Tombs with murals in the south of the Korean peninsula

Tombs with murals are an important source for understanding the cultural and political processes on the Korean Peninsula during the Three Kingdoms period. Goguryeo tombs are predominantly located either in North Korea or China; many of them were decorated with murals. However, funerary wall painting is also known from burials of other states of that period and from other territories. The study of burials with wall paintings may clarify cultural and political ties between the elites of the states on the Korean Peninsula. Five tombs with frescoes in South Korea are located in two provinces of the Republic of Korea: North Gyeongsang (Sunheung, Tomb of EoSuk in Sunheun, Goa-ri Goryeong) and South Chuncheon (Songsan-ri No. 6, Buyeo Neungsan-ri). Representations in the Sunheung Tomb are preserved on the walls of the burial chamber and have much in common with the Goguryeo frescoes from the Pyongyang and Jian regions. The paintings in the EoSuk tomb in Sunheun are poorly preserved, althought the surviving fragment and grave goods point to its Silla origin. The tombs in the Sunheung area indicate that there was a cultural interaction between Goguryeo and Silla in this area. The Songsan-ri No. 6 and Buyeo Neungsan-ri tombs are related to the Baekje state. The painting in the burials is dedicated to Four Directional Deities. This plot is known from burials in China and Japan, but it stood out as a separate plot in Goguryeo. The people of Baekche were guided by Goguryeo designs in the design of the tomb. The tomb in Goa-ri Goryeong is considered as a Gaya tomb, as it is located in a place that was the central part of the state of Daegaya. The tomb contains images of a lotus, which probably reflects the spread of Buddhism in Gaya. Analysis of the murals suggests that cultural elements that were common for the entire Korean Peninsula were formed by the end of the era of Three kingdoms in the 6th century.