Containing photographs of everyday, antique objects along with insightful commentary, Things Korean is a useful guide to traditional life in Korea.

O-Young Lee, former Korean Minister of Culture gives us a survey of native objects from Korea, from totems(Changsung) to hair-pins(binyo), crock pots(Changdokdae) to temple bells(Jong), scissors(Kawi) to graves(mudon) explaining their significance and place in everyday Korean life.

Each item in the book is listed under its English and Korean name; a glossary is provided to further assist the reader. Lavishly illustrated with more than 100 color illustrations, Things Korean is a magnificent celebration of Korean culture.

Reviews

Beautiful
Traditional artifacts that are used in daily life – everything from scissors to the hats worn by the yangban (upperclass) – are presented in a completely new light within this book. The pictures are absolutely beautiful; the explanations range from poignant to extraneous. I have to admit, there were points when I wanted to roll my eyes, wondering if the author was over-thinking things just a little. However, I also walked away from this book with a new-found appreciation for my Korean roots.
The national character of Koreans are often compared with Italians – Koreans, too, are passionate, down-to-earth, hot-blooded people. We do not have the appreciation for the delicate or subtle (which the Japanese are famous for). My mother once matter-of-factly explained to me when I was younger that this was because Italians and Koreans are both peninsula people (I never understood how this played such a large part in defining a people, but it seemed to make sense at the time).
Nevertheless, this book highlights – perhaps to a point of almost caracaturizing – that other side to Korean nature. For instance, the author points out in one page that rice must be filled past the brim to be considered “full” – an observation that rings true with the Korean nature of hospitality and generosity. It was an idea so ingrained into my head that I had always taken it for granted until it was pointed out to me!
This book is a great coffee table book, to be digested a few pages at a time. It presents Korean culture in a beautiful light – one that should be appreciated but also taken with a grain of salt. Imagine if someone 500 years from now writes a book about 20th century American artifacts and expounds upon the shape of a coffee cup and how the curvy handle suggests the unity of life – yeah, that would seem kind of silly too…

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