[3] Such stones are similar to Chinese gongshi (供石) and Japanese suiseki (水石).
[4] Suseok became a fixture of Korean society during the Joseon Dynasty, when Confucian scholars displayed them on their writing desks.
[5] Suseok regained popularity amongst nouveau riche businessmen in the 1980s during Korea's economic boom.
Early on, important sites within landscape were marked with shaped stones, similarly to distance markers on post roads.
Burial sites were also given permanent marking by large scale tumuli or mounds, often surrounded by anthropomorphic shaped stones much akin to that of Inuit or First Nations' memory markers.