FEATURED BOOK REVIEW

Daegwalleyeong Suseok Association, 219 pages, hardbound in slipcase. ISBN: 979-11-961188-1-5. Price when published 100,000 won.

This very attractive volume resulted from a fifteen-day exhibition of Korean Suseok staged for the 2018 Winter Olympic Games held in Pyeongchang. The organizing committee wanted to introduce Suseok culture to the world. The exhibit and the book are helping to achieve that goal. Most of the viewing stone communities outside Asian countries know very little about Korean stone appreciation practices. 

In the opening pages of this exhibition catalog, Suseok is defined as an “old Confucian culture (or hobby) of viewing stones, with a focus on feeling the mysteries of nature and appreciating beauty in rocks collected from rivers.” In this book nearly 200 stone displays are illustrated, one per page. A short poem, the name of the exhibitor, where the stone was collected, and the dimensions of the stone are provided in English and Korean. This feature is a great benefit and allows English reading audiences worldwide to learn about these stones. Reading the poems allows us to understand how each owner felt about their stone. 

About half of the stones are displayed in suiban, ceramic or metal, with sand, while the remaining ones are held and oriented in carved wood bases. The stones in this exhibition appear completely natural, unaltered, or unenhanced. They are mostly dark stones, usually with a rough texture. Suseok enthusiasts like to spray their stones with water and observe the changing patterns as the water evaporates rather than treating them with oils and waxes. It is refreshing to study these unpretentious but often bold native rocks and how they relate to the poems.

The photography is excellent, as is the design and layout of this book. 

Rating:  Excellent. It is one of the best volumes for non-Koreans to consult when learning about modern Suseok practices.