Carving Status at Kumgangsan: Elite Graffiti in Premodern Korea

"North Korea's Kumgangsan is one of Asia's most celebrated sacred mountains, comparable in fame to Mount Tai in China and Mount Fuji in Japan.

The late Choson (1650-1900) Korean elite went to Kumgangsan on pilgrimages to demonstrate and defend their high social status.

Travelers used the mountain to cultivate practices such as naming sites, carving rock inscriptions, and joining a literary lineage.

In pilgrimage, they sought an extraordinary experience that could be made only at a particular, nonsubstitutable site; they went on a journey of more than two weeks, following a prescribed route; and they journeyed to a locale that held significance for their religious, political, social, or cultural identity.

Some Kumgangsan travelers expanded on the prescribed circular route to further demonstrate their social status, engaging with locales by leaving documentation of their visit.

Based on multidisciplinary research drawing on literary writi