Carving Status at Kŭmgangsan

"Carving Status at Kŭmgangsan is the first study in a Western language devoted exclusively to carved rock inscriptions at thousands of scenic and historical sites of Kŭmgangsan in North Korea, a currently inaccessible site to most people. The author’s thoughtful analysis of carefully selected cases from rock carvings, maps, paintings, and board games brings insightful perspectives of the culture of journey, religious and secular visions of Kŭmgangsan, history of calligraphy, and material culture relevant to travel in the late Joseon era."

"Stiller's work provides a wealth of valuable insights into the history of social status, travel, and cultural production in mid-tolate Chosŏn Dynasty Korea. Carving Status at Kŭmgangsan is also a beautiful example of book production--elegantly laid-out, and richly illustrated with photographs and reproductions of paintings and calligraphy."

"Through her analysis of rock carvings, literary documents, and other visual materials, Stiller has uncovered a new layer of cultural history related to Kŭmgang-san."

"Integrates histories of visual culture, elites, travel, and spatiality to create an unparalleled study of one of East Asia’s great calligraphic mountain sites. Together with the interactive Autographic Atlas of Korea website this is an important example of how the digital humanities is transforming the study of cultural history."

"A magisterial work, comprehensive in scope and meticulous in scholarship, standing as a definitive study of the sociocultural history of Mount Kŭmgang. Stiller’s compelling interpretation of the historical significance of its carved autographic inscriptions provides powerful insights into how the mountain served as space for social mobility and battleground for different status groups to gain social prestige and cultural pride."

"A major contribution to the study of travel to ‘sacred’ places in general, and to the understanding of literary (and name graffiti) production as it relates to travel to Kŭmgangsan in particular."

"For the way it looks at calligraphy and travel as a resource for social mobility, this book makes a significant contribution to our understanding of late Chosŏn society."

"Drawing on a wide range of textual and visual sources, Carving Status at Kŭmgangsan presents fascinating insights into mid- to late Chosŏn society. Through its exploration of travelers to Kŭmgangsan, the volume offers new ways of understanding space as a geopolitical text framed by the political, religious and cultural milieu of its time."

"A lucid product of exacting literary and field research which reveals how personal and family identity and status, carved in stone at a spectacular but remote site, epitomized the evolution of social structure and aspiration across three centuries of the late Chosŏn."

"This book contains invaluable insights into the function of travel among elites in Chosŏn Korea. Particularly, Stiller demonstrates how inscriptions and autographs in the Kŭmgang Mountains were used to connect with other travelers and to also create a legacy that would honor their lineages in future generations. This work represents a substantial contribution to studies of life, art, and ideology in late Chosŏn."