Complex of Koguryo Tombs

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Brief Description

The property includes several group and individual tombs - totalling about 30 individual tombs - from the later period of the Koguryo Kingdom, one of the strongest kingdoms in nowadays northeast China and half of the Korean peninsula between the 3rd century BC to 7th century AD. The tombs, many with beautiful wall paintings, are almost the only remains of this culture. Only about 90 out of more than 10,000 Koguryo tombs discovered in China and Korea so far, have wall paintings. Almost half of these tombs are located on this site and they are thought to have been made for the burial of kings, members of the royal family and the aristocracy. These paintings offer a unique testimony to daily life of this period.

Justification for Inscription

Criterion (i): The wall paintings of the Koguryo Tombs are masterpieces of the culture and period of the Koguryo kingdom; the construction of the tombs demonstrates ingenious engineering solutions.

Criterion (ii): The special burial customs of the Koguryo culture had an important influence on other cultures in the region, including those in Japan.

Criterion (iii): The Koguryo Tombs are an exceptional testimony of the Koguryo culture, its burial customs as well as its daily life and beliefs.

Criterion (iv): The complex of Koguryo Tombs is an important example of burial typology.