Korean Gardens

Tradition, Symbolism and Resilience

Western Gardeners’ Guide to the Essence of Korean Traditional Gardens

Korean gardens strive to be in harmony with nature and to encourage the quiet contemplation of the natural world. They are intentionally humble in their conception and very different from Japanese and Chinese gardens. Korean gardens deserve to be more widely appreciated in the West as a separate, distinctive, venerable and continuing garden tradition, capable of wide appeal if better known. They are the unknown treasures among the world’s gardening traditions. The survival and continuous restoration of old Korean gardens demonstrate the cultural resilience and tenacity of the Korean people despite their tumultuous history.

This book introduces, describes and explains traditional Korean gardens to Western readers. It contains more than one hundred photos and maps and details of 20 notable gardens.

About the Author

Jill Matthews is a garden designer who holds a Diploma of Horticulture (Landscape Design) Honours from the Ryde School of Horticulture in Sydney Australia, and university degrees in Arts and Law. She is a Member of the Australian Institute of Landscape Designers and Managers and a Research Associate of the Korea Research Institute at the University of New South Wales in Sydney. Jill has travelled widely in Asia and observed and photographed gardens in India, Indonesia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan, Taiwan, Vietnam, Malaysia and China. She has visited South Korea eight times over three decades, visiting gardens in every province. She has also lived in Tokyo and, for eighteen months, in Hong Kong where she researched and wrote her thesis on the Conservation and Restoration of the Private Tiger Balm Garden there. She makes regular presentations on aspects of Asian gardens in both Australia and Hong Kong to societies such as the Australian Garden History Society, the Hong Kong Gardening Society and the Royal Asiatic Society Hong Kong, and has published numerous articles on aspects of garden design.