[KS] Koguryo inquiry

[Mark Byington]

Hello,

Regarding the question of Koguryo mural tombs on the left side of the 
Yalu, the actual passage cited from Ariane Perrin reads: "These burials 
are found scattered on both sides of the Yalu River in Jian, Jilin 
province, in the Liaodong peninsula of northeast China and in the
vicinity of Pyeongyang in North Korea."

The passage can be parsed multiple ways, and the punctuation does seem 
to suggest that such mural tombs are to be found in the DPRK opposite 
Ji'an. But I suspect that the punctuation here is at fault and that the 
intended reading is that Koguryo mural tombs are in general found on both 
sides of the Yalu (i.e., both in the PRC and in the DPRK). Examples
provided for each broad region include those in Ji'an in the PRC and in 
and near Pyongyang in the DPRK.

I know of no Koguryo mural tombs in the DPRK located outside of the 
P'yongan and Hwanghae regions, though there may well be some that have not 
yet been discovered or identified. Lists of Koguryo mural tombs compiled 
in the DPRK in the 1990s include no tombs outside of the areas I mentioned 
above (additional mural tombs have been discovered since these lists were 
published, but the tombs are in the same general region).

In the PRC, Koguryo mural tombs are concentrated on Ji'an, of course, but 
there is one mural tomb in Huanren and at least one newly discovered one 
in Fushun. There are Koguryo tombs in the northern part of the DPRK, 
especially on the Changja (Tongno) River opposite Ji'an - though no mural 
tombs are reported there, several other types of Koguryo tomb have been 
found, including the so-called keyhole cairns.

If anyone knows of such mural tombs on the DPRK side of the Yalu, I would 
also appreciate hearing about them.

Regards,

Mark Byington


On Tue, 19 Dec 2006, Werner Koidl wrote:

> Dear Leonid,
>
> in your article, you quoted Perrin (2000) saying: "The latter were sometimes found decorated with colorful wall paintings which are dated between the fourth and the seventh centuries A.D. These burials are found scattered on both sides of the Yalu River in Jian, Jilin province..."
>
> Which Koguryo tombs with wall paintings were found on the left side of the Yalu ? (in the vicinity of Kuknae-song)
>
> Best regards,
>
> Werner Koidl
>  ----- Original Message -----
>  From: Leonid Petrov
>  To: Korean Studies Discussion List
>  Cc: Naomi_Hellmann at brown.edu
>  Sent: Monday, December 18, 2006 2:39 AM
>  Subject: Re: [KS] Koguryo inquiry
>
>
>  Dear Naomi and All,
>
>
>
>  Indeed, on 2 July 2004 the DPRK had the Koguryo murals discovered around Pyongyang and Namp'o inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage List. This move is expected to benefit the North Korea in many ways. A country that receives little international attention except for engineered famine and its crying abuse of human rights, its activities in nuclear weapons and missiles development has got a chance to emphasize that Koguryo was part of the history of Korean people.
>
>
>
>  However, the DPRK was not only interested in preserving its cultural heritage. By having Koguryo mural tombs internationally recognized, North Korea also plans to establish its hegemony in the process of national unification and even to secure itself from possible preventive strikes. Even in a case of military dispute, a place once registered as a World Heritage Site is not permitted to be attacked under international law...
>
>
>
>  More on the political economy of the Koguryo issue (as it is seen in contemporary Korea, China, and Japan) see  < http://north-korea.boom.ru/koguryo.htm >
>
>
>
>  With very best regards,
>
>
>
>  Leonid A. Petrov PhD
>
>  Chair of Korean Studies,
>
>  --
>
>  Sciences Po Asia Centre
>
>  Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Paris,
>
>  Fondation Nationale des Sciences Politiques
>
>  ***********************************
>
>  Visiting address: 2 Floor, 224, Blvd S.Germain, 75007 PARIS
>
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>
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>
>  http://asia-centre.sciences-po.fr/academics/korean_chair.html
>
>
>
>
>
>  On 15/12/06, naomi <lowenmaulchen at hotmail.com> wrote:
>    Dear List Members,
>
>
>
>    My dissertation is focused on the political economy of Koguryo and includes the role of China and UNESCO. Any insight on locating North Korean sources of information available in either English or Chinese would be highly appreciated.
>
>
>
>    Thank you,
>
>    Naomi
>
>
>
>
>
>    Naomi Hellmann
>
>    Development Studies
>
>    Brown University
>
>    Naomi_Hellmann at brown.edu
>
>