Gangseo Great Tomb

Gangseo Great Tomb

1.What is the Gangseo Great Tomb?

The Gangseo Great Tomb is a massive burial site located in Gangseo County, South Pyongan Province, which is now part of North Korea. What era does this tomb belong to? It dates back to the Three Kingdoms period and is a tomb from the Goguryeo kingdom. This region was once part of ancient Goguryeo territory, and many other Goguryeo tombs remain in the area.

So, whose tomb is it? A hint lies in the golden dragon painted on the ceiling of the tomb. In East Asian culture, dragons traditionally symbolize royalty. Based on this, scholars believe the Gangseo Great Tomb may have belonged to a Goguryeo king.

2. Did the Four Guardian Deities in the murals really exist?

The people of Goguryeo decorated tombs as if the deceased were still living inside. They believed the soul continued to exist after death. That’s why many murals have been found in Goguryeo’s stone chamber tombs.

What do these murals depict? Early tombs often featured scenes of daily life. However, after the 7th century, Taoism—an ideology from China that emphasized harmony with nature and worship of immortals—began to influence burial customs. Tombs from this period frequently include images of guardian deities known as the Four Directional Gods.

The Gangseo Great Tomb also features these deities. What are they? They are mythical creatures representing the four cardinal directions:

• Blue Dragon (East)

• White Tiger (West)

• Vermilion Bird (South)

• Black Tortoise (North)

These animals are not real—they are imaginary beings. The murals were painted with the hope that these deities would protect the tomb and the soul within.

3. What about tombs from Baekje and Silla?

What kinds of tombs were built in Baekje and Silla? The Seokchon-dong Tomb, known as an early Baekje burial site, resembles the stepped stone mound style of Goguryeo’s General’s Tomb. This similarity suggests that Baekje’s founders may have originated from Goguryeo.

Silla’s burial method was quite unique. First, a wooden coffin was placed inside a wooden chamber. Then, layers of gravel were tightly packed over it, followed by a mound of earth. This type of tomb is called a “stone mound chamber tomb.”

Because of its structure, murals could not be painted inside. However, the tomb’s design made looting difficult, so many burial items—such as golden crowns—were preserved.

4. What is a stone chamber tomb?

The Gangseo Great Tomb is built by stacking square stones to form a chamber, then covering it with earth to create a mound. Inside, a corridor-like passage leads to the burial room. This type of tomb is called a “stone chamber tomb.”

Most stone chamber tombs have a separate coffin room connected to a front chamber via a corridor. These tombs were commonly built during the mid to late Goguryeo period, and Baekje also adopted this style.

Around the 5th century, Goguryeo began constructing many stone chamber tombs. But not all Goguryeo tombs followed this style. Before this, they built “stone mound tombs,” where stones were laid on the ground, a coffin placed on top, and small stones piled over it. Later, they developed “stepped stone mound tombs,” stacking large stones in a tiered fashion.