thumb|right|Korean artwork shows scholar paying homage to a special stone – painting with [[Korean calligraphy|calligraphy by Hŏ Ryŏn, 1885]]

Suseok (), also called viewing stones or scholar's stones, is the Korean term for rocks resembling natural landscapes. The term also refers to the art of stone appreciation. Such stones are similar to Chinese gongshi () and Japanese suiseki ().

Suseok can be any color. They vary widely in size – suseok can weigh hundreds of kilograms or much less than one kilogram, the largest of which may be displayed in traditional Korean gardens.

History

Chinese gongshi influenced the development of suseok in Korea.

Suseok became a fixture of Korean society during the Joseon Dynasty, when Confucian scholars displayed them on their writing desks. From here is where the English name "scholar's rock" originates. The film won the award for Best Picture at the 2019 Academy Awards that year, the first non-US American film ever to do so.

Standard reference work

  • Soosuk, #72 in a series of books on Korean culture, Daewonsa Publishing Co, Ltd (Korea, 1989), (in Korean)

See also

  • Gongshi
  • Suiseki
  • Korean art
  • Korean sculpture
  • Korean culture

References

  • Bucheon Museum of Suseok at Bucheon.go.kr