Észak-Korea

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.

Situated in Kaesong city, in the south of the country, the site consists of 12 separate components, which together testify to the history and culture of the Koryo Dynasty from the 10th to 14th centuries. The geomantic layout of the former capital city of Kaesong, its palaces, institutions and tomb complex, defensive walls and gates embody the political, cultural, philosophical and spiritual values of a crucial era in the region’s history. The monuments inscribed also include an astronomical and meteorological observatory, two schools (including one dedicated to educating national officials) and commemorative steles. The site testifies to the transition from Buddhism to neo-Confucianism in East Asia and to the assimilation of the cultural spiritual and political values of the states that existed prior to Korea’s unification under the Koryo Dynasty. The integration of Buddhist, Confucian, Taoist and geomantic concepts is manifest in the planning of the site and the architecture of its monuments.

Mount Kumgang is a long-celebrated place of exceptional natural beauty, renowned for its near-white granite peaks, deep valleys, waterfalls, and pristine ecosystems, rising to nearly 1,600 metres. The mountain’s dramatic impact is enhanced through constantly changing weather patterns of mists, rain, sunshine and clouds. This sacred mountain is a key site of mountain Buddhism, with traditions dating back to the 5th century. This cultural landscape is home to ancient hermitages, temples, stupas, and stone carvings, many located in the Outer and Inner Kumgang Area. Three temples remain active today and bear exceptional testimony to centuries of Buddhist practice, with tangible and intangible heritage deeply intertwined with the landscape.