your time in Seoul. Highly recommended.

Ratings out of 5 taeguks (How do I rate apps?)

Usefulness / helpfulness: (is it useful / helpful?)

Return on investment: (is it worth the time / money to figure out?)

Intuitiveness / Ease of use (can you pick it up and use it, or do you have to tinker with it?)

Looks / Design (while not every app is elegant, do you want to stare at it for an hour?)

Overall: (keep it or delete it?)

A 99-cent version is available on the iTunes store, but the version seen here was the free version. (Warning: both links will open up iTunes)

Disclaimer: Chris in South Korea was not compensated for this review. I have no relationship, financial or otherwise, with the program's authors or Apple.

© Chris Backe - 2010

This post was originally published on my blog,Chris in South Korea. If you are reading this on another website and there is no linkback or credit given, you are reading an UNAUTHORIZED FEED.